History Page | Arrival of the Foundresses at the first mission in Manitoba (1874)

One hundred and fifty years ago, on August 22, 1874, a group of four SNJM sisters arrived in St. Boniface. After a 12-day journey by train, steamboat and barge, Sisters Jean-de-Dieu, Marie-Florentine, Electa-du-Sacré-Coeur and Marie-Élie took over from the Grey Nuns. From now on, they will be responsible for St. Mary’s Academy, founded in 1869.

St. Mary’s Academy, 1869

The Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary (SNJM) are sending four nuns at the request of Archbishop Alexandre Taché of the Diocese of Saint-Boniface. The bishop wanted to provide Catholic education to young people living west of the Red River.

This was the fifth foundation outside the province of Quebec for the congregation founded by Mother Marie-Rose Durocher in 1843.

Find out more about the history of the SNJM foundation in Manitoba.