Marie-Marguerite d'Youville

October 15^th, 1701 - December 23^rd, 1771

Founder of the religious order of Sisters of Charity of Montréal from Quebec

Saint Marie-Marguerite is the first Canadian to have been canonized. Marguerite D’Youville, a widow with two children in her care and the debts left by her dead husband as a legacy, managed always, despite the ordeals of her life, to demonstrate her deep devotion to God and to those around her. Along with her friends, she founded the congregation of the Sisters of Charity of Montréal in 1737. Ten years later, she became Director of the General Hospital and spent the rest of her life caring for the poor. Referred to as the “Soeurs Grises”, a phrase which, in French, meant “grey nuns” as well as “drunken nuns”, they found it hard to be accepted, their nickname being a reminder of the traffic of alcohol practiced by Marguerite d'Youville's late husband, François. Later, when the Sisters had been fully accepted, Marguerite opted for this name as a sign of humility and a reminder of an unjust accusation.