Marie-Élisabeth Turgeon, founder of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary(Congrégation des Sœurs du Saint-Rosaire),has been recognized by the Church for her heroic virtues.
She was born in 1840 in Beaumont, south of Quebec City. Her religious community today is present in Canada, the United States, Honduras and Guatemala. She is the first person from the Archdiocese of Rimouski to whom the Church has given the title Venerable. Mother Marie-Elisabeth (her religious name) died on August 17, 1881.
According to the biographical information from her religious community, Elisabeth was 15 years old when her father died prematurely. Five years later, she entered Laval Normal School in Quebec City. She received her teaching diploma in 1862, and then taught in Saint-Romuald, as well as in the parish of Saint-Roch in Quebec City, and also in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré. On April 3, 1875, on the invitation of the Most Reverend Jean Langevin, Bishop of the Diocese of Rimouski, she joined a group of women who, at the Bishop’s request, were formally trained as teachers for the parish schools of what was then the Diocese of Rimouski.
The decree recognizing her heroic virtues was authorized by Pope Francis. Her cause was first introduced in the Archdiocese of Rimouski in 1989, and the decree opening the canonical inquiry was signed on November 15, 1990.
