Deepertruth: Stand In The Gap With Us And Saint Marguerite Bourgeoy

Stand In The Gap With Us And Saint Marguerite Bourgeoy 1/12/2024

We know that the historical Marguerite de Thibouville was the heiress of a venerable noble family of Normandy, was probably young when she became Carrouges' second wife, and was, after the fact, enriched by her husband's fame and fortune in his role as celebrated hero of the “last duel.” She had at least three children

“God closes a door and then opens a window,” people sometimes say when dealing with their own disappointment or someone else’s. That was certainly true in Marguerite’s case.

Besides chaperoning girls sent from France as brides for settlers (Filles du Roi), she recruited French and Canadian girls as teachers, organized a boarding school for girls in Montréal, a school for Indigenous girls on the Sulpician reserve of La Montagne, and a domestic arts school.

With the first settlers she shared the dangers and hardships, as well as the efforts and hopes that marked life in the early colony. Like them, she was vulnerable to the threats posed by the environment the enemy, and disease, as well as by sometimes hostile or incompetent authorities in both church and state. She consistently avoided and, whenever possible, refused all preferment or privilege that would remove her from the lot of ordinary people in New France, the poor and struggling settlers attempting to build a better life for themselves and their families in the New World.

Children from European as well as Native American backgrounds in 17th-century Canada benefited from her great zeal and unshakable trust in God’s providence.

Born the sixth of 12 children in Troyes, France, Marguerite at the age of 20 believed that she was called to religious life.