Angélique de Bullion (1593–1664), was a French philanthropist. She was a
benefactress influential in the foundation of Montreal.
Life
Angélique Faure was born in Paris; her parents were Guichard Faure and Madeleine Brulart de Sillery. She was the niece of
, who, in 1632, donated twelve thousand
livres
Livre may refer to:
Currency
* French livre, one of a number of obsolete units of currency of France
* Livre tournois, one particular obsolete unit of currency of France
* Livre parisis, another particular obsolete unit of currency of France
* F ...
to fund the foundation of St. Joseph Mission in
New France
New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...
(Canada), as a settlement for
indigenous
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology)
In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...
converts to Catholicism.
[Roy, Julie. "Angélique Faure", ''Dictionnaire des femmes de l'Ancienne France'', 2006] The mission would eventually be named
Sillery, in memory of his generosity.
On January 21, 1612, she married
Claude de Bullion, Keeper of the Seals and Superintendent of Finances under
Louis XIII
Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown.
...
;
[ ]Cardinal Richelieu
Armand Jean du Plessis, 1st Duke of Richelieu (9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), commonly known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic prelate and statesman who had an outsized influence in civil and religi ...
annually rewarded him with a bonus of 100,000 livres.
Société Notre-Dame de Montréal
The Society of Our Lady of Montréal for the conversion of the Indians of New France, (sometimes known as the "Company Our Lady of Montreal") was formed in 1641 by Jean-Jacques Olier de Verneuil and Jérôme Le Royer, Sieur de La Dauversière with the aim of establishing a fortified city in New France
New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...
in order to teach French settlers and Christian Indians.
Upon the death of her husband in 1640, she inherited a large fortune, including the Château de Brie-Comte-Robert. In 1641, Father Charles Rapine de Boisvert, former Provincial of the Recollects, Director of Saint-Denis and a distant cousin of her husband, introduced her to Jeanne Mance
Jeanne Mance (; November 12, 1606 – June 18, 1673) was a French nurse and settler of New France. She arrived in New France two years after the Ursuline nuns came to Quebec. Among the founders of Montreal in 1642, she established its first hos ...
, a nurse from Champagne and member of the Society of Our Lady of Montréal, who planned to accompany Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve
Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve (15 February 1612 – 9 September 1676) was a French military officer and the founder of Ville-Marie, now the city of Montreal. Early life
Maisonneuve was baptised on 15 February 1612 at Neuville-sur-Vannes ...
to New France. She and her friend Madame de Villesasin (Isabelle Blondeau) were benefactors of the Hôtel-Dieu de Paris.[ Having learned that the Duchess d'Aiguillon had funded the establishment of a hospital in Quebec, Madame de Bullion offered Jeanne Mance 1,200 ''livres'' for a similar undertaking at Ville-Marie.
An agreement between Angélique Faure de Bullion and Jeanne Mance is the oldest letter in the Archives Department of the City of Montréal.Shaffer, Marie-Eve. "Montreal archives have 100 years", ''Metro'', February 20, 2013]
/ref>
The Hôtel-Dieu was founded in honour of Saint Joseph and confided in 1657–59 to the care of the Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph, an order instituted at La Flèche
La Flèche () is a town and commune in the French department of Sarthe, in the Pays de la Loire region in the Loire Valley. It is the sub-prefecture of the South-Sarthe, the chief district and the chief city of a canton, and the second most p ...
by Jérôme le Royer de la Dauversière, one of the founders of Montréal. She also contributed more than 20,000 livres for the defence of the settlement against the Iroquois
The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...
.[Lindsay, Lionel. "Angélique Bullion." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 19 Jun. 2013]
/ref>
In 1663, shortly after the death of Olier and La Dauversière, the company was dissolved.
She insisted on being mentioned in the deeds ratifying her donations as "An unknown benefactress". Her identity was revealed only after her death,[ on July 3, 1664. She bequeathed her assets to the Compagnie de Saint-Sulpice, which was active in Montréal.
]
Legacy
Formerly Rue Saint-Constant and then Cadieux Street, on May 9, 1927, de Bullion Street, Montreal was named in her honour.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bullion, Angelique
17th-century French women
Philanthropists from Paris
People of New France
French women philanthropists
1593 births
1664 deaths
17th-century philanthropists
17th-century women philanthropists