Premier monastere des Ursulines de Quebec - 1840, Joseph Légaré

First ursuline monastery of quebec - 1840, oil on canvas by joseph légaré, musée des ursulines de québec. The ursulines enter their new monastery “it was on august 1, 1639 that the first ursulines landed in quebec. They immediately set up their school in a small house located in the lower town, at the corner of saint-pierre and notre-dame streets. In 1642, they moved to the upper town, to the monastery which they would soon leave after 375 years of residence. Let pierre-georges roy tell us about this entry to their new monastery: “on the day of the presentation of the blessed virgin, november 21, 1642, the ursulines left their louvre in the lower town to take possession of their first monastery. They had prepared for this entry by a rigorous fast. On november 21, 1642, therefore, almost at sunrise, the ursulines, preceded by father vimont, superior of the jesuits, and mr. Faulx, their chaplain, with their little wild seminarians, climbed the la montagne hill to go to their home. Gathered in the narrow chapel of the new monastery, they attended a high mass of thanksgiving during which they took communion. During the mass, hymns were sung in french and in the wild language. How many fervent prayers and aspirations of gratitude rushed from the heart towards heaven that day, says the story. The ursulines had just left a sad home. Their new monastery was vast, solid, well ventilated, but it was not entirely finished. For several months, the nuns had to accept inconveniences of all kinds in their new home. Only the lower floors were finished and the partitions were not done everywhere. The upper floors consisted of planks placed on beams. Not a stove in the whole house except the one in the kitchen. The vast building was warmed as best they could with the fires in the fireplaces, which was far from sufficient. Throughout the winter of 1642-1643, mothers and students slept in wooden chests, lined inside with serge or cloth. They thus protected themselves against the cold. » – historical society of quebec - taken from pierre-georges roy, “through the history of the ursulines of quebec”, 1939, p. 21. Date: 1840.