Sister Mary Anne (Marie Esther Blondin)
Courtesy of The Sisters of St Ann Archives

Sister Mary Marie Esther Blondin, directress of the village school in Vaudreuil, saw a great need for improved rural teaching.  She petitioned the Bishop of Montreal, Ignace Bourget, for permission to gather women together and undertake this task. On September 13, 1848 The Sisters of St Ann were officially established in Vaudreuil, Québec, under the leadership of Sister Mary Anne (Marie Esther Blondin). The Sisters of St Ann flourished, although not without some controversy over the next years, and were well able to meet the request of Bishop Modeste Demers to send Missionaries to Vancouver Island.