Marguerite Beaubien (29 January 1797 – 11 August 1848) was born in Nicolet,

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

the daughter of a farm family in the

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

region. They were successful enough that Marguerite was well educated and she joined the Sisters of Charity of the Hôpital Général of Montreal in 1816. She took her vows in 1818 and worked with orphan girls. By 1833 she replaced the previous

Mother Superior An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic ...

, Marie-Marguerite Lemaire, for a five-year term and was re-elected for a second term. Under her superiorship, Mother Beaubien focused on the poor. She made many improvements to the community's facilities. She also approved a

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, or in America to the tradition of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, but others are unrelated. The ...

chapter at

Saint-Hyacinthe Saint-Hyacinthe (; French: ) is a city in southwestern Quebec east of Montreal on the Yamaska River. The population as of the 2021 Canadian census was 57,239. The city is located in Les Maskoutains Regional County Municipality of the Montérég ...

. In 1843, the Sisters adopted new rules which had been drafted with the active participation of Bishop

Ignace Bourget Ignace Bourget (October 30, 1799 – June 8, 1885) was a Canadian Roman Catholic priest who held the title of Bishop of Montreal from 1840 to 1876. Born in Lévis, Quebec, in 1799, Bourget entered the clergy at an early age, undertook several cou ...

. In 1844 she became superior of the new community of the Sisters of Charity at Bytown (Ottawa). Illness followed shortly after this appointment and she was unable to continue active duties. Marguerite Beaubien was an important figure in the Sisters of Charity during her lifetime. As superior, she oversaw growth within the community that strengthened it and widened its influence.

References

* Pre-Confederation Quebec people 19th-century Canadian nuns 1797 births 1848 deaths {{RC-bio-stub