Quartier Vieux-Quebec - Petit Seminaire BAnQ P560S1P471

Collège François-de-Laval (; previously Petit Séminaire de Québec ) is a private

French-language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-Romance, a descendant of the Latin spoken in ...

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 ...

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

in the Vieux-Québec area of

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

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, ...

Origins and current status

The school was founded in 1668, as part of the

Séminaire de Québec The Seminary of Quebec (French: , ) is a Catholic Church, Catholic community of Secular clergy, diocesan priests in Quebec City founded by Bishop François de Laval, the first bishop of New France in 1663. History The Séminaire de Québec is ...

. Until 1970, the

Superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places * Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lak ...

of the Seminary was also the Rector of

Université Laval (; English: ''Laval University)'' is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university traces its roots to the Séminaire de Québec, founded by François de Montmorency-Laval in 1663, making it the oldest institutio ...

, which was originally an offshoot of it. In 1985, the seminary transferred the secondary school to a new secular not-for-profit organization, "le Collège François-de-Laval", which was given the right to use the "Petit Séminaire de Québec" name. Another school,

Le Petit Séminaire de Québec, campus de l'Outaouais Le Petit Séminaire de Québec, campus de l'Outaouais is a private French language college in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. It offers a secondary school International Baccalaureate program as well as the post-secondary Diploma of Collegial Studies. I ...

was founded as a branch of the school in the

Outaouais Outaouais (, ; also commonly called The Outaouais) is a region of western Quebec, Canada. It includes the city of Gatineau, the municipality of Val-des-Monts, the municipality of Cantley, Quebec, Cantley and the Papineau Regional County Municipal ...

area of western Quebec. A separate organization with a similar name, the Petit séminaire diocésain de Québec, is a residential school for boys considering the Roman Catholic priesthood, managed by the

Background

Many

French-Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the prov ...

clergy of the 18th and 19th century, as well as innumerable academics, went through the Petit Séminaire before higher education became widely accessible. Of 867 students who lived at the Petit Séminaire during the French period, 198 graduated. Of these, 118 became priests or brothers, and 80 chose other occupations, according to research by historian Mgr

Amédée Gosselin Amédée Gosselin (September 30, 1863 – December 20, 1941) was a Canadian historian, academic administrator and Roman Catholic priest. Early life On September 30, 1863, Gosselin was born in Saint-Charles-de-Bellechasse, Canada East. Ed ...

Notable graduates

Pierre-Stanislas Bédard Pierre-Stanislas Bédard (September 13, 1762 – April 26, 1829) was a lawyer, judge, journalist and political figure in Lower Canada. He was born in Charlesbourg in 1762, descended from French ancestors who had first arrived in New Franc ...

, lawyer, journalist, judge, member of the

Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. The lower house consisted of e ...

Amable Berthelot Amable Berthelot (February 10, 1777 – November 24, 1847) was a ''Canadien'' lawyer, author and political figure. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada and later to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada. ...

, member of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada and the

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the Parliament of the Province of Canada. The Province of Canada consisted of the former province of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East (now Quebec), and Upper Canada ...

* Michel-Amable Berthelot Dartigny, member of the

; lawyer and notary *

Jean Blanchet (physician) Jean Blanchet (May 17, 1795 – April 22, 1857) was a physician and political figure in Canada East. Blanchet was born in Saint-Pierre-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud in 1795. He studied at the Petit Séminaire de Quebec and then studied medicine wi ...

, member of the

and the

; physician *

René-Édouard Caron René-Édouard Caron (21 October 1800 – 13 December 1876) was a Canadian politician, judge, and the List of lieutenant governors of Quebec#Lieutenant Governors of Quebec, 1867–present, second Lieutenant Governor of Quebec. He was born ...

, lawyer, judge, politician, and second Lieutenant Governor of Quebec *

Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau (; May 30, 1820 – April 4, 1890) was a Canadians, Canadian lawyer and politician. Chauveau was the first premier of Quebec, following the establishment of Canada in 1867. Appointed to the office in 1867 as the l ...

(1829–1837), first Premier of Quebec *

Paul Fiset Paul Fiset (English pronunciation: ''Fih-ZAY''; November 7, 1922 – February 27, 2001) was a Canadian-American microbiologist and virologist. His research helped to develop one of the first successful Q fever vaccines, noted by ''The New York ...

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of par ...

and developer of the Q fever vaccine * Jean-François Hubert, Bishop of Quebec, 1788–1797 *

Thomas Lee (notary) Thomas Lee (1783 – August 20, 1832) was a notary, merchant and political figure in Lower Canada. He was born Thomas Lée in the town of Quebec in 1783, the son of merchant Jean-Thomas Lée, and studied at the Petit Séminaire de Québec. ...

, notary and member of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada * Jean-Marie Mondelet, notary and political figure in Lower Canada *

Augustin-Norbert Morin Augustin-Norbert Morin (; October 13, 1803 – July 27, 1865) was a Canadien journalist, lawyer, politician, and rebel in Lower Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada in the 1830s, as a leading member of the '' ...

, journalist, lawyer, politician, and ''Patriote'' in Lower Canada * Denis-Benjamin Papineau, Lower Canada politician, co-premier of the Province of Canada *

Louis-Joseph Papineau Louis-Joseph Papineau (; October 7, 1786 – September 23, 1871), born in Montreal, Province of Quebec (1763–1791), Quebec, was a politician, lawyer, and the landlord of the ''seigneurie de la Petite-Nation''. He was the leader of the reform ...

, Lower Canada politician, lawyer, seigneur, and ''Patriote'' leader *

Étienne Parent Étienne Parent (May 2, 1802 – December 22, 1874) was a Canadians, Canadian journalist, politician and government official. A French-Canadian nationalist, he wrote extensively on political theory and governance during the 1820s and 1830s in ...

, Lower Canada journalist, politician, and public servant *

Joseph-François Perrault Joseph-François Perrault (June 2, 1753 – April 5, 1844) was a businessman and political figure in Lower Canada. Early years He was born in Quebec City in 1753, the son of fur trader Louis Perrault and grandson of François Perrault, and ...

, businessman and member of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada * Joseph-Xavier Perrault, educator, businessman, and member of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada * Louis Plamondon (lawyer), Lower Canada lawyer and ''bon vivant'' *

Étienne-Paschal Taché Sir Étienne-Paschal Taché (5 September 1795 – 30 July 1865) was a Canadian medical doctor, politician, and Father of Confederation. His family had a long history in New France, but suffered serious financial reverses due to the Seven Y ...

, doctor, ''Patriote'', Joint-premier of the Province of Canada,

Father of Confederation The Fathers of Confederation are the 36 people who attended at least one of the Charlottetown Conference of 1864 (23 attendees), the Quebec Conference of 1864 (33 attendees), and the London Conference of 1866 (16 attendees), preceding Canadian ...

References

External links

*
Petit séminaire diocésain de Québec
{{DEFAULTSORT:College Francois de Laval Catholic secondary schools in Quebec Private schools in Quebec High schools in Quebec Schools in Quebec City Old Quebec Religion in Quebec City

Origins and current status

Background

Notable graduates

References

Further reading

External links