ST MARGUERITE BOURGEOYS - FEASTDAY 12TH JANUARY

Marguerite was born in Troyes, France, on April 17, 1620, but spent most of her eighty years in Montreal, Canada. Marguerite was the sixth of twelve children. When Marguerite was nineteen, her mother died. Marguerite took care of her younger brothers and sisters

At the age of twenty, Margaret Bourgeoys, of Troyes, France, was walking in a procession for the feast of the Holy Rosary when her gaze fell upon a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary atop a gate. The statue appeared to come to life, as Margaret saw Mary’s eyes tenderly gaze upon her. The mysterious incident changed her life, as she would later attest: “I gave myself to God in the year 1640.” After two convents had refused her requests for admission, she was asked to undertake a school-teaching apostolate in Canada. Agonizing over this decision, Margaret finally became convinced that the Canadian mission was God’s will for her while praying during exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. In 1653 Margaret journeyed to Canada. It was there that she founded a new congregation dedicated to the education and spiritual formation of young women, the Sisters of Notre Dame. Among the many religious and moral values she inculcated in her pupils was that of Christian modesty, establishing for the girls a “League of Modest Fashion.” The students made a pledge of modesty while prostrate before an altar of the Blessed Virgin. 

St. Marguerite and her sisters helped people in the colony survive when food was scarce. They opened a vocational school and taught young people how to run a home and farm. St. Marguerite’s congregation was growing. By 1681 there were eighteen sisters. Seven were Canadian. They opened more missions and two sisters taught at the Indian mission. St. Marguerite herself received the first two Indian women into the congregation.
In 1693, Mother Marguerite handed over her congregation to her successor. The new superior was Marie Barbier, the first Canadian to join the order. St. Marguerite’s religious rule was approved by the Church in 1698. Marguerite spent her last few years praying and writing an autobiography. On the last day of 1699, a young sister lay dying. Mother Marguerite asked the Lord to take her life in exchange. By the morning of January 1, 1700, the sister was completely well. Mother Marguerite had a raging fever. She suffered for twelve days and died on January 12, 1700. She was declared a saint by Pope John Paul II on April 2, 1982. Image 1 - Portrait by Pierre Le Ber (1700)