Ursulines of Quebec facts for kids
| Monastère des Ursulines de Québec | |
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 Location in Quebec
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| Monastery information | |
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| Order | Ursulines |
| Established | 1639 |
| Mother house | Ursuline Monastery of Tours |
| Diocese | Archdiocese of Quebec |
| People | |
| Founder(s) | St. Marie of the Incarnation, O.S.U. |
| Important associated figures | Mother Geneviève Boucher, O.S.U.; Jeanne Le Ber; St. Marie-Marguerite d'Youville, S.G.M. |
| Architecture | |
| Functional Status | active |
| Designated date | 1972 |
| Groundbreaking | 1641 |
| Completion date | 1642 |
| Site | |
| Location | Quebec City, Quebec, Canada |
| Coordinates | 46°48′44″N 71°12′29″W / 46.812094°N 71.208127°W |
| Public access | yes |
| Established | 1936 |
|---|---|
| Type | religious museum and teaching centre |
The Ursuline Monastery of Quebec City (French: Monastère des Ursulines de Québec) was started by a group of Ursuline nuns in 1639. They were led by Mother Marie of the Incarnation. This monastery is the oldest place in North America where women could get an education.
Today, the monastery is the main home for the Ursuline Sisters in Canada. They also run a history museum there. The monastery continues to be a place for teaching and learning. In 1972, this important complex became a National Historic Site of Canada.
Contents
What are the Ursulines?
The Ursulines are a Roman Catholic religious group. They were founded in Italy in 1535 by Angela de Merici. Their main goals were to educate girls and to care for people who were sick or in need. Their special protector is Saint Ursula.
New France was the name for the areas in North America that France explored and settled. This began when Jacques Cartier explored the Saint Lawrence River in 1534. Later, in 1608, the French explorer Samuel de Champlain founded Québec. It was built among the Algonquin people and became the main city for New France.
Life for the early settlers was very hard. Many died because of the cold weather and diseases. In 1630, only 103 colonists lived there. But by 1640, the number grew to 355 people.
History of the Monastery
The Ursuline Sisters were the first Catholic nuns to arrive in what is now Canada. Their story in Quebec began on August 1, 1639. That's when the first sisters landed in the country.
The monastery was started by Mother Marie of the Incarnation (1599–1672). She was an Ursuline nun from a monastery in France. She was joined by Madame Marie-Madeline de Chauvigny de la Peltrie (1603–1671). Madame de la Peltrie was a wealthy widow who helped fund the project. King Louis XIII officially approved the founding of the monastery in 1639.
When the nuns arrived, they first learned the languages of the native peoples. Then, they began to teach the native children. They taught skills like reading, writing, needlework, and drawing.
After three years, the nuns moved to a new monastery building. This new building was in a different part of Quebec City. Their first students were Indigenous girls. The nuns had more success teaching them than the Jesuits had with Indigenous boys. The first monastery building burned down in 1650. However, it was quickly rebuilt.
In 1661–1662, the community was attacked by the Iroquois. One of their priests was killed near Montreal.
The monastery faced tough times during battles. It survived the siege of Quebec in 1690. It also survived a second siege in 1759, known as the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. After this battle, the French governor, Montcalm, was buried in the monastery chapel.
The first English governor, Murray, used part of the monastery as his headquarters. The nuns helped care for the wounded and sick soldiers. The food they received for this work saved them from starving. Both French and English governors were always supportive of the monastery.
The Quebec Monastery helped start new communities in other places. These included Three Rivers in 1697 and Roberval in 1882. They also sent missionaries to places like New Orleans in 1822 and Boston in 1824.
Expansion of the Ursuline Order
The Ursuline Monastery of Quebec, started in 1639, helped create many other monasteries and convents. These were independent until 1953:
- Monastery of Trois-Rivières: (1697)
- Waterville, 1888-1892
- Skowhegan, 1899-1900 (Maine, USA)
- Grand-Mère, 1900-1972
- Shawinigan, 1908-1977
- Trois-Rivières, Christ-Roi Monastery, 1939-1996
- Monastery of Roberval: 1882–2002.
- Monastery of Stanstead: 1884–2004.
- Monastery of Rimouski: 1906–1970. This monastery later became the Université du Québec à Rimouski.
- Monastere De Gaspe: 1924–1970.
- St-Simon, 1951-1970
- Anses-aux-Gascons, 1950 -1964
- Monastère d'Amqui, 1946-1972
- Hakodate, Japan, 1948.
- Hachinohe, 1950
- Matane, 1950
- St-Léon-le-Grand, 1952
- Maillardville, B.C., 1952-1968
- Sendai, Japan, 1936.
- Tamonoki, 1967
- Tokyo, 1972
- Yagi, 1974-2004
- Loretteville: Boarding School, 1941–1997; Day School 1941
- Jacquet River, 1945-1971
- St-Léonard, N.-B. 1947-1987
The number of sisters living at the monastery has changed over time. In September 2018, most of the sisters moved to a care facility. Only a few remained at the monastery. The monastery's large wooden door was designed to keep outsiders from entering. However, it could not stop the changes that come with age and a changing world.
Important People Connected to the Monastery
Mother Marie of the Incarnation, the founder, was very devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She started this devotion at the monastery years before it became widely known. The first celebration of this devotion in the New World happened at the monastery on June 18, 1700.
Mother Marie was very skilled with languages. She created dictionaries for the Algonquin and Iroquois languages. She also wrote a sacred history in Algonquin and a catechism (a book of religious teachings) in Iroquois.
Geneviève Boucher, also known as Mère de Saint-Pierre, served the Ursuline Order for over 60 years. She was known as a "perfect Ursuline." Anne Bourdon, known as Mère de Sainte-Agnès, was the first leader of the order who was born in Canada.
Esther Wheelwright was the first leader elected after England took over the colony in 1760. She had been captured by the Abenaki people as a child. She was rescued and became a nun.
Many notable women were educated at the monastery. These include Jeanne Le Ber (1662–1714), who was known as the "recluse of Montreal." Another famous alumna was Saint Marie-Marguerite d'Youville (1701–1771). She founded the Grey Sisters in Montreal.
During the French Revolution (1789–1799), some French refugees served as chaplains at the monastery. One of them, Abbé L.P. Desjardins, helped bring valuable paintings to the chapel. These paintings were by famous artists like Philippe de Champaigne and Charles Le Brun.
Museum Affiliations
The Museum of the Ursuline Monastery is connected with several important organizations. These include the CMA, the CHIN, and the Virtual Museum of Canada.
