Archives gallery
This section provides access to all electronic archive documents which make up the virtual exhibit. With the help of search filters and criteria, browse among a variety of documents preserved by Archives Services, such as manuscripts, photographs, school text books, films, architectural drawings and much more. The large amounts of documents reflect the fascinating history of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame’s work in education in a multitude of locations and throughout centuries.
Sister Sainte-Anne-Marie (Marie-Aveline Bengle) was born on October 15, 1861 in Saint-Paul dAbbotsford (Quebec). After her primary instruction in a one-room school, she continued her studies at the Mont Notre-Dame boarding school in Sherbrooke where she obtained a teaching certificate. Her first teaching experience was in the one-room school in her village. She entered the novitiate in 1878 and pronounced her vows in 1880. Sister Sainte-Anne-Marie dedicated herself to her first teaching mission at the convent in Iberville until 1883 and continued her ministry at Mont Sainte-Marie in Montreal. She became Associate to the Local Superior in 1893, and Local Superior in 1903. Under her administration, remarkable changes were made in the academic programme. She obtained a Degree in Literature and Language when the Université Laval in Montreal established a Chair in French Literature. In 1908, she set in motion the establishment of a school of higher education for girls (Collège Marguerite-Bourgeoys), the first female classical college in Quebec. Around 1913, she was named Directress General of Studies for the Congregation and envisioned the establishment of a normal school for higher education (Institut pédagogique) for a more complete formation of teachers. The Institute opened in 1926. These two major projects contributed to modernizing womens education. Sister Sainte-Anne-Marie died in Montreal in 1937.
Alumni Associations are groups of former students. The first reunion of alumni of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame took place in Ottawa in 1910; in 1929 the Fédération des Amicales Notre-Dame, grouping the various alumni associations, was established on the initiative of Sister Sainte-Marie-Odile (Marie-Angélina Morel).
Beginning in 1927, the Congrégation de Notre-Dame received several requests to establish a mission in Japan. In 1932, it was decided: the first five missionaries were sent to Fukushima.
