In the 1840s, Bytown (Ottawa) was a growing timber-trade village with a substantial French-Canadian population but no Catholic schools and few social services. In February of 1845 the Sisters of Charity of Montreal (Grey Nuns) sent four nuns here. Led by Élisabeth Bruyère, a devout, well-educated young woman, the sisters quickly established a bilingual school for girls, a hospital and an orphanage. They helped the poor, the elderly and the sick, including hundreds of immigrants stricken during the typhus epidemics of 1847-48. By the time of Bruyère's death the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa had founded key local institutions and extended their services to sixteen other communities in Canada and the U.S.

Location

In front of the Chapel of the Sisters of Charity, 25 Bruyère Street, Ottawa

Themes

• Franco-Ontarian heritage
• People
• Religion
• Women's history