Louis-Zéphirin Moreau was born in Béancour, Quebec in 1824. The fifth of 13 children, Louis-Zéphirin was educated in the seminary but was initially rejected for the priesthood because of his frail health. His desire was strong, however and his persistence resulted in his ordination in 1846. He soon became secretary...
Charles Joseph Eugène de Mazenod was born in France in 1782. Ordained in 1811, his religious experience led him to minister to the poor and the young. Interested in popular missions, Eugène founded a missionary institute of priests and lay brothers in 1826, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, whose particular...
Catherine de Longpré was born in France in 1632. At the age of 12, she entered the convent of the Hospataliers of Bayex, a branch of the Augustinians, the first order to send missionaries to Canada. In 1648 she asked to go to Quebec City to help the sisters in...
François de Montmorency Laval (1623-1708) was the first Bishop of Quebec City. Born in France to a noble family, he was educated by the Jesuits and ordained in 1647. Despite controversy, he was made bishop in 1658 and arrived in New France the following year. In 1663, he founded the...
Élodie Paradis was born in 1840 in L’Acadie, Quebec, Canada. At age 17 she took vows with the Marianite Sisters, a branch of the Congregation of Holy Cross. She taught in Montreal, New York and Indiana before finding the opportunity to fulfill her calling and dedication to the care of priests...
Esther Blondin (Sister Marie-Anne) was born in 1809 in what is now the suburb of Montreal. She learned to read and write at 22 while working as a domestic for nuns. Two years later, she started teaching in Vaudreuil. In 1850, with the permission of Bishop Gourget, she founded the...
Praise the Living God! It is a thing of great joy that we the Handmaids of the Holy Child Jesus here in Canada are part of this epoch making celebration of Two Hundred Years of the arrival of the First Missionaries in the Western and Northern Canada. This celebration is...
