International Conference, October 7-11 2009. Religious Houses: A Legacy

The Congrégation des Sœurs de Notre-Dame du Saint-Rosaire—Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, known as the Sœurs des Petites-Écoles, or Sisters of the Little Schools, until 1891—was founded by Élisabeth Turgeon, who was born in Beaumont. At the behest of His Grace Bishop Jean Langevin, she arrived in Rimouski on April 3, 1875, and was granted permission to pronounce her religious vows in 1879. Despite the untimely death of its foundress in 1881, the fledgling institute succeeded in carrying on the work of instructing and educating children in the countryside parish schools.

Over the course of its history, the Congregation has conducted its mission of Christian education in Québec, the United States and Latin America, giving priority to youth. “To manifest the tender and caring love of Jesus and Mary”: such is the charism that, to this day, lives in the hearts and souls of the Daughters of Élisabeth…

You are invited to visit the Convent of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary and delight in the bountiful history to be found here, including the splendid chapel, decorated with stained-glass windows created after the original drawings of Mother Marie-de-la-Victoire (Elmire Roy). You will also have a chance to meet these caring women who have devoted their lives to the education of our young people.

Tours running continuously between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Maximum 20 persons per group per tour. 

You are invited to visit the entire Congrégation des Sœurs Notre-Dame du Bon-Conseil (Congregation of the Sisters of Good Counsel) conventual complex, which rises above the Saguenay River. This inspiring tour includes the opportunity to learn the history of the site, visit the chapel and Mother House, and admire the magnificent view.

The Congrégation des Sœurs Notre-Dame du Bon-Conseil was founded in 1894 by His Grace Bishop Michel-Thomas Labrecque and Mrs. Françoise Simard. Since that time, this order of sisters has devoted itself to teaching, and has helped shape the history of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean and the North Shore, as well as that of Africa and Chile.

To conclude your visit, you are invited to drop by the Congregation’s historical centre and learn more about this community’s past.

Tours running continuously between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.

In 2009, the Augustines de la Miséricorde de Jésus in Chicoutimi are celebrating the 125th anniversary of the arrival of the community’s founders.

On May 24, 1884, five nuns from the Augustinian Monastery and General Hospital in Québec City arrived in the Saguenay, answering the call of His Grace Dominique Racine, first Bishop of the Diocese of Chicoutimi. He wanted a religious community to run the Marine Hospital built there by the Canadian government to take in ailing sailors disembarking in the port of Chicoutimi. The nuns set to work, caring for the sick and the poorest members of society. For the past 125 years, the community has carried on the hospital work of its founding Sisters.

You are invited to discover the history of the Augustinians at Chicoutimi, as they open the doors of their community established on the Rocher Saint-Vallier.

Tours leave at 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Maximum 20 persons per group per tour

The Chapelle des Servantes du Très-Saint-Sacrement (Chapel of the Servants of the Most Blessed Sacrament) celebrates the 100th anniversary of its consecration this year. His Grace Michel-Thomas Labrecque, the third Bishop of Chicoutimi, consecrated this temple of adoration on June 18, 1909. The community is pleased to open its doors to the public on October 11, as part of its centennial celebrations.

Both the chapel and monastery were declared historical and heritage monuments of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean in 2007 by the City of Saguenay, pursuant to the Québec Cultural Property Act. In 2008 the Mayor of Saguenay, Jean Tremblay, awarded the Prix du patrimoine, Institutional category, to the community.

The monastery and chapel were built to the plans and specifications of René P. Lemay, a Québec City architect. Both were built entirely of dented stone cut from the hillside. The chapel is a temple dedicated to prayer, a harmonious fusion of stained glass, mosaics, reliefs as well as two Casavant organs. The renowned artist Guido Nincheri created the magnificent stained-glass windows depicting various symbols of the Holy Eucharist. In 2007, part of the convent was transformed into a Eucharistic centre where one and all are invited to come and share, individually or in groups, in contemplation and peace, silence and prayer.      

