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The contribution of the Congrégation des pères de Sainte-Croix to Saint-Laurent was remarkable. We owe to curé Saint-Germain the settlement of this teaching religious community in Saint-Laurent.
Upon arriving in the Saint-Laurent Parish in 1829, curé Saint-Germain made it his mission to prioritize education among his parishioners. He joined his efforts with Mgr Ignace Bourget, who had previously made arrangements with the French congregation of Sainte-Croix du Mans, founded by father Basile-Antoine Moreau, to send qualified teachers to Canada to set up a congregation.
It was not until May 27, 1847 that two fathers, eight brothers and four sisters arrived in Saint-Laurent. At this time, the congregation gathers the pères de Sainte-Croix, the frères de Saint-Joseph and some sisters.
The priest housed the fathers and brothers in the schoolhouse, and the sisters in the old Congrégation Notre-Dame house.
A page in history was written with the arrival of the founders of the collège de Saint-Laurent (the current cégep de Saint-Laurent), the Notre-Dame-des-Anges Convent, the collège Basile-Moreau (the current Vanier College) and the académie Saint-Alfred. The pères de Sainte-Croix were entrusted with running the Saint-Laurent Parish upon the death of curé Saint-Germain in 1863.
Recently, on the 150th anniversary of the settlement of the pères de Sainte-Croix in Saint-Laurent, a monument in memory of Basile-Antoine Moreau, founder of the Ordre de Sainte-Croix was erected at 799, Sainte-Croix Avenue. This monument was revealed on August 10, 1997. |
First home of the pères de Sainte-Croix
Saint-Laurent
around 1847
Pères de Sainte-Croix
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