Books: The Life of Venerable Sister Margaret Bourgeois

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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.

CHAPTER VIII.

M. FRANCOIS DE LAVAL DE MONTMORENCI IS APPOINTED FIRST BISHOP OF
CANADA--SISTER BOURGEOIS SUCCEEDS IN BUILDING THE CHURCH OF "NOTRE DAME
DE BON SECOURS."

In the year 1659 M. Francois de Laval de Montmorenci was appointed first
bishop of Canada, having been hitherto known as the Abbe de Montigni.
The famous Henri Marie Bondon, author of many ascetic works, succeeded
him as arch-deacon of Evreux, M. de Laval having resigned in his favor.
He received his appointment from the French King, but as the Sovereign
Pontiff had not yet erected any portion of the Canadian church into the
diocese, came at first in quality of Vicar Apostolic, consecrated with
the title of Bishop of Petree. M. de Quelus, who had until then governed
the Church in New France, subject to the authority of the Archbishop of
Rouen, did not dispute the jurisdiction of Bishop Laval, but returned to
France immediately, accompanied by his secretary, M. d'Allet, to inform
his own Bishop of what had transpired in Canada. He never returned,
however, and died in Paris, in 1680, in the Seminary of St. Sulpice. M.
de Laval met Sister Bourgeois for the first time, during the voyage from
France, and having conceived a very high opinion of her virtue, gave
herself and companions permission to form in his diocese whatever
religious establishments they should consider most conducive to the
welfare of the country.

Almighty God in His inscrutable wisdom had so arranged matters that the
Institute of Sister Bourgeois should be born in a stable, like His own
divine Son, the Sisters being much happier there than if they were
lodged in a palace. As soon as circumstances permitted after her return,
she took occasion to revisit the chapel she attempted to build before
her departure, and found to her sorrow what she had foreseen, that the
greatest part of the lumber was in a state of decay, and quite
worthless. Yet, as she could not yield to despair, she collected from
the debris sufficient material to build a sort of shed, to be used
alternately as a chapel and a class-room until they could do better. The
piety and fervor of the new teachers attracted the attention of the
whole colony, and the schools in a short time became overcrowded, so
that Sister Bourgeois was induced to undertake the erection of a
building large enough to meet their wants. She had neither ground nor
money, but Divine Providence provided both, as M. de Maisonneuve, whose
devotion to the Blessed Virgin always prompted him to assist her, had
already given a deed of the property they then occupied, and added to it
fifty rods adjoining, with the clause that if the Congregation decided,
in the future, to build on a more extended plan, for which the present
site would not be suitable, the said fifty rods were to be deeded to the
hospital, in the vicinity, all which was legally arranged in the month
of February, 1658. M. Gabriel Souart, superior of the Seminary, donated
another piece of ground, upon which the convent stands today. Many other
gifts of real estate became also the property of Sister Bourgeois, and
were chiefly in the suburbs of the city, which was at last becoming
extensive. As soon as the plan for the building was completed every one
hastened to offer assistance, as an educational institution was
considered a public blessing, and it was evident that God inspired His
faithful servant to undertake the work. The building was so arranged
that one side should be occupied by the Sisters, the other being fitted
up for the boarders and schools. It was not fully completed when Sister
Bourgeois reflected that in the then unsettled state of things, and for
the security of the institution, it would be necessary to obtain letters
patent from the King. The reflection was a wise one, but to obtain the
letters would expose her to much personal humiliation, and also to great
dissipation and loss of time. At first it seemed possible to arrange
matters by procuring the approbation of the home authorities, that is to
say, of the Bishop and Governor-General. So she determined to set out
for Quebec, to present her petition to these distinguished persons,
hoping to have little difficulty in making them understand the utility
of the establishment. Messrs. Souart and Perrot gave her letters of
recommendation, and the inhabitants of Montreal, who knew the great
virtues and talents she concealed beneath the veil of humility,
assembled _en masse_ in the Seminary, to give to her petition the weight
of their united signatures. They also sent by her an humble supplication
to his majesty, or his representatives, entreating that the royal
sanction be given to insure the success of the establishment. Each one
separately signed his name to the document, and placed it in her hands.
They were all the more eager to help as they had often been compelled to
send their children to Quebec to the Ursulines, and the pressing need of
a home institution was becoming more apparent each day. Full of
confidence in God and His holy Mother, and furnished with these
respectable documents, she finally decided on no half-way course, but
set sail again for France, in the autumn of 1670, fearing neither
danger, nor the inconveniences conveniences of a third sea-voyage, to
obtain the succors she needed for others, more than for herself. What a
sublime spectacle it was, to see an humble, unattended woman cross the
great sea alone, and go in her simple attire, into the brilliant court
of the Great King, Louis XIV., to treat of the interests of religion and
the glory of God. Her success was as singular as her enterprise, and
though the journey was long, and full of pain and fatigue (she did not
return for two years), she felt abundantly repaid by the many advantages
and lasting good it produced. On her arrival in Paris, her first visit
was to the church of Notre Dame, to renew, before the altar of the
Blessed Virgin, the consecration she had there made of herself, in 1646,
in company of the Montreal Association. She implored the blessing of the
Queen of Heaven, on herself, her fellow-laborers in the schools of
Montreal, and her present undertaking, and then set to work to
accomplish her end. She visited some of the old friends of M. de
Maisonneuve, who were all persons of merit and high social position, and
were known to have much influence at court, in order to induce them to
procure her the favor of an interview with his majesty. These people had
not at all forgotten her, and had several letters of recommendation in
her favor. They knew the good she was capable of effecting, and made it
a point of honor to assist her. The King was in due course of time
informed of the matter, and seemed to be rather favorably inclined to
grant her request, yet six weary months elapsed without his giving a
decisive answer. Learning that his majesty was at Dunkirk in the May of
1671, she repaired thither, to renew solicitations, and at last obtained
the long-sought letters, which contained Catholic sentiments worthy of
the great French monarch. Being authorized by the royal patent, she next
tried to procure a new corps of volunteers, who would, like the first
heroic band, generously renounce home, family, and country, without hope
of ever returning, who would be willing to cross the great ocean, then
but imperfectly known, and devote their future lives to the instruction
of wild savages, as much as to the advancement of the French colonists,
expecting also that the relentless Iroquois would repay their Christian
love with the tomahawk or the scalping-knife, and in those days how
often was the expectation verified. Yet these considerations were
precisely what attracted a great number of talented young girls, fully
capable of sustaining and perfecting the enterprise, and worthy to share
with the holy Foundress the labor, the glory, and the success that
awaited the Congregation in Ville-Marie. She procured her postulants in
the towns that lie scattered between Troyes and Paris, and she as often
travelled on foot carrying her little bundle of poor clothing, as she
did in the public conveyances, that were disagreeable to her, because
the roads were rough, and the companions she met were frequently
dissolute libertines, although her modest exterior and edifying
conversation frequently silenced their licentious discourses. In fact
her travels were a sort of continuous mission, effecting good for the
souls of her neighbor, and advancing her own spiritual perfection. At
such times she refused all personal convenience, so great was her spirit
of poverty, humility, and mortification, and she possessed these virtues
in an eminent degree. Liberal and generous to others, when there was
question of charity or the glory of God, to herself she was rigorous in
the extreme. She truly possessed nothing, giving all the fruit of her
labors to the poor. But Divine Providence never failed her in the hour
of need.