Tours leave at 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Maximum 20 persons per group per tour

The congregation of Petites Franciscaines de Marie (Little Franciscans of Mary) was founded in 1889 in a New England parish, in Worcester, Massachusetts. In the early 1890s, they were called by Father Ambroise-Martial Fafard, the parish priest at Baie-Saint-Paul and founder of Hospice Sainte-Anne, who offered them the mission of caring for people living with mental handicaps. So it was that eleven women, unable to continue their good works in the United States, found a home in Canada. They completed their first commitment in 1892 at Baie-Saint-Paul, where they established their Mother House.

You are invited to explore the Mother House of this community of generous women who have devoted their lives to the care of the less fortunate, in Québec as well as their mission in Madagascar and Haiti. During your time here, you may visit the Sacré-Cœur chapel as well as selected areas of the Mother House. At the conclusion of your visit, you are invited to enter the congregation’s museum space and learn more about the Little Franciscans’ history.

Tours leave at 1:30 p.m. 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Maximum 20 persons per group per tour

In 1848, His Grace Bishop Pierre-Flavien Turgeon requested that the Sœurs de la Charité de Montréal (Sisters of Charity of Montreal) take charge of the Québec City orphanage. On August 22, 1849, Mother Marcelle Mallet and five companions, left the Hôpital général de Montreal once and for all, to found a religious community in the capital city—a community imbued with the charism and universal charity of Saint Marguerite d’Youville. Upon their arrival, they were greeted by some twenty orphan girls from the orphanage of the Société charitable des Dames catholiques de Québec. Construction of the Mother House began the following year. Mother Mallet found an ally in architect Charles Baillairgé, to bring to fruition her imposing for a project for a house with multiple storeys surrounding a central wing tall enough to house the chapel.

In the intervening years the Sisters of Charity of Québec City have spread the charism of Mother Mallet throughout Québec, Japan, the United States, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay, in the fields of education, health care and social undertakings. Today, they continue the works of their foundress, responding to the needs of contemporary society.

The Sisters of Charity of Québec City bid you a joyous welcome you the Maison Mère-Mallet Chapel, built in a neo-Gothic style, where you can admire the sumptuous high altar by François-Xavier Berlinguet, angels sculpted by Louis Jobin, and a grandiose painting by Sister Marie-de-l’Eucharistie. Other treasures await you in this peaceful oasis dedicated to the Sacred Heart.

Tours leave at 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. beginning in the chapel (Richelieu St., corner d’Youville St.).
Maximum 20 persons per group per tour

Originally part of the large Congregation of Saint-Joseph founded in 1650 at Puy en Velay, France, the Sœurs de Saint-Joseph de Saint-Vallier (Sisters of Saint Joseph of Saint-Vallier) community was instituted in 1683 at Saint-Vallier, France, by the Abbot of Saint-Vallier, who would later become Québec City’s second bishop. They were soon put in charge of the small hospital in Saint-Vallier. Eventually, under the Combes Laws of 1901 and 1904, religious communities’ schools in France closed and nuns were forbidden from teaching. Québec-born Sister Thérèse de Jésus (Cécile Drolet) suggested to the Mother Superior that the congregation move to Canada. They arrived in Québec City in April 1903.

Upon its arrival, the community was entrusted with the running of schools, orphanages, homes for the elderly, hospitals, a house of prayer and a student residence. Its mission lives on to this day, through activities such as promotion of the status of women, and concern for justice. The community is also active in Haiti.

You are invited to discover Saint Joseph’s Oratory, with ornamentation inspired by the life of the community’s patron saint by the esteemed artist Guido Nincheri. The stirring architecture, of Roman inspiration, is notable for its uncluttered lines, luminous colours and gracious forms, echoed in the paintings, stained glass windows, rose-windows and framings. Your visit concludes in the community’s space of memory, where a permanent exhibition provides insights into its history.

Tours leave at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Maximum 20 persons per group per tour

Also referred to as the Compagnie de Jésus (Society of Jesus), the religious order of the Jesuits was founded in Paris in 1540 by Ignace de Loyola. In 1625 several members of this brotherhood disembarked in New France. Their mission: to see to the education of the Natives. Ten years later, construction began on the first college for boys in Québec City, on the site of what is now the city hall.

