{"id":5420,"date":"2019-11-19T19:03:54","date_gmt":"2019-11-19T23:03:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/monastere.ca\/non-classifiee\/the-beginnings-of-a-monastic-separation\/"},"modified":"2019-11-19T19:03:54","modified_gmt":"2019-11-19T23:03:54","slug":"the-beginnings-of-a-monastic-separation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/monastere.ca\/en\/culture-2\/the-beginnings-of-a-monastic-separation\/","title":{"rendered":"The Beginnings of a Monastic Separation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Did you know that in the beginning, the sisters of the H\u00f4pital g\u00e9n\u00e9ral de Qu\u00e9bec monastery were totally dependent on the H\u00f4tel-Dieu de Qu\u00e9bec community? The H\u00f4pital g\u00e9n\u00e9ral only became a distinct and independent entity in May 1701, eight years after the arrival of the Augustinians. Archivist Audrey Julien retraces the story behind the separation. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n

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Do you know\nthe Saint-Augustin monastery? Founded January 1, 2016, it combined four active\nAugustinian monasteries: the H\u00f4tel-Dieu de Qu\u00e9bec, the H\u00f4pital g\u00e9n\u00e9ral de\nQu\u00e9bec, the H\u00f4tel-Dieu de Chicoutimi and the H\u00f4tel-Dieu de Roberval. The four\nmonasteries are now designated as a community. Created with the future in mind,\nthe group reflects the changing needs of religious communities today. The main\nreason behind its creation was the aging community and decreasing number of\nmembers, which has led to management issues of an increasing complexity as time\npasses.  <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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The major\nreorganization brings to light an obvious fact: for this union to take place,\nthere was an initial separation. The event, which involved the H\u00f4tel-Dieu de\nQu\u00e9bec and the H\u00f4pital g\u00e9n\u00e9ral de Qu\u00e9bec, officially took place on May 31,\n1701. The date is noted on the letters patent from King Louis XIV that allowed\nthe establishment of a religious community at the H\u00f4pital g\u00e9n\u00e9ral de Qu\u00e9bec. However,\nthere is a backstory which reveals the events that led to the signing of the\ndocument. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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L\u2019H\u00f4tel-Dieu de Qu\u00e9bec (1739). | \u00a9Monast\u00e8re des Augustines Archives <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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Founding a General Hospital<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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The idea of\nfounding a general hospital to care for elderly and vulnerable people in New\nFrance originally sprouted in the mind of Qu\u00e9bec\u2019s first bishop, Monseigneur\nFran\u00e7ois de Laval. Unfortunately, the circumstances of his time weren\u2019t\nfavourable to establishing it. His successor, Monseigneur Jean-Baptiste de la\nCroix de Chevri\u00e8re de Saint Vallier, made it his duty to complete the project\nupon his arrival in Canada as bishop on August 15, 1688. Many opposed the idea,\nas there was already a Bureau des pauvres (\u201coffice for the poor\u201d) managed by\nsecular administrators charged with redistributing revenue obtained from\ncitizens and communities to people in need. Mgr de Saint-Vallier insisted,\nhowever, that he would take the poor invalids in his charge; consequently, the Bureau\ndes pauvres administrators would fall under the jurisdiction of the H\u00f4pital\ng\u00e9n\u00e9ral, thus leading to its closure. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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In March\n1692, Mgr de Saint-Vallier obtained the letters patent from the king for the\nestablishment of a general hospital. On September 13 of the same year, he\ncompleted the purchase of the R\u00e9collets convent, located not far from Qu\u00e9bec on\nthe banks of the Saint-Charles river. He called on the Notre-Dame Congregation\nto care for the poor, and, on October 30, he welcomed them under the leadership\nof Sister Ursule and widow lady Denis. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Letters patent for the establishment of a religious community at the H\u00f4pital g\u00e9n\u00e9ral de Qu\u00e9bec, signed by Louis XIV on May 31, 1701. | \u00a9Monast\u00e8re des Augustines Archives<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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To ensure\nthe project\u2019s longevity, Mgr de Saint-Vallier wished that active, knowing and\ndevoted women take charge of watching the interns and dealing with the details\nof the domestic economy. He therefore looked to the H\u00f4tel-Dieu de Qu\u00e9bec\u2019s nursing\nsisters, who first refused his request. They feared a possible change in their\nway of life, and losing several good subjects to caring for the sick. Rather,\nthey suggested that Mgr de Saint-Vallier invest the funds destined to founding the\nestablishment to build rooms attached to l\u2019H\u00f4tel-Dieu where they could welcome\ninvalids. According to their rule, they could not abandon the sick to care for\ninvalids. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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The last\npoint did not suit the Qu\u00e9bec bishop. He reiterated his request to the nursing\nsisters with a renewed confidence despite the opposition of the H\u00f4pital g\u00e9n\u00e9ral\u2019s\nadministrators. The H\u00f4tel-Dieu finally gave in under the advice of its\nadministrators to appease tensions and avoid tarnishing the image of their\nhouse: \u201cMonseigneur asked us for four sisters, and we obliged to give them to\nhim, and to replace them when one of the four dies\u201d (H\u00f4tel-Dieu de Qu\u00e9bec\nannals 1636-1716). On April 1, 1693, the four founders bid farewell to their\ncommunity, not without tears and apprehension due to the challenge which\nawaited beyond the walls of the cloister where they had taken their solemn\nvows.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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The\ncontract signed between the H\u00f4tel-Dieu de Qu\u00e9bec sisters and Mgr de\nSaint-Vallier stipulated that the H\u00f4pital g\u00e9n\u00e9ral sisters were dependant on the\nH\u00f4tel-Dieu de Qu\u00e9bec. After a two-year trial, Mgr de Saint-Vallier decided that\nit would be preferable to elect a superior at the H\u00f4pital g\u00e9n\u00e9ral and that the\n1000 francs granted by him be managed by the sisters of said hospital. In\naddition, the four founders were not sufficient to fill the H\u00f4pital g\u00e9n\u00e9ral\u2019s\ngrowing needs, and the prelate made several requests to add H\u00f4tel-Dieu sisters\nto his mission. Between 1696 and 1699, the H\u00f4tel-Dieu consented to part with\nthree more of its girls. Despite herself, newly arrived Sister Catherine\nThibierge de Saint-Joachim became the turning point of the story. From the day\nafter her arrival at the H\u00f4tel-Dieu de Qu\u00e9bec, the rumour that Mgr de\nSaint-Vallier had brought the young sister by force to the H\u00f4pital g\u00e9n\u00e9ral\nspread around the city. Despite the young girl\u2019s attempts to dismiss these\nlies, people succeeded in convincing her family to make her go back to the\nH\u00f4tel-Dieu as a question of honour. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Monseigneur Jean-Baptiste de la Croix de Chevri\u00e8re de Saint-Vallier (Mgr Saint-Vallier). | \u00a9Monast\u00e8re des Augustines Archives <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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The Starting Point of the Separation<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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The prelate\ncould no longer stand all the agitation, and decided to take things into his\nown hands. On March 12, 1699, Mgr de Saint-Vallier paid a visit to the\nH\u00f4tel-Dieu de Qu\u00e9bec with the following order:<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

