Several religious communities have taken up residence in Vanier and have contributed to implement the first education and health services. Encouraged by the Archbishop of Ottawa, the Montfortains (The Company of Mary) settled in Janeville on August 4, 1887 and founded Notre-Dame de Lourdes, the first Roman Catholic parish and, in 1901, they built a scholasticate along with a minor seminary. In 1889, they began their pilgrimages, and in 1908 endowed the Parish with the Notre-Dame de Lourdes grotto, a unique place for meditation dedicated to the Marian cult. That very same year, the Montfortains opened the Saint-Charles church. The Daughters of Wisdom, the sister branch of the Company of Mary, arrived on September 8, 1891 and dedicated themselves to the education of the community’s children. In 1904, they built a prestigious residential school and a convent to train their young nuns-to-be.
Other congregations settled in the 1930s. In 1934, the Grey Nuns from Pembroke began teaching at the Assumption school. In 1938, Les Pères Blancs, Missionnaires d’Afrique (The White Fathers of Africa) built a large scholasticate on the site of today’s Museopark in the Richelieu Park. The Sacred Heart Brothers took charge of the école St-Charles in 1935, of the école Genest in 1939, and of the école Ducharme in 1941. The Sisters of Charity of Ottawa, and the Holy Cross Sisters, two congregations dedicated to education, were also present.
The blossoming of parishes in Vanier followed the population growth. A chapel was built in 1931 on Cyr Street and began, on January 4, 1956, to serve the Marie-Médiatrice Parish, the third Roman Catholic and francophone parish of Vanier. The Notre-Dame du Saint-Esprit Parish was established on February 2, 1953. Vanier also has an English-speaking Catholic parish, Assumption (1931), and three protestant churches: Saint Margaret’s Anglican Church (1887); the Eastview United Church (1913) and Eastview Baptist Church (1921).
Notre-Dame de Lourdes.
MVM / Benoit Aubry
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Saint-Margaret anglican church.
MVM / Benoit Aubry
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Eastview Baptist Church.
MVM / Benoit Aubry
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Assumption.
MVM / Benoit Aubry
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Marie-Médiatrice.
MVM / Benoit Aubry
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“Accueil Sagesse” house of the religious order of the Filles de la sagesse.
MVM / Benoit Aubry
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