Widow, Foundress of the Grey Nuns of Montreal
Feast Day: October 16
Title: Mother of Universal Charity
Early Life: Poverty and Piety
Marguerite d’Youville was born Marie-Marguerite Dufrost de Lajemmerais on October 15, 1701, in Varennes, near Montreal in New France (now Quebec, Canada). She was the eldest of six children in a once noble but impoverished family. Her father died when she was very young, leaving the family in great hardship.
Even as a child, Marguerite exhibited deep piety, a love of prayer, and a tender devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Despite their poverty, her mother managed to send her to the Ursuline convent in Quebec for two years of schooling—an education that shaped her intellect and spiritual foundation.
Marriage and the Cross of Widowhood
At age 21, Marguerite married François d’Youville, a dissolute and irresponsible man who was involved in the illegal alcohol trade, even selling to Indigenous peoples in violation of both civil and ecclesiastical law. The marriage was a sorrowful trial for Marguerite, filled with humiliation and suffering, yet she bore it with Christ-like patience. Of the six children born to them, only two sons survived infancy.
When François died in 1730, Marguerite was left a widow at 29, burdened with debts and two children to raise. In this dark season, she turned even more completely to Divine Providence, abandoning herself to God’s will and dedicating her life to prayer and works of mercy.
Foundress of the Sisters of Charity – The “Grey Nuns”
In 1737, Marguerite and a few devout women consecrated themselves to the service of Christ in the poor, forming the beginnings of a religious community. Despite mockery and even slander—many mocked them by calling them les grises (a term that meant both “the grey ones” and “the drunkards,” because of her husband’s past)—Marguerite embraced the name as a badge of humility and redemptive suffering.
Their mission focused on caring for the sick, the poor, abandoned infants, and the destitute—those society rejected. In 1747, Marguerite was entrusted with the General Hospital of Montreal, which was in disrepair. Through tireless labor, almsgiving, and prudent management, she restored it and transformed it into a place of Catholic charity and order.
A Life of Redemptive Suffering and Mystical Union
Throughout her life, Marguerite suffered interior trials, public calumny, physical infirmities, and the death of loved ones. Yet she bore all with seraphic patience, uniting her sufferings to the Passion of Christ and drawing strength from daily Mass, the Divine Office, and the Sacraments.
She had a deep devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Holy Eucharist, and Our Lady. She taught her sisters to see Christ in the poor, and her spirituality was marked by a strong sense of Divine Providence—trusting in God to provide all that was necessary for their mission.
Death and Legacy
Mother d’Youville died on December 23, 1771, at the age of 70. Her last words echoed the confidence in God that marked her life: “We have always been under the protection of Divine Providence.”
Her congregation, the Sisters of Charity of Montreal, continued to flourish after her death, spreading across Canada and into the United States, always maintaining their charism of service to the poor in the spirit of the Gospel.
Canonization and Veneration
Marguerite d’Youville was beatified in 1959 by Pope John XXIII and canonized on December 9, 1990, by Pope John Paul II, making her the first native-born Canadian saint. While her canonization falls within the post-Vatican II era, traditional Catholics honor her heroic virtue and her clear embodiment of traditional Catholic ideals: self-sacrifice, corporal works of mercy, obedience to Divine Providence, and an unshakable trust in God’s will.