The Life of Venerable Sister Margaret Bourgeois. Unknown
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to act as sponsor for them in baptism. Almighty God blessed the new settlement so visibly as to cause astonishment and admiration in the hearts of all devoted to His glory. Jean Mance also labored zealously in the service of the sick, who were cared for in the hospital she established, and already the work was greater than she alone could accomplish. Madame de la Peleterie, who founded the Ursulines at Quebec, came to Ville-Marie to offer her services to Mlle. Mance, who admired her generosity and good will without accepting her assistance. The members of the Association resident in Paris labored meanwhile very earnestly to establish the hospital in Montreal, but declined the interference of outsiders. The Duchess de Bullion had already made large advances for its support, and in 1648 donated an additional fund of sixty thousand livres. With this money M. de Maisonneuve assisted Jean Mance in building a wing of 60 by 24 feet for the nurses, who were still wanting, and whose services it was time to secure, as the number of patients was constantly increasing. The ladies of the Hotel Dieu at Quebec, on hearing of the crowded state of the hospital, presented themselves as nurses, and two remained in Ville-Marie a considerable length of time to watch how matters would be arranged. Even the French court approved of them as nurses, but Providence ordained otherwise, as at that very time the Associates in France were making their own arrangements, and disappointed those who wished to press the matter in Montreal.
There existed at La Fleche a new congregation of Hospital Sisters, partly secular, who by simple vows added the service of the sick to the ordinary duties of a religious community. They were in their first fervor, the members applying themselves with zeal and edification to serve the poor invalids in the Hotel Dieu of St. Joseph, lately established in their city. Dauversiere, who was acquainted with their piety, asked and obtained a few Sisters to go to Ville-Marie and establish the Hotel Dieu of Canada. As soon as his proposal was made known, these pious women strove who should be first to claim the sacred honor of expatriating themselves for the cause of charity, and sacrifice life, if necessary, in a strange land, among wild savages who would most likely, in return, confer on them the crown of martyrdom. The French emigrants of those days had no other idea of the Canadian mission, and prepared themselves accordingly. On the 20th of May, 1656, the community pledged itself to send four of its zealous souls, who awaited the time of their embarkation with eagerness, but from some cause or other did not leave France until 1660. On their arrival at Ville-Marie, Jean Mance received them with every mark of esteem and affection that Christian charity could inspire. She put them in immediate possession of that portion of the hospital set apart for them, reserving to herself only the administration of the funds for the poor and destitute, a duty which she discharged faithfully, and with solid benefit to the recipients, the rest of her life. The new Sisters were little more than a secular congregation, until 1666, when Pope Alexander VII. approved of them as a religious order, by a bull dated January 8th, 1666, in which strict enclosure was enjoined, and a religious dress appointed to be worn.
While the interests of the hospital were being thus carefully attended to in France, it was evident that the spiritual wants of the colony were becoming every day more pressing. Montreal was now populous, and numbers of the Indians who embraced Christianity were anxious that their respective tribes should do the same. Yet there was but one Jesuit Father in the whole colony, who could not possibly discharge all the duties required of him. When M. Olier heard of it, he thought seriously of sending to Canada a mission from the Seminary of St. Sulpice, and as he was suffering painful infirmities for many years, brought on by the laborious discharge of his official duties, he contemplated accompanying them himself. He accordingly selected four priests of his community, who were gentlemen of merit and distinction, viz., Gabriel de Quelus, Abbe of Laudieu (one of the Montreal associates), M. Francis d'Allet, Gabriel Souart, and Dominick Gallitier. M. de Quelus was a man of illustrious birth, and was appointed by their ecclesiastical Superior (the Archbishop of Rouen) Grand Vicar of the missionaries in Canada, with the entire spiritual control of New France. He was received both at Quebec and Ville-Marie with all the respect due to his dignity and birth, encountering no opposition in the discharge of his duties in either city. M. Souart was appointed pastor of Ville-Marie, the Jesuit Father, Claude Pigots, who had until then discharged the duties of pastor, resigning gracefully in his favor.