Once, during this visit, she met a gentleman in the streets of Paris,
who suddenly stopped to ask if she knew a lady from Canada, named
Margaret Bourgeois. "I am the person," she replied. Surprised at the
unexpected rencontre, he placed a considerable sum of money in her hands
(she had not wherewith to pay her night's-lodging at the time), which
she refused to accept, not knowing his motive for doing so, but was soon
relieved of her embarrassment, by his assuring her he was only repaying
a charity she had done him in Ville-Marie, and that it afforded him
great pleasure to be able to return her generosity, as he could well
afford to do it at the time.

Travelling thus, through the towns and villages like the Saviour of the
world, He prevented her by the unction of His grace, and prepared
beforehand faithful hearts, who were willing to enter the new society,
and consecrate themselves to the service of God under her guidance. Six
young persons responded to her call. Their names were Sisters Elizabeth,
Genevieve, Constantine, Durant, Marianne, and Margaret. Filled with holy
joy, and accompanied by her new companions, Sister Bourgeois went to
cast herself at the feet of her Bishop, and offer him the fruit of her
journeyings and prayers.

M. de Laval was at that time in the college of Foreign Missions in
Paris, not only in quality of Bishop of Petree, Vicar-Apostolic of
Canada, as he had been up to that period, but also as the first Bishop
of Quebec. For it was not until the year 1672 that the important
question of erecting the church of Quebec into a titular Bishopric was
at last happily decided. The prelate approved the Sister's persevering
labors, bestowed the most ample benedictions on herself and her young
recruits, and received their first religious consecration to the service
of God and the Church. He placed no bounds to his favors, and renewed
the general permission given before, to erect schools, and form any
other religious establishment in his diocese that they should judge
beneficial to the colony. Everything seemed to succeed with this holy
woman, and she attributed all her past success, as well as what the
future might develop, to the special protection of the Blessed Virgin.
Her confidence in her good Mother was boundless, and she considered it
an essential duty to depend on her in all things, and inspired her
daughters with a similar devotion. She wished it to be perpetuated in
the Institute, and desired that the name and livery of Mary might be
distinctly traceable in their houses, their furniture, and their
personal appearance forever.

