École Pie-XI

In April 1935, the Congrégation de Notre-Dame sisters became involved with Pie XI School located at 674 Westminster Street, Montreal. The pastor of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Parish, Father M. A. Bissonnette, also president of the school board, wanted the sisters to teach there. Therefore, he asked the principal of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce School to intervene with the General Council of the Congregation on his behalf. The results were positive: After reaching an agreement with the Dominican Brothers, the sisters took on the school’s direction. At that time, the Dominicans served Notre-Dame-de-Grâce parish as far as Côte Saint-Luc Road which was the western boundary. This church was dismantled when a new parish was established in 1959. At the beginning of the 1935 school year, the two founding sisters, Sister Saint-Delphis (Marie-Estelle-Jeannette Jolibois) and Sister Sainte-Madeleine-de-Florence (Marie-Jeanne-Adrienne Provost), received forty boys and girls from grade 1 to grade 9. The task that awaited them seemed arduous: They were told that the children were undisciplined and had some learning disabilities. While the school year began with some difficulty, it ended on a very optimistic note. The sisters succeeded in gaining the students’ trust and in establishing a climate conducive to learning. In addition to the regular program, they also taught diction, piano, singing, musical theory, food preparation and physical education. Later the school was divided into a French section and an English section.

The students benefited from equipment for film and sound recordings and a subscription to the Pedagogical Film Library of the Bureau of Public Instruction. In addition to school activities, the students were encouraged to participate in religious associations such as the Enfants de Marie, Croisades eucharistique, Saint-Enfant-Jésus, Anges gardiens and Aspirants. Enrollments increased so rapidly that in 1937, a new annex was built which included a chapel, two classrooms and a recreation room in the basement. However, the number of students did not stabilize which caused a major change in September 1958: A new Côte Saint-Luc School was built at 7450, Côte Saint-Luc Road. Students from grade 4 to grade 9 were transferred to this new school while the children in grades 1, 2 and 3 remained at Pie XI school. The teaching staff was also divided between the two schools. All was well until the sisters departed in July 1961.

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.