\u00ab We order that from this day forth, your two houses remain separate, and that they each be led by their superior in the regular way of the other communities in France who have the power to make their elections and admit novices to the task and profession [\u2026] as much for the past as for the future [\u2026]\u201d (Order from Monseigneur de Saint-Vallier for the separation of the H\u00f4pital g\u00e9n\u00e9ral and the H\u00f4tel-Dieu de Qu\u00e9bec).[1]<\/a> <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n

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The order\nwas signed on April 7 by the sisters of the H\u00f4tel-Dieu \u201calthough against our\nwill and sentiment but only to yield to authority and to the major power\u201d\n(Election of the superior on March 12, 1694). The H\u00f4tel-Dieu sisters however\npresented a few articles which were applied to the order, including the\nlimitation of the number of H\u00f4pital g\u00e9n\u00e9ral sisters to 15, while allowing the\nadmission of secular women to help them. For the H\u00f4tel-Dieu sisters, the\nreasoning behind this article was that \u201cthe two houses are too close to one\nanother to be able to find subjects to fill them both because of the small\nnumber of inhabitants, and that if the two houses cannot subsist, the\nH\u00f4tel-Dieu de Qu\u00e9bec house is more necessary than that of the H\u00f4pital g\u00e9n\u00e9ral\nand that finally, the young women come much more willingly for the H\u00f4pital\ng\u00e9n\u00e9ral than for the H\u00f4tel-Dieu because they are less exposed to death, there\nare fewer charges, the air and the situation are more pleasant, and there is\nthe appeal of novelty\u201d (Articles presented to Monseigneur)[2]<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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The order\nwas a deliverance for the H\u00f4pital g\u00e9n\u00e9ral sisters, who felt comfortable again\nand devoted themselves with renewed fervour to their nursing duties: \u201cThey\nhowever did not ignore that their sisters from Qu\u00e9bec only saw the new order of\nthings with sorrow. Certain poorly contained rumours, certain mysterious words\nreached their ears and gave them enough to hear that something unfortunate was\nafoot in the shadows, and that there were secret pursuits in France\u201d (Monseigneur de Saint-Vallier et l\u2019H\u00f4pital\ng\u00e9n\u00e9ral de Qu\u00e9bec<\/em>, p. 139)[3]<\/a>.\nThe H\u00f4pital g\u00e9n\u00e9ral sisters, who since had admitted novices to their monastery,\nprepared to have them profess. The H\u00f4tel-Dieu sisters pleaded with them to await\nthe reply from Court. Nonetheless, Monseigneur de Saint-Vallier presided over\nthe profession ceremony on July 31, 1700. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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The H\u00f4pital g\u00e9n\u00e9ral de Qu\u00e9bec (1710).
| \u00a9Monast\u00e8re des Augustines Archives <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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Risking Dissolution<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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In\nSeptember 1700, the king\u2019s ship docked with bad news on board. In a letter\nwritten on May 5, 1700, the king ordered the complete dissolution of the\nH\u00f4pital g\u00e9n\u00e9ral community. From then on, it would be solely managed by secular\nadministrators. The H\u00f4tel-Dieu sisters were surprised by these radical measures,\nhaving only suggested limiting the number of young girls admitted to the\nH\u00f4pital g\u00e9n\u00e9ral monastery. The king ordered the sisters\u2019 return to the\nH\u00f4tel-Dieu de Qu\u00e9bec, but the community refused to accept the sisters who had\nmade their profession at the H\u00f4pital g\u00e9n\u00e9ral, knowing welcoming them could\ndisturb the peace.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Monseigneur\nde Saint-Vallier left for France on October 13, 1700 to support and defend the\nH\u00f4pital g\u00e9n\u00e9ral\u2019s interests, which were being so gravely compromised. Here is\nan example of the points that Monseigneur de Saint-Vallier defended in Court regarding\nthe necessity of making the H\u00f4pital g\u00e9n\u00e9ral an independent monastery:<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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