Having now obtained all that she desired in France she thought it full
time to return to Canada, after a long though unavoidable absence.
Before embarking, she felt it was a duty of Christian politeness to call
on the distinguished people who had assisted her in procuring the
letters patent, and thanking them for their many kindnesses. No person
could be more punctilious than she in the duties of social etiquette
that charity approved, and religion did not condemn. By a particular
dispensation of Providence, her first visit was made to the house of M.
Pierre Chevrier, Baron de Faucamp, a priest, and one of the first
proprietors of the Isle of Montreal, who then resided at Paris. In the
house of this gentleman she received another most singular mark of the
Blessed Virgin's love and protection.

M. de Faucamp had in his possession a small miraculous statue of the
Mother of God, which he, conjointly with his brother, Louis le Pretre,
had taken from among a number of precious relics, in their castle
chapel. It had been specially venerated, and carefully preserved for
more than a century. Their intention was to send it to Ville-Marie,
where they hoped it would be more religiously taken care of than
elsewhere, as that city was really the city of Mary, having been built
in her honor, and consecrated to her service. While awaiting a favorable
opportunity to send the statue to the New World, Sister Bourgeois
fortunately presented herself. During the two days that M. Faucamp had
it in his house he fell dangerously ill, the sickness proving to be a
fatal attack of inflammation of the lungs, and the physicians despaired
of his life. In this emergency he made a vow, while praying before the
miraculous statue, that if Mary cured him, he would everywhere publish
her praises, and do all in his power to build a chapel in her honor, for
which he would donate thirty pistoles to commence a fund for the
purpose, begging also in his simplicity that she, the Mother of God,
would not go to Montreal, and leave one of her most devoted clients sick
in France. Scarcely had he pronounced his vow before he was perfectly
restored to health. The following day Sister Bourgeois called upon him,
and he could not help recognizing the wonderful providence of God in her
visit. He immediately gave her the statue and the money, with an
authentic certificate of the miracle performed on himself the day
before, and Sister was happier in the possession of these treasures,
than if she had gained the wealth of the universe. Never, indeed, was
human confidence better placed than on this occasion.

They set sail soon after, and arrived safely at Quebec on the 13th of
August, the same year. She sent her band of heroines direct to
Ville-Marie, for which they had so often sighed during their
journeyings, and the very name of which animated their zeal and fervor,
but she herself was detained at Quebec for some time. It was necessary
to have the letters patent registered by the local authorities so that
she would be at liberty to put their contents in execution, when Divine
Providence presented an occasion. Her desire was complied with as soon
as known, the act of registration taking place on the 17th of October,
1672, after which she set out for Ville-Marie to join her daughters, and
labor anew in the service of God. Glorying in being the custodian of the
miraculous statue, she hastened to relate its wonderful history to
Messrs. Souart and Perrot, who authorized her to expose it for public
veneration. She deposited it in the little wooden shed she had erected
after her first return from France, expecting to be able to place it
more honorably in the large chapel, that was to be built of stone, and
decently ornamented. This chapel was to be a kind of station for the
ordinary parish processions, and a place of pilgrimage for those who had
a devotion to the most holy Virgin, when they wished to visit the statue
in order to obtain spiritual or temporal blessings through Mary's
intercession, such being the intention of Messrs. le Pretre and Faucamp,
and of many other devout persons who had contributed towards its
erection.

Despite the sorrow and humiliations she had already experienced
regarding this chapel, she set to work again with renewed energy to
effect its completion, but in order to proceed with suitable solemnity,
M. Souart ordered a solemn procession to be made to the place, on the
29th of June, 1673, being the Feast of the Apostles SS. Peter and Paul.
A great concourse of people attended Vespers after the procession, and
M. Souart, the celebrant, put a crucifix in the place destined for the
altar, and the next day laid the corner-stone, in the name, and as the
agent of M. de Faucamp. Sister Bourgeois labored indefatigably to
procure and disburse the necessary funds, a portion of which she had
received in France, as we have seen, the remainder being contributed in
Ville-Marie. The Sisters themselves assisted generously out of their
private funds, and others donated materials or labor which was
equivalent. The interior decorations were quite elaborate, and in due
course of time the church was finished to the satisfaction of every one.
It was the first _stone_ church erected in Montreal, and was consecrated
under the title of "Notre Dame de Bon-Secours." Mass was celebrated in
it for the first time on the Feast of the Assumption, 1675, this day of
Mary's glorious triumph being selected as its principal Festival. The
work being thus happily completed, Sister Bourgeois, in the hope of
making it contribute more effectually to the glory of God, requested the
cure and church-warden of the parish to accept the new monument of piety
for public use, and make it a perpetuity of the parish, in order to
promote devotion to the Mother of God. The donation was of course
accepted with gratitude, and confirmed by an ordinance of M. de Laval,
dated November 6, 1678. Some years afterwards, by a new arrangement,
dated January 17, 1700, La Fabrique gave the Sisters suitable lots for
free sepulture, and the unrestricted use of the Chapel of the Infant
Jesus, for their private devotional exercises, which act was approved
and confirmed by M. de St. Vallier, the second Bishop of Quebec, during
one of his pastoral visitations in 1719. This church of Bon-Secours
served for many years as a convent chapel to the Hospitalieres of the
Hotel-Dieu, when their hospital and convent was burned down in 1734, and
when they were obliged to lodge their sick in the houses adjoining the
church, until their re-establishment, which did not take place for three
or four years.

