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The early years of the new century were marked by political unrest in Canada. Continued tension between Britain and the United States resulted in war in 1812. Relations between the old and new inhabitants of what had been New France remained uneasy. The struggle for responsible government led to…

State intervention in education, already a fact in Europe and other parts of North America, began in Canada in 1801. A law passed in that year was intended to create a kind of ministry of education in the attempt to establish a system of state-supported schools. That attempt and several that…

In 1821 Montreal became a diocese separate from Quebec and in 1840 Ignace Bourget became its second bishop. In the wake of the failure of the 1837-38 rebellion, in the face of an increasingly mounting population, he faced an immense challenge. Although immigration made French-speakers a minority…

The changes taking place in local society as well as in the larger world were reflected in developments in the boarding school in Montreal. The families of its French-speaking students included both members of the old seigneurial class and also members of the rising professional and political…

As Montreal grew and its neighbourhoods changed in character the Congregation, like many of the older institutions, found it necessary to re-locate.  In 1854 the community had acquired the mountain property known as Monklands.  The boarding school moved there from the mother house into…

Although opportunities for higher education for men were expanding at this time in both Europe and North America, there was much reluctance about offering the same opportunities to women. The first Catholic college for women in North America was Mount Saint Bernard College affiliated with Saint…

Between 1855 and 1900 the Congregation opened 90 new missions, 44 of them outside the Province of Quebec. By the eve of the 20th century, 1,157 sisters were teaching, administering and playing other roles in schools in Canada and in the United States from Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine and Prince…

In 1867 the regions of Canada at last took on a more lasting form of constitutional relationship. In that year the British North America Act united the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario to create the Dominion of Canada. The motto of the country that still exists today…

In the small world in which the Congregation had its beginnings, the sisters had no difficulty in remaining in touch with their former students.  Even then, however, they did not rely only on informal contact but held meetings of the older girls and women on Sundays.  In the course of…

In the first half of the 20th century, the Congregation was also active in helping many young teachers, both religious and lay, already working in schools, to improve their skills and acquire higher diplomas and degrees.  In 1916, a series of Pedagogical Conferences, partly subsidized by…

In 1905-06, Montreal had only three commercial schools while the demand for competent business personnel was rapidly increasing.  Responding to the awareness that many girls had little choice except to work in factories where they were frequently exploited and poorly paid, the Congregation…

The new century began with the participation of the Congregation in the Exposition de Paris.  The pupils of all the schools of the Congregation took part in the preparation of an exhibit that   won both a medal and a diploma.  Throughout most of the 19th century the Congregation…

In May, 1932, the Congregation made a momentous decision: the acceptance of an invitation to open a mission in Fukushima, Japan.  The five sisters who set out that autumn were on their way to live and work among a people whom Saint Francis Xavier had called the delight of his heart. His…

The first half of the 20th Century saw some of the worst disasters the world had yet known: two world wars in which millions died and between them an economic depression that impoverished millions.  By the end of the Second World War, weapons of mass destruction had been invented that for…

One of the priests who attended the funeral of Marguerite Bourgeoys on 13 January 1700 remarked that if saints were then canonized as they had been in former times by the voice of the clergy and of the people, “tomorrow we would celebrate the Mass of Saint Marguerite of…

One of the first actions in the movement to modernize Quebec known as “The Quiet Revolution” was the establishment of a royal commission to study the educational system of the province. The multi-volume report of what is known as the Parent Commission appeared between 1963 and 1966. In response…

To Latin America and AfricaAs the part of the world in which the Congregation had its roots became increasingly secularized the sisters were called upon to respond to the needs of the Church in areas very different from the prosperous West. In June, 1962, five sisters left for a period of study…

The middle and late 1960s were a time of great unrest as the generation born at the close of the Second World War came of age and women assumed an ever expanding public role in society. They were also years that brought many exciting hopes to the Congregation, to Montreal, to Canada and to the…

