Elisabeth Turgeon was born on February 7, 1840, in Beaumont (Quebec), the fifth of a family of ten children. A gifted student, she would have liked to continue her education, but the death of her father when she is only fifteen, leads her to help her mother bringing up her four younger sisters. When she […]
Read moreBorn July 1, 1831 in Kingston, Ontario, Sister Teresa (Margaret) Brennan was the first Canadian-born member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto and also their first Canadian-born superior general. In 1852 she entered the Sisters of St. Joseph in Toronto and received the habit and her religious name of Sister Teresa on October […]
Read moreBorn on February 2, 1908, from a Buddist family in Canton (China), Sister Lucia is the 14th child of the family. Her father is a rich merchant and her mother is his third wife. She is 12 years old when a friend invites her to the “Académie du Saint-Esprit” where Canadian Missionary Sisters of the […]
Read moreMarie-Josephte Fitzbach was born on October 16, 1806, in the village of St-Vallier de Bellechasse, Quebec. Though she did not attend school in childhood, she was a bright and quick-witted young girl. At the age of 13, she leaves home because of family need and becomes a domestic servant in Quebec City. Employed by a […]
Read moreAndré Grasset was born in Montreal on April 3, 1758. His father was French, from Montpellier, and had arrived in Canada in 1749, when appointed secretary of the new governor general of New France. After the death of his first wife, he married the daughter of a rich merchant, with whom he had five children. […]
Read moreDina Bélanger was born on April 30, 1897, in Quebec City. The only child of Séraphia Matte and Olivier Bélanger, Dina has a happy childhood. She attends school at the convents of Saint-Roch, Jacques Cartier and Bellevue, run by the sisters of Congrégation Notre-Dame. Very young, the Holy Spirit inspires to her the desire of […]
Read moreThe oldest of three daughters, Catherine grew up on the family farm near Alliston, Ontario and was influenced by the community building in rural settlements. Born on February 26, 1884 and educated in local public schools, she began a teaching career at the age of 18 after earning a teaching certificate. Catherine teacher’s salary became […]
Read moreAmong the 33 Trappists monks of Our Lady of Consolation Abbey who died as martyrs in China in 1947, there was also a Canadian: Father Alphonsus (Albert) L’Heureux. Father Albert L’Heureux had arrived eight or nine years before, after obtaining permission from his Jesuit superiors at the mission of Hsuchow to retire from his preaching […]
Read moreEmilie Tavernier was born in Montreal on February 19, 1800, the last of a family of fifteen children. When she is four years old she loses her mother and goes to live with her aunt. Her father dies when she is fifteen. When her brother’s wife dies three years later she moves to help her […]
Read moreAmongst the eight French missionaries who died as martyrs in Canada in the 17th century, six were Jesuit priests; one was a novice and the other a lay person. These men, who came from France with the desire to make known the Good News of the Gospel to the First Nations in Canada, knew they […]
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