Marie-Louise Compain dit L'Espérance (Sister Saint-Augustin)

Superior from 1796 to 1808 and from 1814 to 1819

Marie-Louise Compain, named sœur Saint-Augustin, was born on January 28, 1747 in Montreal and died there on May 2, 1819. She grew up on Saint-Jean-Baptiste Street near the Congregation Mother House and attended its primary school before entering the novitiate in 1764. She made profession two years later. She taught in several missions until 1788. She became Novice Mistress at the Mother House for one year before being appointed Assistant to the Superior General. She fulfilled this responsibility until she was elected Superior in 1796. At the end of her six-year term of office she was reelected to the position, although this was unusual after a six-year term. She continued to serve until 1808 and in 1814 she was elected once again. During her years as Superior, she administered difficult situations such as a decreasing number of recruits and the lack of income due to the interruption of the annuities paid from France, following the French Revolution.