Lewiston’s Franco-Americans recognize the Grey Nuns as the dedicated group of religious women who came to the area from Quebec in 1878, to provide charitable social services, health care and children’s welfare programs.

In the fall of 2011, the Franco-American Heritage Center in Lewiston will launch a permanent exhibit about the history of the Grey Nuns and their services to the people of the Androscoggin County.

Bates professor of French, Mary Rice-DeFosse is a Board member of the Franco Center who developed an audio-visual history of the Grey Nuns for the upcoming exhibit.

“Grey Nuns” was the common name given to the religious organization named the Order of the Sisters of Charity of Montreal, founded by a French-Canadian widow named Marguerite d’Youville (1701-1771).   In 1990, d’Youville was canonized a Saint in the Roman Catholic Church by Pope John Paul II.

Rice-DeFosse obtained help from two Sisters of Charity, Annette Bourque and Marguerite Stapleton, who collaborated with her to record oral histories about the nuns work from people who knew and benefited from their social programs.

A sneak preview of the historic research was presented during an informal brown bag luncheon on March 10, at Bates.  Rice-DeFosse explained how the Grey Nuns taught school, ran orphanages, cared for the sick and created a hospital in Lewiston which is St. Mary’s Medical Center today.

Father (Pere) Pierre Hevey was pastor of Saints Peter and Paul Parish in Lewiston in the 1870s, when he invited the first three Grey Nuns from his hometown of St. Hyacinthe, Quebec to teach in the parish school.  Although the religious order was primarily know for their work in hospitals caring for the sick, they agreed to be teachers as Pere Hevey asked. Nonetheless, they made home visits to the sick after their teaching day was over.

“They were amazing women,” said Rice-DeFosse.  “They did everything they were asked to do without question,” she said.

They were especially known for including non religious lay people in their charitable work. Moreover, their social services extended to people throughout the communities, regardless of whether or not they spoke French. “They were non-judgmental to those they cared for,” she says.

As soon as the Grey Nuns arrived by train at Lewiston’s Grand Trunk Station, they began organizing social services for people in the twin cities of Lewiston and Auburn.  In addition to teaching, founding St. Mary’s General Hospital and Maison Marcotte home for the elderly, they also began two
orphanages.  The Healy Asylum was for an orphanage boys and Saint Joseph Orphanage was for girls.  At that time, orphanages were not necessarily homes for children without parents. Rather, many of the children were from families where both parents worked in the mills.  Rice-DeFosse says the
interviews with living residents of the orphanages tell how the Grey Nuns created a family structure for the children. Although they were strict disciplinarians, they were also flexible. They allowed children to
participate in activities outside of the orphanage.  “Although they were strict, all in all, the sister were sweethearts,” said Rice-DeFosse.

Rita Dube is Executive Director of the Franco-American Heritage Center.  She says the Grey Nuns exhibit is important because the women were the backbone of the social services provided to Lewiston and Auburn during an era when immigrants from French Canada were flooding into the area to find work in local mills.  “They made sure people did not fall through the cracks, but got the aid they needed,” she says.

Dube borrowed a habit from the Grey Nuns Mother House in Montreal to use as pattern for the creation of a duplicate garment to display in the Franco Center’s permanent exhibit. 

Information about the Grey Nuns exhibit and opportunities for sponsorship can be directed to rdube@francoamericanheritage.org.
 

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