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September/October 2006 issue


FEATURE - GREY NUNS


The Quiet Evolution
As Montréal’s Grey Nuns decline in number and health, they face wrenching decisions about where to live out their remaining years, what to do with their vast property and collections and how to transfer their work into the hands of secular society
Excerpt of story by Marian Scott with photography by Pierre St. Jacques

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
• Grey Nuns across Canada
• Art and artifacts
• Institutional memory
• Bishop Bourget’s legacy
• Messieurs of Saint Sulpice
Behind a wrought-iron fence and stately grounds, the Grey Nuns’ majestic Mother House preserves a reverent silence. Spanning an entire block of René Lévesque Boulevard in downtown Montréal, the massive stone convent, dating to 1871, forms a tranquil oasis amid the urban bustle. Inside, Sister Georgette Côté shows off the polished wooden wall panel that displays the names of the 3,510 women who have made final vows with the Grey Nuns since Marguerite d’Youville founded the Roman Catholic order in 1737.

"I am number 2,772," says Sister Côté, a petite 87-yearold with a winsome smile and tireless energy. "Many others came after me." Beside 3,007 of the names is a small, wooden cross, indicating the nun has died.


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Forty-two novices entered these doors in 1938, the year Sister Côté, then a 19-year-old teacher from rural New Brunswick, joined the Sisters of Charity of Montréal, as the order is known officially. In those days, the rites and rhythms of the Mother House seemed immutable, from the long habits the nuns wore to the rule of silence they observed during most daily activities. Sisters ate communally at long, wooden tables. For recreation, they listened to readings on religious themes. Outings were restricted.

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