When Marguerite Bourgeoys came to Canada in 1653 she carried a small bundle of immediate necessities in her hands and an unshakeable faith in God in her heart. She also brought with her a knowledge of some of the most advanced pedagogical theory of her time and an experience of more than a…

1658 - (Marguerite du Saint-Sacrement)

Marguerite Bourgeoys, named Marguerite du Saint-Sacrement, was born in Troyes (France) on April 17, 1620 and died in Montreal on January 12, 1700. She founded the Congrégation de Notre-Dame de Montreal. In 1640, she joined the extern congregation of the Congrégation Notre-Dame in Troyes, under…

1693 - (Marie de l'Assomption)

Marie Barbier, named Marie de l’Assomption, was baptized in Ville-Marie (Montreal) on May 1, 1663 and died there on May 19, 1739. She was received as a novice by the Congrégation de Notre-Dame in 1679. She was the first member of the Congregation born in Montreal. In 1685, with Sister Anne…

1698 - (Marguerite du Saint-Esprit)

Marguerite Le Moyne de Sainte-Marie, named Marguerite du Saint-Esprit, was born in Ville-Marie (Montreal) on February 3, 1664 and died there on February 21, 1746. She came from an influent family of New France. When she was 16 she asked to be received into the community of which her older sister…

1708 - (Catherine du Saint-Sacrement)

Marie-Catherine Charly Saint-Ange was born in Ville-Marie (Montreal) on May 3, 1666 and died there in 1719. She was named Saint-Ange until 1700 when, after the death of Marguerite Bourgeoys, she took the name which had been Marguerite’s and was henceforth known as Catherine du Saint-Sacrement .…

1722 - (Sister Saint-Joseph)

Marguerite Trottier, named sœur Saint-Joseph, was born in Batiscan April 21, 1678 and died on October 6, 1744 aboard a ship travelling on the Saint Lawrence River off the coast of Île d’Orléans on her way to Montreal. Marguerite Trottier met the Sisters of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame in the…

1732 - (Sister Sainte-Barbe)

Marie-Élisabeth Guillet, named sœur Sainte-Barbe, was born on September 3, 1684 in Batiscan and died on October 23, 1739 in Montreal. She was the eldest of eleven children. Shortly after 1700, she entered the Congregation. In 1730, she was named Depositary before becoming Superior from 1732 to…

1739 - (Sister de la Présentation)

Marguerite Amyot, named sœur de la Présentation, was born on January 16, 1675 in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré and died on August 1, 1747 in Montreal. She was a member of the extern Congregation in Quebec led by Sister Marie Barbier before entering the Congregation around 1693. She made her vows on…

1745 - (Sister Sainte-Pélagie)

Marie-Anne Thibierge, named sœur Sainte-Pélagie, was born on May 15, 1690 in Montreal and died there on March 21, 1757. She entered the Congregation in or before 1714. She worked for a long time in the mission in the Lower Town of Quebec City. For a few years she was Novice Mistress before being…

1751 - (Sister Saint-Hippolyte)

Marie-Marguerite Piot de Langloiserie or L’Angloiserie, named sœur Saint-Hippolyte, was born on February 11, 1702 in Varennes and died in Montreal on February 10, 1781. She came from two families belonging to the élite of New France. She and her older sister, Charlotte-Angélique entered the…

1757 - (Sister Saint-Simon)

Marie-Angélique Lefebvre Angers, named sœur Saint-Simon, was born in Montreal on October 25, 1710 and died there on April 28, 1766. When Marie-Angélique was 16 years old, she entered the boarding school of the Congregation. She was admitted to the community in 1728. After participating in…

1766 - (Sister de l'Assomption)

Marie-Josèphe Maugue-Garreau, named sœur de l’Assomption, was baptized in Montreal on December 30, 1720 and died there on August 16, 1785. She entered the novitiate of the Congregation in 1738 and pronounced her vows two years later. She was elected Superior in 1766 during very difficult times,…