In 1763, however, the British authorities forbade the Jesuits to recruit. It was also agreed that, upon the death of the last Jesuit living in Canada, all property of the order would be vested in the Crown. On March 16, 1800, Father Jean-Joseph Casot died, marking the end of the Jesuit presence in French Canada. One of their works, however, survived the suppression of the order: the Congregation of Notre-Dame, which had been founded in 1657.

Thanks to the effective action of His Grace Bishop Joseph-Octave Plessis, in 1817, that congregation acquired land near the Porte Saint-Jean, the main gate into the old walled city of Québec, for the purpose of building a chapel. Architect François Baillargé was entrusted with the task of drawing up plans, which the Bishop approved on January 27, 1818.

There was to be a renaissance, though, beginning in 1842, the year His Grace Bishop Ignace Bourget invited the Jesuits to return to Canada. Then in 1849 the order was conferred the task of looking after the future of the Congrégation Notre-Dame. A residence was built for the sisters in 1856, well known today as the Maison Dauphine. 

On the occasion of its 250th anniversary, April 2, 1907, by notarized deed, the Congregation of Notre-Dame donated the chapel to the Jesuits. Among the many works of great value justifying the chapel’s listing as a heritage building are paintings, sculptures, stained glass, recumbent statues, reliquaries and a Casavant organ (Opus 826, 1920), initially built by the renowned Napoléon Déry in 1887.

Tours running continuously between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Maximum 20 persons per group per tour

Visiting Old Trois-Rivières, one’s eye is inevitably drawn to the dome of the Ursuline Convent. The establishment’s original building, one of the oldest houses in the city, is linked to the memory of its first owner, Governor Claude de Ramezay.

A visit to this site, which is more than 300 years old, is a reminder of the double calling answered by the Ursulines when they arrived in Trois-Rivières: to be educators as well as hospitallers. The many additions to the original building, distinguishable by their divergent styles, make the convent one of the city’s most striking examples of religious architecture.

Steep yourself in the life and work of the Ursulines as you follow in their footsteps, and discover a place imbued with history—that of the community as well as that of the city of Trois-Rivières.

Tours, lasting approximately 90 minutes, will begin at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Maximum 20 persons per group per tour

The Maison générale des Petites Sœurs de la Sainte-Famille (Mother House of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family), built in 1930 by architect Louis-Napoléon Audet, overlooks the city of Sherbrooke. Located at the foot of Mont Bellevue (part of the Appalachian Chain), not far from the Université de Sherbrooke campus, it welcomes many visitors each year. The Oratory of Our Blessed Mother Marie-Léonie, a popular site for visitors, is a place of contemplation and prayer for everyone, regardless of need or expression of recognition. Behind the House is a museum dedicated to the life of our foundress.

Our spacious house, visible from the Jacques-Cartier Bridge, and its magnificent grounds draw the eye in all seasons. As you enter, you will see a statue erected in honour of Mother Marie-Léonie, who watches over her adopted city. At the rear is the main building, of brick walls clad in white granite. 

More than the stones that recount a storied past, our convent is home to devoted Sisters who carry on their mission in joyous service, filled with love and sustained by intense prayer.

Tours running continuously between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Maximum 5 persons per group per tour

In 1641 Jean-Jacques Olier founded a compagnie, or society, which one year later took the name of the Prêtres de Saint-Sulpice de Paris—the Sulpicians. In 1663, the society purchased, from the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal, the seigneurie of the Isle de Montréal, becoming its seigneur, or landlord. In the late winter of 1672, François Dollier de Casson, the superior of the Sulpician Seminary de Montréal, drew up the permanent street grid of Ville-Marie (what is now Old Montreal), placing at its centre, in the axis of Notre-Dame St. which overlooked, the city, the new parish church. In front of the church, on the south side of Notre-Dame, a large plot of land was reserved for the building of a future seminary. Construction began in 1682, with the corps de logis,or central block, modelled after a 17th-century Paris hôtel. The Sulpicians moved-in in 1685. Fulfilling the dual role of priests’ residence and manor house until the mid-19th century, the Séminaire de Saint-Sulpice was the obligatory first stop for any dignitary or other personage of note disembarking at Montreal.

