Élisabeth Bruyère (or ''Bruguier'') (March 19, 1818 – April 5, 1876) was the founder of the Sisters of Charity of

Bytown Bytown is the former name of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded on September 26, 1826, incorporated as a town on January 1, 1850, and superseded by the incorporation of the City of Ottawa on January 1, 1855. The founding was marked by a sod ...

and opened the first hospital there and the first

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

school in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Biography

She was born as ''Élisabeth Bruguier'' in

L'Assomption L'Assomption () is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada on the L'Assomption River. It is the seat of the Regional County Municipality of L'Assomption. It is located on the outer fringes of the Montreal urban area. ...

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

in 1818. Daughter of Jean Baptiste Charles Bruguier (1763-1824) and Sophie Mercier. The Bruguier name was changed in 1824 when the family moved after the death of her father. In 1839, she joined the

Sisters of Charity Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity in their name. Some ''Sisters of Charity'' communities refer to the Vincentian tradition alone, or in America to the tradition of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (whose sisters are also of ...

of the Hôpital Général of Montreal, also known as the Grey Nuns. In 1845, she was asked to set up a community of the Sisters of Charity at Bytown. With three other Grey Nuns, she established

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

schools, hospitals and orphanages there. In 1854, the community in Bytown became independent of Montreal. Although the Sisters of Charity cared for people of every religious denomination during the

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...

outbreak in 1847, a Protestant General Hospital, later the

Ottawa Civic Hospital The Ottawa Civic Hospital is one of three main campuses of The Ottawa Hospital – along with the General and Riverside campuses. With 549 beds (including the Heart Institute), the Civic Campus has the region's only adult-care trauma centre, servin ...

, was opened in 1850. The Sisters of Charity were also responsible from 1870 to 2001 of the school which became today the Collège Saint-Joseph de Hull in

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, directly across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region of Quebec and is also p ...

, the city's girl school and one of two private secondary institutions. The community opened other houses in Ontario,

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

state. The hospital opened in Bytown later became the

Ottawa General Hospital The Ottawa Hospital's General Campus is one of three main campuses of The Ottawa Hospital in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. With 569 beds, the General Campus includes The Ottawa Hospital Rehabilitation Centre and the Cancer Centre. The Ottawa General Ho ...

. The Sisters of Charity also established facilities for the aged, opening the St. Charles Old Age Hospice, later the Residence Saint-Louis. She died in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

on April 5, 1876.

Legacy

Bruyère Continuing Care, located on the former site of the Ottawa General hospital, is named after her. For over 150 years, the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa have been a cornerstone of health care in Ottawa. Elisabeth Bruyère is credited with being the foundress of the associated Bruyère Foundation charitable organization. The

Ontario Heritage Trust The Ontario Heritage Trust () is a non-profit agency of the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture. It is responsible for protecting, preserving and promoting the built, natural and cultural heritage of Canada's most populous province, Ontario. ...

erected a plaque for Elisabeth Bruyère 1818–1876 in front of the Chapel of the Sisters of Charity, 25 Bruyère Street, at Sussex Drive, Ottawa. "Arriving in Ottawa in 1845 with three other Grey Nuns, Bruyère immediately began to establish schools, hospitals, and other institutions to aid the disadvantaged. By the time of her death, the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa had extended their services to other parts of Canada and to the United States."https://www.bruyere.org/en/s-elisabeth-bruyere-hospital Official site

References

;Bibliography *

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''Sisters of Charity of OttawaSCO Health Service
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruyere, Elisabeth 1818 births 1876 deaths 19th-century Canadian women educators Canadian women nurses Franco-Ontarian people People from Lanaudière Canadian Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns 19th-century Canadian nuns Founders of Catholic religious communities Women founders Franco-Ontarian history Canadian nurses