Sister Marie du Sacré Coeur (Mary of the
Sacred Heart) Valois
Sister
Mary of the Sacred Heart was born on April 30, 1830 in
Vaudreuil, Quebec and became a member of the Order on June 9, 1851. She was chosen to be the Superior of the
Convent in Victoria but would hand over that role to Mother Mary Providence in 1859 due
to the growth of the Convent once established.
She would leave the Convent in Victoria in 1864
to open the new convent and school in Cowichan along with Sister Mary
Conception. They were chosen for this task thanks to
their ability to forge ahead through their fear and showed the skills they had
learned in setting up the little school in Victoria by adding
moss to the walls of the log cabin for insulation. She would return to the convent in Victoria for her
retirement.
Sister Marie Angèle Gauthier
Sister
Mary Angèle was one of the four pioneer nuns who travelled to Victoria where her
role was as Assistant, clothier and linen keeper. Sister Angèle was born on February 8, 1828. She kept a diary of their journey West full
of details regarding the passage across Panama
and the unique method of reaching the ship.
It was published in 1859 for private use and was circulated in the Montreal magazine
L’Ordre. Sister Mary Angèle died on May 28, 1898.
Sister Marie de la Conception Lane
Sister
Mary Conception was born on August 26, 1826 in Rawden Quebec and came
from an Irish family in Quebec. She had entered the convent
in 1857 and had been a novice for 10 months when Bishop Demers first made his
request to the Order. Her vows were
taken on February
12, 1858 after special permission was
granted due to the missionary work she was to undertake, a concession made only
in these times. This would be eventually changed and was no
longer possible with Canon Laws. Her
role at the Convent was to be Bursar but she would become known for her care of
the sick and assistance in laying out the dead, reflecting the dual roles that
the nuns were expected to perform in Victoria, nurses and teachers. As a pioneer nun she worked to clear the land
around the small cabin and planted the first garden there. Along with Sister Mary of the Sacred Heart
she would open the first school in Cowichan, a school devoted to the care and
teaching of the First Nation children of the area. Later she would answer the request of the
Bishop of New Westminster to assist in the opening of a girl’s school there in
1865.
Sister Marie Luména Brasseur
Sister
Mary Luména was born on February 15, 1833 and went to
school in Vaudreuil making her vows to join the order in 1858 before the trip
West. This trip would tax the nun leaving her in
poor health but despite this she is the first person to have taught the
Christian Doctrine at the school. Her
skill as a teacher was also noted as being able to civilize the children of the
school teaching them the manners of a proper Victorian woman. Sister Mary Luména was the carpenter of the
first nuns and built the beds, chairs and tables that were used in that first
log cabin school.
Marie Mainville – Lay Helper
Marie
Mainville originally traveled to Victoria to be the lay helper for the Sisters and was in charge of the
Junior Boarders at the Convent. Her role
was also to include preparing the food for the Bishop although ill health at
one point saw the Sisters themselves taking over that position. She stayed in Victoria for 23
years before returning to Montreal to become a member of the Sisters of St Ann at the age of 58
becoming Sister Mary des Sept Douleurs.
Mary Mainville died in Lachine on February 17,1917.
