Notre-Dame Couvent

During the inauguration of the old church of Terrebonne in 1734, Louis Lepage, priest of Sainte-Claire, donates the land to the Sisters of Notre-Dame for them to live on. Unfortunately the Sisters do not follow up on the offer.  In 1822 the offer is renewed by the priest Saint-Germain for the Sisters to build a school for girls in Terrebonne.  The priest must wait four years before the project is started.

The convent was built near the rectory and the church on the old De la Fabrique Street. On August 11th 1826, the two founding sisters arrive at the new convent. A week later, classes begin. The convent consists of one floor with a French roof. In 1849, due to the growing demands of new students, expansion begun on the building to add a second floor and a new angled wing. The convent of the Sisters of Notre-Dame moved during the summer of 1883 to make way for St. Louis College. It is completely destroyed on December 6th, 1887.

On the ground in front of you is the memorial of the former convent of Notre-Dame. It covers the demarcations of the foundations of the building.

WHAT DO THE SEPARATIONS ON THE MEMORIAL PAVEMENT REPRESENT?

CHOICES
1) The location of the twelve rooms of the Convent.
2) Dispersed classrooms on the sides of a corridor.
3) A design without any particular significance.
4) The twelve vocations of the building since its construction.

2) Dispersed classrooms on the sides of a corridor.

While this is not the actual size of the rooms (they are rather small!), the checkerboard pattern represents the classrooms frequented by the students who were educated by the Sisters of Notre-Dame.