Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys lived between 1620 and 1700 and was born in France to a large middle-class Christian family. She had a religious experience when she was 20 years old and decided to dedicate her life to God through the Virgin Mary and entered an apostolate which taught underprivileged children. At the age of 32, she agreed to become a missionary in the New World as a lay teacher, teaching children of the colonists and the Native Americans. There Marguerite helped young ladies in preparing for marriage and family life as pioneer women. She was known as the “Mother of the Colony” as she signed and witness many marriage certificates of early settlers. Besides this, she also helped built the first church and school and founded the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal which is still active today. Now, she is considered the co-foundress of Montreal for all her efforts in apostolic and missionary work. She is the first canonised woman saint in Canada.
