superior of the Congregation, and was the first member received in
Ville-Marie. The school was formally opened on the Feast of St.
Catherine, Nov. 25, 1659, and a secular society for young ladies was put
in operation on the Feast of the Visitation the following year. This
society has never been discontinued, and exists still in almost
primitive fervor. In a short time the number of boarders and day-pupils
became so considerable, that it was necessary to purchase a small house,
in the vicinity of the lucky stable, from a man named St. Ange. As
Sister Bourgeois burned with zeal to advance the glory of God in the New
World, in addition to the cares inseparable from governing a young
community, she undertook another labor of love, which eventually caused
her the most bitter sorrow. We refer to the manuscripts: "Several young
girls accompanied us from France, who were taken from the hospitals, and
sent at the King's expense to assist in the colonization of Ville-Marie.
While we were repairing the little house we purchased from St. Ange,
another batch of these girls arrived, and as I knew they were intended
to become mothers of families, I hastened to meet them as soon as they
should land, in order to bring them to our new house, and detain them a
short time, for instruction." The Sisters (we may as well so name them
at once) had for some time importuned Sister Bourgeois to add another
story to their dwelling, as it did not afford accommodation for both
Sisters and pupils; but she objected on account of her love of poverty,
humility, and mortification. However, the arrival of the strangers
induced her to comply, and her hasty compliance was a source of lifelong
regret, because, as she affirmed, she did not sufficiently consult the
will of God and her ecclesiastical superior. In fact she never forgave
herself this unintentional error of judgment, as she called it, and
attributed to it all the accidents that subsequently befell her
community.