Mr. Speaker, 1997 marks the 300th anniversary of the arrival in Trois-Rivières of the Ursulines, a religious order, answering a call from Providence and France to develop New France.
As they got off the ship on the morning of October 10, 1697, with the mission of teaching young women and looking after the disinherited, the handicapped and the sick, it was a moment of great excitement for the settlement of Trois-Rivières, which had been founded 63 years earlier and which had neither school nor hospital.
The people were full of hope as they welcomed the Ursulines, who went on with generosity, self-denial and devotion to fulfil their vocation first in Trois-Rivières and then throughout Quebec.
As the member for Trois-Rivières, I would like to express, today, October 21, the feast day of Saint Ursula, patron saint of this community, our deepest gratitude and our sincerest respect to the Ursuline nuns for their exceptional contribution to the history of Quebec.