The new pastor before becoming a Sulpician, had been a rich aristocratic Parisian. His parents, expecting he would have a brilliant career in the world, almost forced upon him a marriage suitable to his rank and wealth, and the day of the ceremony, which was the Feast of the Assumption, 1660, was fast approaching. His simple piety led him on the eve of that day to the parish church of St. Sulpice, where he heard an eloquent sermon, on the necessity of seeking light from heaven in the choice of a state of life. He was deeply impressed by the preacher's convincing eloquence, and entering into himself, found that he had not sufficiently consulted God on the alliance he was about to contract. The next day, therefore, instead of plighting his troth to a willing bride, he went to the seminary of St. Sulpice to make a retreat, during which Divine Providence clearly manifested to him that he was called to the ecclesiastical state. Faithful to the call of divine grace he renounced the world, entered St. Sulpice, and devoted his young life and rare talents to the service of the Church. He was joyfully admitted into the seminary, and having already received a university education, was soon promoted to holy orders, and raised to the dignity of the priesthood. His glowing zeal impelled him to volunteer for the mission of Ville-Marie, where he eventually succeeded M. de Quelus as Superior of the Montreal Seminary, which he governed happily for many years. He was the first priest who undertook the perilous task of forming the baptized savages into villages, and his successful attempt at civilization resulted in the famous "Mission of the Mountain," where he died shortly after.
Two other missionaries, le Maitre and Vignal, arrived subsequently, and were killed by the treacherous Iroquois while laboring for their conversion with incredible self-sacrifice. It is a tradition of these times, that the savage who killed le Maitre, having wrapped the bloody head in a cloth, the face of the martyred priest was distinctly imprinted thereon, and so indelible was the impression that when the terrified savage displayed the cloth in his native village as a trophy of the war-path, the features of le Maitre were instantly recognized, the murderer being cuttingly upbraided for his cruelty by the braves of his tribe.
It was now several years since the French had established themselves at Ville-Marie, and during all that time they suffered the most shocking cruelties from the relentless Iroquois. The earth might be said to have been constantly wet with the blood of the noblest and best sons of France, and the survivors, disgusted and disheartened, resolved to abandon the country. In speaking of this period of horror and dismay, Jean Mance says, "In 1560 the Iroquois had conquered and almost exterminated the Hurons, their ancient foes, and full of barbarian pride and insolence, turned their arms against the colonists, who were an easy prey, as their attacks were sudden, fierce, and stealthy. They killed several persons in the suburbs of Ville-Marie, and burned their houses; even our hospital was not secure from their brutal recklessness, and we were obliged to fortify it by a garrison. At length people despaired of being able to protect life or property, and resolved on abandoning the enterprise. In this extremity I reflected that many souls would be forever lost to God if the young city was forsaken, and that it would be a national humiliation for France to abandon Canada to the vengeance of wild savages, who were constantly killing each other. Therefore, fluctuating between hope and fear, I implored M. de Maisonneuve to hasten back to France and secure additional military protection for Montreal and its martyred people."
He willingly acceded to the brave woman's request, and in September, 1651, returned to France, having first appointed de Masseau commander of Ville-Marie in his absence. He was obliged to spend two entire years inducing recruits to enlist for Canada, so great was their horror of the Indians, and had to labor hard against disappointments, and go to great expense to secure his object. But God at length blessed with success his efforts in the cause of religion. He secured a company of more than a hundred brave soldiers, who sailed with him to the New World in 1653. It was during this voyage he first became acquainted with the remarkable virtues of Margaret Bourgeois, who accompanied him from France at a period when the whole nation was disgusted with the Canadian mission. This admiriable young woman, who had no other resources than courage and confidence in God, did not hesitate to cross the sea, to consecrate herself to the service of the Church, and to propagate devotion to the Mother of God. How perfectly she succeeded is proven by the splendid monument of her zeal which still