St. Marguerite Bourgeoys

Not unlike St. Marcellin in his devotion to Mary and passion for the education of youth, St. Marguerite Bourgeoys, the first Canadian to be canonized, answered the call she felt deep inside not only to consecrate her life to God, but to spend it, overcoming many obstacles, to educate the youth of Montreal. Her vocation began in France when during a procession she looked at a statue of Mary who seemed to recognize her. She became part of a "Confraternity of Mary" and decided to become a missionary in Canada where she landed in 1652. There she founded the Congregation of Notre Dame, a non-cloistered group (unique at the time) so that her sisters could move about freely to found and work in schools.  This style of religious life was opposed, and in addition to dealing with poverty and harsh living conditions, she had to fight to defend this "radical" form of religious life.   She won, as she won the hearts of everyone by her joyful spirit, holiness and boundless generosity.  When a young sister was ill, the elderly Marguerite offered her life in exchange for the recovery of the young sister; her prayer was answered, the sister recovered  and Marguerite died a few days later.  She was canonized in 1982 and the CND's still conducts schools in Canada and in the United States.
When our Marist Brothers first came to New York City, they taught the boys of the parish of St. Jean Baptiste (St. Anne's Academy) while the Sisters taught in the girls school.   For 19 years, the Marist Brothers and CND's lived and worked side by side in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. May St. Marguerite and St. Marcellin continue their work through all of us, both lay and consecrated men and women! 
Bro. Rene