Saint Marguerite d'Youville

Marguerite d'Youville, SGM was a French Canadian widow who founded the Sisters of Charity of Montreal, commonly known as the "Grey Nuns". She was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1990, becoming the first native-born Canadian to be declared a saint. She was born Marie-Marguerite Dufrost de Lajemmerais in 1701 at Varennes, Quebec, the oldest daughter of Christophe du Frost, Sieur de la Gesmerays (1661–1708) and Marie-Renée Gaultier de Varennes. (According to Quebec naming conventions, she would have always been known as Marguerite, not Marie.) Her father died when she was a young girl. Despite her family's poverty, at age 11 Marguerite was able to attend the Ursuline convent in Quebec City for two years before returning home to teach her younger brothers and sisters. Marguerite's impending marriage to a scion of Varennes society was foiled by her mother's marriage below her class to Timothy Sullivan, an Irish doctor who was considered by the French Canadians to be a disreputable foreigner. On August 12, 1722, at Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal, Marguerite married François d'Youville, a bootlegger who sold liquor illegally to Indigenous peoples in exchange for furs. He frequently left home for long periods for parts unknown. The couple had six children together before François died in 1730. By age 30, D'Youville had suffered the loss of her father, husband and four of her six children, who died in infancy. But she underwent a religious renewal during her marriage. "In all these sufferings Marguerite grew in her belief of God's presence in her life and His tender love for every human person. She, in turn, wanted to make known His compassionate love to all. She undertook many charitable works with complete trust in God, whom she loved as a Father." Marguerite and three other women founded in 1737 a religious association to provide a home for the poor in Montreal. At first, the home housed only four or five members, but it grew as the women raised funds.