Saint Hyacinthe : Mother House

The rendez-vous of our history, the Mother House
At 805, Raymond Avenue in Saint Hyacinthe, stands an imposing edifice. The bricks, varied in colour, reveal the extensions that were added on at different times and bear witness to its 123 years of history.

The story begins?
Our Mother House came to be in September 1889, thanks to the generosity of the people of the diocese who were solicited by Mgr Moreau.
The number of religious members increased rapidly and a first extension rose to the left of the main building in 1897.
In 1901, a second extension was built to meet the various needs.

And continues to unfold?
In 1929, a vast and magnificent chapel was built behind the initial construction.
Another important extension came to be in 1946 to house the students of École Normale Saint Joseph at 2395 rue Notre-Dame. Finally, in 1954, a last extension to the far left of the façade completed the edifice. A statue of Saint Joseph, our patron saint and a bell tower overlooks this immense architectural structure.

Inside the walls
Let us enter and meet...

• Women of prayer, joyous and simple
• Kind-hearted women desirous of helping society
• Women who are continually willing to serve in spite of the limitations imposed by age and sickness
• Consecrated women, walking in the footsteps of Élisabeth Bergeron, their foundress, whose tomb is visited every year by some 1400 persons seeking relief and hope.
  
  ...an active personnel
  In 2012, year of the celebration of the 135th anniversary of our founding, there are 148 sisters in our Mother House which regroups 5 local community groups.
  Sisters of different ages and backgrounds, of all health conditions with varied limits and capacities, live side by side, accepting one another, sharing the joys of living and celebrating.
  A delegate superior and her assistant assures, with loving care, the quality of the spiritiual and material life of the Sisters.
  
  ...and numerous services
  Numerous services are offered in this vast residence:
• Medical care dispensed to some 50 sick and elderly;
• food and housekeeping services;
• an imposing number of lay persons who see that everything runs smoothly and that all the expanding needs of the aging Sisters are duly assured.
  
  A story that forever enchants us
• a witness to the generosity and devotion of our admirable precursors;

a witness to the life that continues to spring up within its walls,
the Mother House remains for each of us the place where we can drop in and stay a while, where we always enjoy a friendly welcome, the ?haven? which we appreciate and where we are happy to live and share a heartwarming fellowship.

The story ends here...

On Saturday, May 24, 2014, Bishop. Francois Lapierre presided the last official Mass in our mother house, in the presence of the sisters of Canada, associates and representatives of the other religious congregations of St. Hyacinthe.

Starting on June 6, 2014, the sisters of Saint-Joseph of St. Hyacinthe have moved in the new "Les Jardins d'Aurélie" Residence where from now on, they will share the life with the Adorers of Precious Blood.

On July 15, 2014, Sister Claudette Robert and the General Treasurer, Sister Monique Mathieu signed the final sale contract with the Robin group.

Thus ends the story of our mother house!

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