First Bishop of Canada : Part 4

Life of Venerable Sister Margaret Bourgeois
by Anonymous

(Page 11 of 17)

"MY DEAR SISTER, - I have received the letter in which you ask, 'Is it proper to receive now, formally, in your Congregation, the Sisters who first came with you to Canada, or will it be necessary to await the return of the bishop?' Although I am persuaded of the propriety of what you ask, nevertheless, it will be more prudent to await his return, as he has written to me regarding both you and your Congregation, for which he testifies much esteem. It will be best that he regulate everything himself, as he will certainly make his intentions known to you. I trust that all will be arranged satisfactorily, for the glory of God, the salvation of souls, and your own consolation, and shall offer every assistance in my power for the good work. I salute your esteemed daughters, and recommend myself to their prayers and yours."

M. de Laval returned to Canada the following year. The Sisters were all of the same grade, no distinctions having been made; all wore a uniform dress, similar to that ordinarily worn by pious women of the middle class. The color was black, being the same in every respect as Sister Bourgeois herself wore on her first arrival at Ville-Marie, and which the Sisters continue to wear to this day. We will refer again to her Memoirs. She says:

"In 1670, I found it necessary to undertake another journey to France, and had long felt inspired to make it. As I was suffering much from mental anxiety, I hoped that an interview with M. de Laval would afford me some solace. He was then only Vicar-Apostolic of Canada, but I had great confidence in his wisdom, and hoped he would impart to me the light necessary for governing our community. I was told that I should bring with me to France the King's letters, and endeavor to procure more postulants. For these purposes, I obtained the consent of the Sisters, and was furnished with many letters of recommendation, from the priests of the Quebec and Montreal Seminaries. I also had one from M. Perrot, Governor of Montreal, and successor of M. de Maisonneuve. The Governor, who was a Parisian, recommended me to his family there. I left Montreal accompanied by M. de Fenelon, who gave me a passage in his boat, to Quebec. He was returning to France on business, and wished to sail in the same ship with me. Father Fremi, a Jesuit, also embarked with us.

On arriving at Quebec, I found myself very much indisposed, and was obliged to remain in the hospital a few days, as the ship was to depart when the wind became favorable. I requested M. de Fenelon to permit his servant to take charge of my box, which contained the papers above referred to, and of a little package of clothing, that constituted my entire baggage, and to place them safely on board. The captain politely consented, but his servant entirely forgot both myself and my baggage. Recovering from my indisposition in two or three days, I went on board without further precaution, but alas, found that I was minus the precious box, M. de Fenelon delayed a short time to find it, but all in vain. It was not forthcoming. As the vessel was obliged to sail with the wind, I wrote in haste to M. Dupuis, Major of the garrison of Montreal, who was in Quebec at the time, begging him to search for my box, and if he found it, to forward it to France, by any ship he might find convenient. I particularly requested him to send the papers, and to return the rest to our Sisters in Montreal. He fortunately found the box, and I received it in France shortly after. Behold me, then, embarked without clothing, without provisions, without money, without anything for the voyage. Worse still, I was the only female in the ship, but there were two good priests among the passengers, who gave me great consolation.

I arranged a sack and a roll of cordage for my bed, on deck, with an improvised enclosure. This was my chamber during my passage; which was not very long, however, as we arrived at La Rochelle in thirty-one days. I had not made a change of underclothing during the voyage, as I had nothing to make it with, except a piece of coarse canvas given me for a mattress. This I converted into a night-dress, but, like all the rest, it was lost. In this unpleasant condition I found myself at La Rochelle, which country was strange to me, and I was one hundred leagues from Paris. It was truly an embarrassing position, and I felt it so. It is true, one of the priests offered me a supply of money, as payment for some work that I and my companions had done for him during our first stay in Quebec, but as I knew I had money in my box when it would arrive, I refused his offer, saying I would be better pleased to receive it in Paris, where I should need it more. It is also true that I had lent 132 livres to a young man in Montreal, who had given a note for it, payable in Paris, and that I had forwarded this note to M. Blondel, who had hitherto transacted our business in France, but he died some time previous to my arrival, and I was left without resource, the note not having been paid, nor could it be found at the time. M. Fenelon was also short of funds, yet he contrived to lend me fifty livres, the greater part of which I used to pay my fare to Paris. With the balance I bought food, and an absolutely necessary change of clothing. The captain and the two priests managed to get me a comfortable seat in the stage, and also a good room at the inn, but I took my meals apart, although they invited me to dine with them."

She at last arrived in the great city, and went directly to the church of Notre Dame, to renew the consecration of herself to God and His holy Mother, then visited the College of Foreign Missions, to receive her Bishop's blessing, and give him an account of her voyage, although she did not reveal her distress to him. The prelate received her with kindness, but as it was late, the visit was necessarily a short one, and she went away, almost dead with hunger and fatigue, to pass the night at the house of a poor woman, in the quarter of St. Sulpice. Next morning very early she went to the church, to perform her usual devotions, and after Mass a priest carried the Blessed Sacrament in procession to a sick person. She followed till they arrived at the door of the Seminary. Here Divine Providence again interposed in her favor, for one of the two priests who stood near the door said to his companion in a loud, distinct voice, "I have just received a letter from Canada, in which I am directed to pay one hundred livres to a person I do not know. Her name is Margaret Bourgeois." "That is my name," she said, turning quickly, "but, if the money is for me, I do not know from whom it comes." The good priest named the person who had written to him, and she instantly recognized the name of a valued friend, one of the priests in the Seminary at Quebec, who, not having funds to pay her before the embarkation, took care that the money should reach her safely in Paris. It was accordingly handed to her, and she went directly to pay the kind captain his fifty livres.

Again this favored daughter of God adored His Divine Providence. She now confidently expected to receive her papers, and did receive them a few moments later. On opening the box, she took out her letters of recommendation, and, leaving a few at the Seminary, set out to find the relatives of Messrs. Perrot and de Maisonneuve. She first called at the address given in M. Perrot's letter. As her appearance was not very presentable, after a long, and not over-clean voyage, she met with a very cool reception. However, when her fashionable entertainers read the letter (the contents of which she did, not know), they soon changed contempt into respect, as M. Perrot had requested them to receive her as they would receive himself, assuring them that in Canada she was regarded as a little saint. She was consequently invited to dinner, which she gladly accepted, as she was much in need of it at the moment, but their ceremonious attentions did not agree with her spirit of mortification and humility, and she absolutely refused to remain over-night, although they pressed her quite warmly to do so. She next visited M. de Maisonneuve, arriving at a very late hour, as it was in the suburbs of the city. It is impossible to express the joy that this great servant of God experienced on seeing her again. He actually ran to meet her and cordially offered the hospitality of a little house he had just erected in one corner of his garden, telling her that he had it made to look like an Indian cabin, expecting some one from Canada might call who would be pleased to see anything to remind them of home, and her visit fulfilled his presentiment. She gratefully accepted the kind offer, and lodged there during her stay in Paris.

Foundress of the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame.