CHAPTER VII.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SISTERS OF THE CONGREGATION OF NOTRE DAME AT
VILLE-MARIE.


Sister Bourgeois had now lived four years in Ville-Marie, during which
time she had practised the most heroic virtues. Her zeal for the glory
of God was ever increasing, her only desire being to win souls to His
service, and to love and imitate the virtues of His divine Mother. About
this period she felt interiorly inspired to build a church in honor of
Mary, in which she might at times assemble her little pupils for
instruction, in order to effect greater good among them. Hitherto she
had literally to run after them from house to house, which unavoidably
caused a great loss of her precious time. Yet, obedient to the
inspirations of grace, she first consulted her confessor, Father Pizart,
a Jesuit, who was then the only priest in Ville-Marie. To test her
firmness he represented and exaggerated the difficulties she would have
to encounter, but her zealous determination overcame his objections, and
he approved of her design, not doubting that God would assist her to
accomplish it. Being strengthened in her resolution by his approval, and
full of confidence in God and His Holy Mother, she went directly to M.
de Maisonneuve to ask for a suitable tract of land on which to erect the
building. This he gave most willingly, as there was nothing dearer to
him than to promote devotion to the Mother of God by every means in his
power. Having unbounded confidence in Sister Bourgeois, he desired her
to select a site for the edifice, wherever she pleased, and she