Malvina Gagné, known as Sister Saint-Raphaël, (November 6, 1837 – December 29, 1920) was an educator and Ursuline nun. She was founder and superior for the monastery at

Roberval, Quebec Roberval () is a city on the south-western shore of Lac Saint-Jean in the Le Domaine-du-Roy Regional County Municipality of Quebec, Canada. With a population of 9,840 in the Canada 2021 Census, it is the fourth largest city on this lake after Alma ...

Biography

The daughter of Joseph Gagné, master pilot, and Luce Mercier, she was born in Saint-Michel and was educated there. Her father died when she was two and her mother became a seamstress to support the family. Four years later, Gagné's mother married a sailor Prudent Lacombe. At the age of 15, Gagné began teaching on the Île d’Orléans. The following year, she returned home to continue her studies. She began teaching at Isle-Verte when she was 17. In 1860, she entered the Ursuline monastery in

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 ...

. In 1863, she took her vows as a nun. She studied at the normal school run by the Ursulines, excelling in mathematics. In 1878, she was made mistress of the noviciate at Chatham, Ontario. She returned to Quebec City in 1880 and was sent to the

Lac Saint-Jean Lac Saint-Jean (, ) is a large, relatively shallow lake in south-central Quebec, Canada, in the Laurentian Highlands. It is situated north of the Saint Lawrence River, into which it drains via the Saguenay River. It covers an area of , and is ...

region in spring 1882; her mission was to found a monastery at Roberval to encourage religious

vocation A vocation () is an Work (human activity), occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. Though now often used in non-religious contexts, the meanings of the term originated in Christianity. ...

s and educate young girls. Gagné adjusted the curriculum to meet local needs, educating young women in farming and

domestic science Home economics, also called domestic science or family and consumer sciences (often shortened to FCS or FACS), is a subject concerning human development, personal and family finances, consumer issues, housing and interior design, nutrition and f ...

. Graduates from this program could also take examinations to qualify for a teaching certificate. Gagné worked closely with the Quebec Department of Agriculture and Colonization to maintain her curriculum and she also served as an advisor to local farmers. She continued to serve as superior for the monastery until she was nearly 70. Later, she still worked in the bursary (treasury), taught a few classes and continued to serve as an advisor. She died in Roberval at the age of 83. At the time, the ''Le Progrès du Saguenay'' reported that Gagné's life "was part of the history of the region". The curriculum that she developed served as a model used elsewhere in

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 abroad where women worked in pioneering environments.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gagne, Malvina 1837 births 1920 deaths 20th-century Canadian nuns 19th-century Canadian nuns