This hospital was founded by the duchesse d'Aiguillon, niece of Cardinal Richelieu, at the urging of the Jesuit missionaries. The institution was entrusted to an order of nursing sisters, the HospitaliÅres of Dieppe, three of whom, with a servant-girl, arrived at Quebec in 1639. Their main aim was to provide sick care for the Indians, hoping thereby to persuade them to become Christians. In this aim the sisters had little success, but from the early days of the infant colony the French settlers enjoyed the benefits of the hospital at little cost to themselves, and, as their numbers increased, it performed an essential service. In time it was staffed mainly by young Canadian girls, most of them members of the wealthier families. When they took their vows, they had to bring to the hospital a dowry of 3500 1ivres, worth about $15,000 in today's money.
The building remains today one of Quebec's leading hospitals and contains a fine museum which may be visited by appointment.
