OUR LADY,
QUEEN OF FAMILIES PARISH
St. Marguerite Bourgeoys
Marguerite Bourgeoys was born in Troyes, Champagne, France, in 1620. At the age of twenty, she saw a statue of the Virgin Mary that deeply “touched and changed” her. She joined the “external” Congregation of Notre Dame in Troyes so that she could devote herself to God and good works in the world.
In 1652, Governor Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve invited Marguerite to come to Ville-Marie (Montreal) to be a teacher. She set out on a ship in 1653, carrying only a small bag. She was 33. In the course of the voyage, she nursed people suffering from illness. For four years, she worked for the Governor. She also helped Jeanne Mance at Hôtel-Dieu Hospital; she gave up her mattress and blankets to people who had less than she did, and won over the settlers, for whom she became a trusted counsellor. In 1657, she organized the erection of a chapel that would serve as a place of pilgrimage in honour of Mary. The project was completed the next year. To this day there is a miraculous statue of Notre-Dame du Bon-Secours (Our Lady of Good Help) in the chapel, which Baron de Fancamp had given Marguerite in 1672.
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In 1658, Maisonneuve gave her a community stable in which to start her school. She began day classes and then a boarding school for the daughters of colonists as well as girls from the Iroquois First Nation. She formed a religious community for young women (today the Congregation of Notre Dame). She went back to France in 1659 and again in 1671, recruiting companions. Eventually she began to admit the first Canadian women, including two Iroquois into her religious community.
Marguerite and her companions taught her students about love of God and love of neighbor. She taught them to read and write. She began to send her companions in pairs to new parishes to start classes for the children of the settlers. In 1697, the Most Reverend de Saint-Vallier, who succeeded François de Laval as Bishop of Quebec in 1685, recognized the community as “daughters of the parish”. Marguerite Bourgeoys died January 12, 1700, and was acclaimed as the “Mother of the Colony”. She was canonized on October 31, 1982, by Saint John Paul II.
The love of God and neighbor serves as a summary of Marguerite’s life. She taught those around her about the importance of showing love for God by doing good deeds for others. She wanted her religious sisters to work together to teach the young and help the poor and the sick. Marguerite had a special devotion to Mary, the Mother of God. In all that she did she followed the example of Mary. Marguerite Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys is remembered for her love of God and neighbor, her courage, and her desire to educate and make the world a better place.
