Elisabeth Turgeon - Founder of the Sisters of the Little Schools


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Élisabeth Turgeon

Text Box: In 2004 Vincent J. O’Malley completed a book titled ‘Saints of North America’.  He wrote about Elisabeth Turgeon of Quebec who founded the Sisters of the Little Schools, which is now known as the Sisters of Our lady of the Holy Rosary.  She was born in 1840 and died in 1881.  Although she died young, her impact has survived to this day.   The Catholic Church is considering her for sainthood.  

 

So, how is she related to our family?   

Elizabeth’s family lived in Beaumont, Bellechasse, as did our own Turgeon ancestors.  These families would have known each other.  Our own Philias and Elisabeth would have been third cousins.  That would make their fathers second cousins to each other.    

Marie-Elisabeth Turgeon was born February 7, 1840, in Beaumont.  She was baptized the following day by Father Louis Raby.  Her parents were Louis-Marc Turgeon and Angele Labrecque.  Her siblings then included Louise, Henriette, Angele, and Louis-Pierre-Hubert.  She was a fragile child and her family feared she would not live past childhood.  As a frail child, Elisabeth could never play with children her own age.  She did love learning and helping her mother with housework.  Her sister, Louise, was a school teacher in Beaumont.  Elisabeth was one of nine children. 

As a young woman, Elisabeth Turgeon dreamed of serving children as a vowed religious.  Circumstances nearly waylaid her dreams.  Her health was poor.  Her father’s untimely death when she was 15 years old meant she had to help raise her younger brothers and sisters at home.   

In 1850 she passed her entrance exams for admission to the Normal School in Quebec. In 1861, Elisabeth left home to study for her teaching degree at Laval Normal School.  Her poor health forced her to return home before completing her studies.  While homebound she continued her studies and took her final exams with her classmates.  Between 1863 and 1874 Elisabeth taught at three successive schools, during which time she took numerous sick leaves.  In 1863 Elisabeth taught eight years in Saint-Romuald-d’Etchemin, which is outside Quebec City.  Then she taught private classes in Saint-Roch, Quebec.  In 1874 she taught classes at Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre. 

In fact during this period she was near death and received last rites twice.  Despite her poor health, she continued teaching young children. 

The bishop of Rimouski (Jean Langevin) knew Elisabeth Turgeon well.  He had taught her at Laval Normal School, where he had served as priest-principal.  After his Episcopal ordination in 1867, the bishop invited Elisabeth in 1871 to direct a school for the Catholic children in Rimouski.  In 1875 Elisabeth arrived in Rimouski and lived with other like minded women on St-Germanin Street.  Elisabeth founded a new religious order, Sisters of the Little Schools, and all these women took their first vows on September 12, 1879.  On the same day Bishop Langevin named Elisabeth Turgeon as Superior of the congregation. 

Text Box: On January 1880 Elisabeth sent two Sisters on a mission to Saint-Gabriel.  18 new students began school that month in that village.  In September 1880 four other sisters were sent to the Gaspe Coast to set up new schools.  Two were sent to Saint-Godefroi and two to Port-Daniel.  Elisabeth went with the latter group to set up these schools.  Other parishes and dioceses began asking Elisabeth to send them sisters for their schools.  Mother Elisabeth passed away on August 17, 1881 at twenty minutes past midnight.  Her mission continued after her death. In 1891 the Sisters of the Little Schools was renamed Sisters of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary.  In September 1990 the official request for canonization was initiated in Rome.  For over 125 years the Sisters of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary continue their outreach to rural communities in Canada, the United States, Honduras, Guatemala, Peru and Nicaragua.