Le Couvent / The Convent

The convent testified to the presence of the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa, also known as the Grey Nuns of the Cross, and its history was marked by repeated fires that never discouraged them. The first convent was built in 1867 after Seigneur Papineau welcomed the sisters and supported their initiative despite opposition from some citizens, but it was completely destroyed by fire in 1880. A second convent was built in 1881, then destroyed in 1913 by Montebello’s Great Fire, and rebuilt in 1914. In 1920 another fire destroyed the convent again, yet the sisters chose to rebuild once more, with Priest Chamberland acting like a master builder by buying a machine to make cement blocks for the new structure, built at a total cost of $50,000. From 1920 to 1951 the establishment served as a regional school of domestic science, then became a Family Institution until 1965, when school reforms introduced by Minister Paul Gérin-Lajoie left no place for such institutions. Afterward, the building was occupied by some of the sisters before passing into private hands as a residence for autonomous individuals.

Quebec · Canada