Born on this day in 1620 in France, her mother died when Marguerite was 19. The next year, she attended a procession in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, and felt called to serve the Lord. Marguerite began to teach the poor children in her town and to care for the sick. When the governor of Montreal came to France to recruit teachers, Marguerite agreed to help. In 1653, she traveled to New France (Canada) to teach the French and Indian children there. She would open the first school in Montreal.
Marguerite had always wanted to join a religious community. But since more convents at the time were cloistered, she knew she wouldn't be able to work among the people and teach. Despite her bishop's efforts to get her to join the cloistered Ursuline Sisters, Marguerite wanted to star a religious institute that would remain active in the world, teaching and ministering to families. To do so, she recruited women from France to join her in Canada. Her perseverance paid off. In 1698, the Vatican approved the constitution for the Congregation de Notre Dame, the Church's first non-enclosed foreign missionary community for women.
Two years later, Sr. Marguerite Bourgeoys died on January 12, 1700. Canonized in 1982, her work in the colony earned her the title of "Co-foundress of Montreal."
- Little White Book, Diocese of Saginaw