We learn from a letter of Sister Bourgeois, that these same religieuses
had been previously burned out in 1695, but that their hospital escaped
the fury of the flames at that time. They sought and found a refuge with
the Sisters of the Congregation, after the second burning, issuing forth
daily to serve the sick, and returning at night to discharge the
reciprocal duties of charity, consequent upon two different communities
residing in the same house, and unavoidably crowding each other, yet no
violation of charity ever occurred, and long before the day of
separation came, an enduring friendship founded on Christ had mutually
existed between them. This famous chapel of Bon-Secours was burned, and
reduced to ashes in 1754, as was also a portion of the city of Montreal.

The war between France and England occurring about that time, the
citizens neglected to rebuild Bon-Secours, and the capture of
Ville-Marie by the English, which took place on the Feast of the
Nativity of Mary, 1760, was perhaps justly attributed to public
disorders and licentiousness (the colonists in many instances having
lost their first fervor), and was also considered a just punishment for
not having erected anew the once favored shrine of Mary. Canada having
exchanged masters, and being under the dominion of the King of England,
who was a Protestant ruler, the inhabitants of Montreal did not think
the time favorable to rebuild the church, and it remained a ruin until
1771. They repented of their inaction, however, and reproached
themselves with cowardice, attributing to their neglect the
extraordinary calamities that befell them. The city was scourged by two
other general conflagrations, the first occurring on the 18th of May,
1765, when in the short space of four hours, one hundred houses were
consumed. The burning was so violent, that the flames leaped beyond the
city limits, reaching out to the General Hospital, which was soon a mass
of smoking cinders. The second occurred on the 11th of April, 1768, more
than eighty of the best public buildings being destroyed, including the
chapel and residence of the Sisters of the Congregation, also the chapel
of our Lady of Victories, which was built on their grounds in 1711, the
repaired ruins of which serve to this day for school purposes.

Much suffering and misery was the result of these calamities, but what
struck terror to the hearts of the entire community, more than any other
scourge of God, was the insolent demand made by some British officers,
for the land on which Bon-Secours, or rather its ruins, stood. They then
thought seriously of repairing their fault, and a general assembly of
the citizens of Montreal was called in June, 1771, at which it was
unanimously decided that they must labor strenuously to rebuild the
chapel. They at once appointed persons to draw the plans and superintend
the work, and in less than eight days the foundation was dug, and
everything was in readiness. On the 30th of the same month they
inaugurated the building of the second temple with the same religious
ceremonies that a hundred years before had called down the material
benedictions of Mary Immaculate on the first cornerstone, or rather on
those who laid it. The entire city turned out in procession, with an
enthusiasm and splendor worthy the admiration of succeeding ages, the
foundation-stones being put in place by the most distinguished men of
Montreal. The first was laid directly under the sanctuary, by Etienne
Montgolfier, Vicar-General of the diocese, with the following
inscription: "This church is dedicated to the Great and All-powerful
God, and the Blessed Mary of Good Help, with the title of her glorious
Assumption." The second was laid under the grand entrance door, by Louis
Jollivet, beneath which was placed the following scroll: "This church
was built nearly a century ago, by the Venerable Sister Margaret
Bourgeois, Foundress of the Congregation Sisters of this city, but
having been burnt in 1754, the citizens of Ville-Marie, who have ever
been the devoted clients of the Blessed Virgin Mary, on this day, June
30, 1771, place the first stone for its re-establishment, on a much more
extensive plan than the original design." The other stones were placed
under different parts of the building, by persons of the highest rank,
and under each was deposited a leaden plate, on which was engraven the
name and rank of the depositor. In the midst of this general enthusiasm,
there soon arose the vast and magnificent edifice that we behold to-day.
Every one worked for it in some way or other, and believed it was an act
of religious reparation to defray the expense. Sister Bourgeois and her
daughters had contributed largely the first time, and their descendants
would not be outdone in generosity on this occasion. They donated 600
livres to "the rebuilding of the temple." The work was pressed forward
with all diligence and zeal, and was completely finished in less than
two years. On the 30th of June, 1773, it was solemnly blessed amid the
acclamations of the entire people and Mass was celebrated in it ever
after.

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