Establishment of the Sisters of Notre Dame : Part 3

Life of Venerable Sister Margaret Bourgeois
by Anonymous

(Page 9 of 15)

To return again to the manuscript. She says: "I and my three companions started from Troyes to Paris in an old worn-out conveyance, that we hired for our own use, but had not gone far before we were compelled to stop, as the owners of the public carriages, who controlled the road, would not permit a private conveyance like ours to interfere with their traffic. We were therefore obliged to return to Troyes, where M. Chatel obtained for us permission to continue the journey. As we had to travel on Sunday, we requested the driver to stop at some village where we could assist at Mass.

This he very disobligingly refused to do. We passed before a church pretty soon, however, and one of the wheels breaking, he stopped against his will, to mend it, and we assisted at the Holy Sacrifice while he worked at the broken wheel. On our arrival in Paris, M. Raisin would not permit his daughter to go to Canada, and stubbornly refused to see her; nor had she the courage to present herself before him. She could only prevail through the intercession of friends, and in this way was successful, as he finally gave his consent, a contract being ratified in her case also. I could not prevent his offering one thousand livres for her voyage, and, as I feared to disoblige him by a refusal, I compromised, and accepted one hundred crowns.

However, this did not satisfy him, and he legally arranged to pay to the community an annuity of thirty-five livres, being the interest of the seven hundred livres I refused to accept. After his death, his son, a member of the Legislative Assembly, added to this an annuity of three hundred livres, interest on six thousand, which was donated for three yearly Masses, for the repose of his father's soul, which Masses are celebrated to this day on the 22d, 23d, and 24th of April; so charitable were these gentlemen to the embryo Congregation. In Paris we received an addition to our number, M. Blondel giving one of his nieces as a teacher for Ville-Marie. This young lady was the first person admitted to our community in 1659, and was named Sister St. Claire. There were now assembled eighteen young girls for the return voyage, four of whom were to remain at Quebec, the rest being bound for Montreal. We again hired wagons to make the journey from Paris to La Rochelle, and met with the same mishap as at Troyes, but finally arrived at our destination, where I had the happiness once more to meet Mlle. Mance, who was bringing with her three religieuses for the hospital of Montreal. On the eve of embarkation an obstacle quite unexpectedly presented itself.

I had supposed that my companions and myself were to be taken on board gratuitously, such certainly being the intention of M. de Maisonneuve, the master of the ship had heard nothing of such an arrangement, however; at least he said so, and refused to take us, unless each one paid 175 livres for her passage, besides furnishing provisions, and as we had no money, we were on the point of being left behind. I fortunately thought of drawing a double letter of exchange on M. Raisin, which was accepted. We finally set sail and found that the commander, notwithstanding the trouble he had given us, was a very honest man. The vessel was very large and convenient, but had served for a floating hospital during the war, and the very timbers of it were infected with disease. Perhaps this was not the only cause of sickness, as we had a large number of passengers, among whom were two priests, M. le Maitre, and M. Vignal, both bound for the Montreal seminary. These holy men were afterwards murdered by the Indians, in cold blood. We took care to have the priests near us during the voyage, as pestilence soon broke out.

Mlle. Mance and her religieuses were the first attacked, but after a few days several of the secular girls succumbed. Eight persons died of the plague, and would have been thrown into the sea, without the decency of a shroud, but for the thoughtful exertions of M. le Maitre, who constructed rough coffins on the spot, and took the precaution to throw overboard everything belonging to the dead. A young mother among the stricken left a nursing infant, which, with its father, was prostrated by the pestilence. The babe's life was despaired of, as no one was willing to take charge of it, and many advised that it be thrown into the sea alive. The cruel suggestion aroused my sympathy, and I offered to take the infant myself, much against the will of my companions, who were all sick. However, I succeeded in getting the little waif in my keeping. When we arrived in Quebec, its cries and horrible appearance caused us much annoyance, and as I had business to transact in Quebec, I was obliged to return it to the father, who was then well, promising to reclaim it before setting out for Montreal. That September, the cold season set in with unusual rigor, and the crew built fires in cabins along the shore, to keep themselves from freezing, and this man, with the babe in his arms, lying down among them, the poor little martyr rolled into the embers and was shockingly burned. However, when we arrived at Montreal it grew better, and in consequence of losing its mother so young, I procured a nurse to supply it with natural nourishment; a few days after it sickened, died, and went to rest in the bosom of God. We arrived at Montreal on the Feast of St. Michael, being exactly one year, day for day, and hour for hour, from the time of our departure."

Sister Bourgeois and her companions immediately took possession of the stable which was given for school purposes by M. de Maisonneuve the previous year. It was built of stone, about twenty-five feet square, and had been for a long time a shelter for all kinds of animals. She had a chimney built on the floor prepared for the school-room, the Sisters cooking and eating there, when school was dismissed. The loft of the stable served for a dovecot and granary, and was reached by an outside ladder. This she arranged as a dormitory and a community-room. All things being now in working order, they began to receive boarders and day-pupils. One of the latter, Marie Barbier, who was afterwards called in religion Sister Mary of the Assumption, succeeded Sister Bourgeois as superior of the Congregation, and was the first member received in Ville-Marie. The school was formally opened on the Feast of St. Catherine, Nov. 25, 1659, and a secular society for young ladies was put in operation on the Feast of the Visitation the following year.

This society has never been discontinued, and exists still in almost primitive fervor. In a short time the number of boarders and day-pupils became so considerable, that it was necessary to purchase a small house, in the vicinity of the lucky stable, from a man named St. Ange. As Sister Bourgeois burned with zeal to advance the glory of God in the New World, in addition to the cares inseparable from governing a young community, she undertook another labor of love, which eventually caused her the most bitter sorrow. We refer to the manuscripts: "Several young girls accompanied us from France, who were taken from the hospitals, and sent at the King's expense to assist in the colonization of Ville-Marie.

While we were repairing the little house we purchased from St. Ange, another batch of these girls arrived, and as I knew they were intended to become mothers of families, I hastened to meet them as soon as they should land, in order to bring them to our new house, and detain them a short time, for instruction." The Sisters (we may as well so name them at once) had for some time importuned Sister Bourgeois to add another story to their dwelling, as it did not afford accommodation for both Sisters and pupils; but she objected on account of her love of poverty, humility, and mortification. However, the arrival of the strangers induced her to comply, and her hasty compliance was a source of lifelong regret, because, as she affirmed, she did not sufficiently consult the will of God and her ecclesiastical superior. In fact she never forgave herself this unintentional error of judgment, as she called it, and attributed to it all the accidents that subsequently befell her community.

Foundress of the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame.