Jeanne Mance facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jeanne Mance
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Statue at the foot of Maisonneuve Monument
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| Born | November 12, 1606 |
| Died | June 18, 1673 (aged 66) |
| Education | Nursing |
| Occupation | Nurse |
| Employer | Société Notre-Dame de Montréal |
| Known for | Founding of Montreal Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal |
| Parent(s) | Catherine Émonnot Charles Mance |
Jeanne Mance (born November 12, 1606 – died June 18, 1673) was a brave French nurse. She was also an important settler in New France, which is what Canada was called when the French first settled there.
She arrived in New France in 1641. This was two years after the Ursuline nuns came to Quebec. Jeanne Mance was one of the people who helped create the city of Montreal in 1642.
In 1645, she started Montreal's very first hospital, called the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal. She traveled back to France two times to get money to support the hospital. For many years, she did most of the nursing herself. Later, in 1657, she brought three more nurses, called the Religieuses hospitalières de Saint-Joseph, to help. She continued to manage the hospital.
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Early Life in France
Jeanne Mance was born into a well-off family in Langres, France. Her parents were Catherine Émonnot and Charles Mance. Her father worked as a lawyer for the king in Langres.
After her mother passed away, Jeanne took care of her eleven younger brothers and sisters. She also helped people who were sick during the Thirty Years' War and from a serious illness called the Bubonic plague.
Her Special Calling
When Jeanne was 34 years old, she went on a special trip to Troyes, France. There, she felt a strong desire to become a missionary. A missionary is someone who travels to new places to help people and share their beliefs.
Jeanne decided she wanted to go to New France in North America. At that time, the French were just starting to build settlements there. She received support from Anne of Austria, who was the wife of King Louis XIII. She also got help from the Jesuits, a group of priests. Jeanne Mance was not interested in getting married in New France.
She became a member of a group called the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal. Their main goals were to help the native people and to build a hospital in Montreal. This hospital would be like the one already in Quebec.
Founding Montreal and Its First Hospital
A man named Charles Lallemant asked Jeanne Mance to join the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal. Jeanne left La Rochelle, France, on May 9, 1641. Her journey across the Atlantic Ocean took three months.
After spending the winter in Quebec, she and Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve arrived at the Island of Montreal in the spring of 1642. They officially founded the new city on May 17, 1642. The land for the city was given to them by the Governor. In that same year, Jeanne Mance started running a hospital right out of her own home.
Three years later, in 1645, she received a large gift of money from Angélique Bullion. With this money, she opened a proper hospital on Rue Saint-Paul. She managed the hospital for 17 years. A new building made of stone was built in 1688, and other buildings have been added since then.
Later Years and Legacy
In 1650, Jeanne Mance went back to France. She returned with a lot of money from Duchesse d’Aiguillon to help fund the hospital. When she got back to Montreal, she found that attacks from the Iroquois people were threatening the colony. She loaned the hospital's money to M. de Maisonneuve. He then went back to France to gather 100 men to defend the colony.
Jeanne Mance made a second trip to France in 1657. She went to get more money for the hospital. At the same time, she found three more Hospital Sisters of the Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph. They came from a convent in Anjou, France. Their names were Judith Moreau de Bresoles, Catherine Mace, and Marie Maillet.
Their journey back was very difficult. There was an outbreak of the Bubonic plague on the ship. But all four women survived. A leader named Mgr. de Laval tried to keep the sisters in Quebec for that city's hospital. However, they eventually reached Montreal in October 1659.
With the help of these new sisters, Jeanne Mance made sure the hospital could keep running. For the rest of her life, she lived more quietly.
She passed away in 1673 after being sick for a long time. She was buried in the church of the Hôtel-Dieu Hospital. The church and her house were later taken down in 1696 for new buildings. But her important work was continued by the Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph. The three nuns she had brought in 1659 became the hospital's managers. Many years later, in 1861, the hospital moved to a new location at the foot of Mount Royal.
Her Lasting Impact
- A small statue of Jeanne Mance was made in 2008 by André Gauthier. It was created for the Canadian Nurses Association. This statue is part of an award given every two years for excellent nursing.
- Rue Jeanne-Mance is a street in Montreal named after her. It runs from north to south.
- Jeanne-Mance Park is a park in Montreal also named after her. It is located on Park Avenue, across from Mount Royal.
- The Jeanne-Mance Building in Ottawa, Canada, is a government office tower. It is currently used by Health Canada.
- Jeanne Mance Hall is a student dorm at the University of Vermont in the United States. It is located near the student health center.
Gallery
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Testament, recto
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Testament, verso
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Her statue at Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal
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See also
In Spanish: Jeanne Mance para niños