As you visit these magnificent premises, given both historic site and a listed historical monument status in 1985 by the Government of Québec, remember you are admiring the surroundings in which generations of a sacerdotal fraternity have lived, uninterrupted, since 1685!

Tours leave at 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Maximum 20 persons per group per tour

The Grand Séminaire de Montréal, built by the Sulpicians as their new seminary in the 1850s on the domaine, or estate, of the Fort de la Montagne, opens its doors onto an oasis of discovery for visitors. All are welcome to get a taste of history by visiting two of the oldest structures still standing in the city, the towers of the former fort, dating from the 1685. Then it’s on to a stroll through the grounds, to admire the architecture of the various buildings as well as the splendid basin, dating from the turn of the 19th century, before finally entering the main building, where a marvellous sight greets them immediately: the grand seminary’s magnificent chapel, notable as one of Montreal’s fully realized works in the beaux-arts style.

Tours leaving at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Maximum 20 persons per group per tour

Explore the singular universe of a 19th-century religious house with a visit to the convent of the Sisters of Saint Anne, the congregation’s first house in Lachine and the residence of its foundress, Blessed Marie-Anne Blondin, during more than 20 years.

In the rustic surroundings of the Lachine Canal and the historic district of Old Lachine, you will discover a sanctuary of serenity built on the stone of the Lachine Canal—a peaceful place where the nuns have lived since 1861.

The construction of the many buildings making up the convent of the Sisters of Saint Anne spanned several decades, conferring great heritage value on the site. Visiting the convent of Saint Anne and its sanctuary is an experience in itself. You will be witness to the exceptional religious, educational and cultural legacy left by the congregation.

Tours running continuously between 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

For more than 350 years, the Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel, a jewel of history and heritage, has found a special place in the hearts and memories of generations of visitors and pilgrims. To cross its threshold is to immediately sense its atmosphere of peace and wellness, and feel a palpable link to the Montréal of years past.  

As you visit the chapel at Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours, you will be thrilled to discover a space of history that resonates with the charism of its foundress, Marguerite Bourgeoys, and be enchanted by the many attractions in its rich décor—the furniture, paintings, votive offerings in the form of carved replicas of sailing ships that recall the chapel’s role as a pilgrimage site as well as the “miracle” statuette—and, of course, the museum.

Tours, lasting approximately one hour, will begin at 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. Please come to the front door of the chapel.

Note that a podcast is available to visit the chapel.*
For the free download of the audio files and accompanying documentation, click here: www.patrimoine-religieux.qc.ca/en/activites/balado.php.

The chapel in the Mother House of the Religieuses Hospitalières de Saint Joseph (Religious Hospitallers of Saint Joseph) was built between 1859 and 1861. It was designed by Victor Bourgeau (1809–1888), the architect for the Montreal Diocese, led by His Grace Bishop Ignace Bourget. 

The chapel’s majestic dome ensured that it stood out from other conventual buildings in 19th-century Montreal, making it a landmark for residents. As you enter the chapel, your eye will be drawn to the choir, and especially the cupola, painted by John Held in 1861; the scenes depict the Eternal Father, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, His Ascension, and the Assumption of Mary, surrounded by cherubs. Held adopted the Renaissance technique of the fresco, painting directly on the moist plaster.

Over the years, the chapel has welcomed neighbourhood parishioners as well as the sick and infirm who were cared for in the hospital run by the congregation, all while remaining the nuns’ place of worship.

Guided tours leave at 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m., and last 45 minutes.
Maximum 20 persons per group per tour

Please contact us or come to the museum reception desk to pick up a reservation coupon.

Note that a podcast is available to visit the chapel.*
For the free download of the audio files and accompanying documentation, click here: www.patrimoine-religieux.qc.ca/en/activites/balado.php.

The Seminary at Saint-Hyacinthe, founded in 1811 by Father Antoine Girouard, moved from its original site in downtown, where it had originally stood, to its current location in 1852.

