This text is part of the special commemoration of Jeanne Mance
To say that Jeanne Mance is a giant in the history of Montreal is an understatement. His name has always been associated with the founding of Montreal in 1642 and the opening of the Hôtel-Dieu three years later. While Valérie Plante became the first titular mayor 375 years later, the first de facto mayor was Jeanne Mance, whose task was to manage the fledgling colony.
“There was Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve who governed, who allocated the land and who defended Montreal, and Jeanne, the bursar of the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal, who was indeed the great organizer,” explains Paul Labonne, general manager. the Musée des Hospitalières, located on Avenue des Pins, right next to the Hôtel-Dieu building. And, adds Sister Nicole Bussières, archivist of the Congregation of Religious Hospitallers of Saint-Joseph, “Jeanne Mance is the only foundress who has remained in Montreal”.
Danielle Fleury, deputy CEO of the University of Montreal Hospital Center (CHUM) and administrator of the museum, describes herself as a “confessed fan” of the character. She says that in nursing school, the heroine was described to her as Canada’s first lay nurse. “But we are really in front of an extraordinary character who we don’t talk about enough: first director of nursing, first hospital director, first nurse practitioner and first mayor of Montreal. Just imagine a 35-year-old bachelor who takes the boat in 1641 without being promised to anyone. She was devout, yes, but with the character needed to stand up to Monsignor Laval and the Governor of Quebec. »
“It would be anachronistic to speak of her as a feminist, but she was a woman who had her way,” said Valérie Plante, mayor of Montreal. At the time, there was really no choice but to get married or become a nun, and she said she would be a nurse, overseas to boot. She is a woman who has taken her life into her own hands, an inspiring woman, going against the grain of her time. »
Woman of heart and head
Born in 1606 into the robed bourgeoisie and daughter of notables in Langres, north of Dijon, France, Jeanne Mance was not only educated, but trained in administration by her father. At 25, she had already decided that she would remain celibate to devote her life to others — without becoming a nun.
We are then in full counter-reform. After more than a century of religious wars, the Mance family was part of the current of devout Catholics whom the Church encouraged to charitable, social and religious action to compete with Protestantism. Not only does Jeanne take the family fold, she is also passionate about the distant colony and decides to become a lay missionary.
Taking advantage of her excellent family contacts and her education, Jeanne met Angélique Faure de Bullion, widow of a finance superintendent of Louis XIII who shared the same dreams. Jeanne Mance, resolute, convinces Madame de Bullion to support her project financially.
woman of action
In 1641, Jeanne was thus 35 years old when she decided to leave for the port of La Rochelle, where a new expedition to Canada was being prepared. Its organizer and main sponsor is another devotee, Mr. Jérôme Le Royer de la Dauversière. Impressed by the character – and the resources – of Jeanne, he appointed her bursar of the future colony.
Arriving in Canada in August, a month before Maisonneuve, she took it upon herself to organize the wintering in Quebec and to launch the preparations for the ascent of the river to Montreal, which was to be done in the spring. Devout, but not submissive, she says no to Mgr Laval, who would like to keep her in Quebec. “The money in her custody aroused much covetousness,” says Paul Labonne.
On May 17, 1642, after a few days of river navigation, the first “Montréalistes” landed at the place chosen by the Governor of Montmagny, at Pointe-à-Callière. Chomedey de Maisonneuve thus took possession of the island of Montreal. Jeanne, she had a first altar built for an outdoor religious ceremony the next day.
Everything is to be done. There is neither habitation nor palisade, and it will be a few years before the Hôtel-Dieu is officially inaugurated, around 1645. They are two members of the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal, Jérôme Le Royer de La Dauversière and Bertrand Drouart, secretary of the said company, who signed the founding act in France on January 12, 1644. It was then the first hospital in the city. But the hospital was built outside the walls of the fort, and in 1651, the colony besieged by the Iroquois was at its worst: Jeanne had to abandon the hospital to enter the enclosure. It lends 22,000 pounds to Chomedey de Maisonneuve for recruitment in France. This is the episode known as the “Great Recruit of 1653”: Chomedey de Maisonneuve will return with more than a hundred people, including a certain Marguerite Bourgeoys, who will become Jeanne’s great friend.
In 1658, says Paul Labonne, the health of the benefactor Jérôme Le Royer de la Dauversière is bad, and Jeanne crosses the Atlantic again to consolidate her business. Just in time: the death of the sponsor the following year results in a bankruptcy of about 300,000 pounds which threatens the young colony.
Strangely, Jeanne manages to ride out these difficulties. She returns from this trip with three nuns who will assist her. They belong to the congregation of the Religious Hospitallers of Saint-Joseph, whose founder is a certain Jérôme Le Royer de la Dauversière. It is this congregation which will take over the work of Jeanne Mance on her death on June 18, 1673. Not only will it ensure its continuity, it will make it grow into an influential religious order.
“In the colony, Jeanne occupied a strategic position,” says Paul Labonne. She’s a very knowledgeable woman, straight to the point. She had good informants, she had access to the nobility and she was very political, much more so than Chomedey de Maisonneuve. Things are bad in France? She takes the boat. It is thanks to her talent and her vision that she is everywhere in the history of Montreal. »
“Montréal has a co-founder. It speaks to me a lot, to me who comes from the community sector, says Valérie Plante. She was not only a nurse, but also a steward and manager. She became involved in the affairs of the city and the colony. She was a minister and a diplomat, who helped create ties with the Aboriginal people, whose respect she earned by caring for them. If the city of Montreal is so special in Quebec as a place of welcome, diversity and parity, that is its mark. »
Six dates towards recognition
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the Duty, pertaining to marketing. The drafting of Duty did not take part.