Couvent de la Congrégation de Notre-Dame / Pensionnat Sainte-Victoire

Institution founded in 1878, Victoriaville, Québec.

In 1878, at the request of Pastor Édouard Laflèche and the leading citizens of Sainte-Victoire Parish in Victoriaville, Bishop Louis-François Laflèche authorized the building of Sainte-Victoire Convent, on the condition that the sisters of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame agree to direct it and teach its students. The parishioners purchased a property and a house situated on Notre-Dame Street East in order to establish the convent, the parish school for girls and the boarding facility. On August 24, 1878, Sister Sainte-Marie-de-la-Salette (Marguerite Laberge), Superior, and Sister Saint-Olivier (Marie-Liduvine Gaudet) arrived in Victoriaville, followed shortly thereafter by Sister Sainte-Christine (Marie-Léda Parent). On September 13, 1878, after the blessing of the convent, the sisters officially moved in. On September 16, 1878, classes began. There were one hundred six students, of which five were boarders. As the number of boarders increased each year, the first building which had been provided to the sisters became too small. In addition, this not very solid first house, also known as “the house of cards,” was the scene of twenty fires in four years due, particularly, to the poor condition of the chimneys. In 1881, after numerous negotiations, the Congregation decided to build a convent according to the plans of the architect Louis Caron. Solid and spacious, the new Sainte-Victoire Convent and Boarding School as well as the parish school, whose buildings were not connected, stood on land next to the church on Notre-Dame Street West. The Sisters moved in on August 8, 1882 and the twenty-eight boarders, on September 1, 1882. In 1885, the Congregation sold the former convent to the commissioners. In 1902 and 1903, an annex between the boarding school and the parish school was added. It included a large chapel, a reception hall and a dormitory.

In 1907 and 1909, the Congregation purchased land adjacent to theirs and in 1910 built another annex. On October 7, 1912, the Department of Public Instruction granted the day school, administered by the sisters and under the direction of the School Commission, the title of Academy. In 1915, the boarding school was privileged to have undergraduate and postgraduate courses. In that same year, the Cercle littéraire Notre-Dame-des-Études was established. In 1919, the construction of a three-storey ramp connected all the buildings. In 1923, in addition to the students and the four teachers, Sainte-Victoire Convent inventory also listed… sixty chickens and two cows! On May 5, 1924, the convent became affiliated to Université Laval for its Arts-Science Course and later, in 1947, to Université de Montréal. This affiliation made it possible for students to receive certificates and diplomas once they had passed university exams in accordance with rules approved by the University Council. On December 18, 1929, Notre-Dame-de-la-Victoire Alumnae Association was established and its activities began on January 11, 1930. The association’s sewing circle was established on February 1930 and its study circle, in December 1934. The ever-pressing needs of Victoriaville’s increasing population prompted the commissioners to build the large Saint-David School which, as early as 1931, received the surplus of students from Notre-Dame-du-Saint-Rosaire Parish School, a branch of Sainte-Victoire Boarding School. In 1949, Notre-Dame-du-Saint-Rosaire School moved into a wing of the former Collège des Frères du Sacré-Cœur and was named Saint-Wilfrid School. The sisters of the convent took on the administration and teaching of both these schools.

In 1902 and 1903, an annex between the boarding school and the parish school was added. It included a large chapel, a reception hall and a dormitory.
In 1907 and 1909, the Congregation purchased land adjacent to theirs and in 1910 built another annex. On October 7, 1912, the Department of Public Instruction granted the day school, administered by the sisters and under the direction of the School Commission, the title of Academy. In 1915, the boarding school was privileged to have undergraduate and postgraduate courses. In that same year, the Cercle littéraire Notre-Dame-des-Études was established. In 1919, the construction of a three-storey ramp connected all the buildings. In 1923, in addition to the students and the four teachers, Sainte-Victoire Convent inventory also listed… sixty chickens and two cows! On May 5, 1924, the convent became affiliated to Université Laval for its Arts-Science Course and later, in 1947, to Université de Montréal. This affiliation made it possible for students to receive certificates and diplomas once they had passed university exams in accordance with rules approved by the University Council. On December 18, 1929, Notre-Dame-de-la-Victoire Alumnae Association was established and its activities began on January 11, 1930. The association’s sewing circle was established on February 1930 and its study circle, in December 1934. The ever-pressing needs of Victoriaville’s increasing population prompted the commissioners to build the large Saint-David School which, as early as 1931, received the surplus of students from Notre-Dame-du-Saint-Rosaire Parish School, a branch of Sainte-Victoire Boarding School. In 1949, Notre-Dame-du-Saint-Rosaire School moved into a wing of the former Collège des Frères du Sacré-Cœur and was named Saint-Wilfrid School. The sisters of the convent took on the administration and teaching of both these schools.

To celebrate the seventy-fifth anniversary in 1953, former students from everywhere in the province and from as far away as California and the Eastern United States travelled to their Alma Mater: the reception hall organized for six hundred place settings was too small! Some had to settle for the stairs, corridors and parlours. From 1954 to 1965, Sainte-Victoire Boarding School also housed a normal school for the training of future teachers. These classes were completely apart from those of the boarding school. In 1955, the courses were affiliated to Université de Sherbrooke. In May 1958, the students established the student newspaper, La voix du pensionnat Sainte-Victoire. In September 1960, Sainte-Victoire Boarding School opened a Latin Studies class. In 1962, because of the establishment of Bois-Francs Regional High School for girls, Sainte-Victoire Boarding School and Saint-Wilfrid Parish School closed. Sainte-Victoire Convent retained the normal school and became a residence for retired sisters and for those teaching in the town’s public schools. During the 1970-1971 school year, there were twenty-eight sisters residing at Sainte-Victoire Convent. They taught at Albert-Morissette High School, Saint-Gabriel-Lalemant School, Saint-David School and at Cégep de Victoriaville. On June 24 of that year, the sisters visited apartments on de la Ronde Street, near L’Assomption Church and about ten minutes away from Albert-Morissette High School. Some of sisters departed from the convent to live there. From April 11 to 21, 1972 there was a general strike which affected teachers. The sisters took part in the strike along with the lay employees. During the 1981 Jeux du Québec sporting event which was held in Victoriaville, the schools served as dormitories, recreation rooms, cafeterias for the three thousand athletes and their trainers. In 1991, the town of Victoriaville adopted an urban plan for the protection and enhancement of heritage buildings, one of which was Sainte-Victoire Convent with its Second Empire architecture. The convent closed in 1996. The sisters departed from the convent on September 24; some moved to Jutras Boulevard East, Victoriaville. On May 14, 1997 the Congregation’s Council of Consultors decided to sell the convent and the land. The convent was renovated and converted into a seniors’ residence.

NB: This text was written using documents found in the archival holdings in our possession and does not constitute a complete administrative history of the teaching establishment.

Couvent de la Congrégation de Notre-Dame / Pensionnat Sainte-Victoire

Couvent de la Congrégation de Notre-Dame / Pensionnat Sainte-Victoire

Victoriaville, Quebec

Institution fondée en 1878

Couvent de la Congrégation de Notre-Dame / Pensionnat Sainte-Victoire

Couvent de la Congrégation de Notre-Dame / Pensionnat Sainte-Victoire

Victoriaville, Quebec

Institution fondée en 1878

Dernière adresse : 131, rue Notre-Dame Ouest

Nom de l’architecte(s) ou de la firme : Louis Caron

First location : Adresse à déterminer
Second location : 131, rue Notre-Dame Ouest