The buildings as they stand today were in large part designed by architect G. René Richer of Mascouche, a former student of the Seminary who trained as an engineer-architect at École Polytechnique de Montréal and in the Paris atelier Recoura. Richer is the designer of the chapel in the neo-Gothic style, which can still be admired today, as well as the east and west wings. One wing is still used today as a private high school, while the other houses an impressive specialized library, into which Richer incorporated the old façade, destroyed in 1963 and then rebuilt by the firm of Charbonneau et Desnoyers. The chapel was dedicated in 1965.

The entire Séminaire de Saint-Hyacinthe is remarkable achievement, and the chapel, inspired by the cathedral at Amiens, France, is a one-of-a-kind monument in Québec. We regret to inform visitors that we cannot offer tours of the chapel during the October 11open house.

Tours leave at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Maximum 30 persons per group per tour

Come discover the beautiful chapel, and admire artifacts dating to the mid-19th century, on your visit to the sanctuary of the Sœurs Adoratrices du Précieux Sang (Sisters Adorers of the Precious Blood) in Saint-Hyacinthe, and the oratory housing the tomb of its foundress, Mère Catherine-Aurélie du Précieux Sang.

Aurélie Caouette was born in 1833 on the eleventh day of July, the month dedicated to the Precious Blood of Jesus. Was this not a harbinger of the great passion that was to drive her life? In 1849, Aurélie played the role of Catherine of Alexandria, in a play staged for the Awards Ceremony at the Convent of the Congregation of Notre-Dame where she studied. It was then that she was consumed with fervour for the Blood of Christ. Thus began the great work of a lifetime.

With the help of Their Graces Bishops Joseph LaRocque and Sabin Raymond, and enlightened by His Grace Bishop Ignace Bourget, our congregation, the first in Canada devoted to contemplative living, came into being on September 14, 1861, with Aurélie Caouette as foundress. Mother Aurélie passed away on July 6, 1905.

All welcome!

Tours leave at 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Duration: 40 minutes (chapel) plus 20 minutes (oratory)
Maximum 25 persons per group per tour

The community of the Sisters of Saint-Joseph of Saint-Hyacinthe was founded in 1877 in the village of La Providence. The Mother House has stood on Raymond Street, in Saint-Hyacinthe, since 1889. The original building gained various additions according to the needs, and especially the financial means, of the congregation; the most significant expansions came in 1929, from plans by the architect René Richer (the façade seen in the photo dates from this time).

In the monograph René Richer, architecte maskoutain (Suzanne Saint-Amour, Éditions GID, 2009), Jacques Lachapelle writes of Richer’s contributions to the architectural heritage of Québec, and describes the Mother House as one of the finest examples of 1920s conventual architecture: monumental, yet spare and simple.

You are invited to find out for yourself, with a visit to our lovely chapel, straight ahead after the entrance. Though major renovations were done in 1968, its inherent qualities were preserved, and perhaps rendered even more tangible: it is spacious, luminous, uncluttered, and demonstrates outstanding architectural unity. All welcome!

Tours running continuously between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Lying between Lac Saint-Pierre and the port of Saint-François, on the Saint Lawrence River, the city of Nicolet abounds with tourist attractions. This city, an episcopal and cultural centre, was the site of the founding, in 1872, of the Sœurs de l’Assomption de la Sainte Vierge (Sisters of the Assumption) congregation, who came here to open a boarding school for girls in the region. You are invited to visit the grounds at Nicolet and admire 120 years of history via its chapels, the work of the celebrated Caron family of architects.

In 1888, Louis Caron designed and began building the Mother House chapel. Completed in 1903, it was tragically lost to fire on June 21, 1906. Only the stonework remained, which architects Louis Caron Jr. and Joseph-Henri Caron restored from the ashes according to the original plans. It was transformed into classrooms and an infirmary for the sisterhood in 1962, at which time a new chapel was built, under the direction of architect David Deshaies. During your visit, be sure to admire the “soul” of this place of worship, with its splendid woodwork and stained glass unlike any other. You may also tour the brand new chapel, a modern design by Allaire architects, completed in 2008: follow the “grotte de Lourdes” path to get there.

Tours, lasting approximately one hour, will begin at 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m., leaving from the front door of the Collège Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption (CNDA).
Maximum 30 persons per group per tour