Elisabeth Turgeon
Jesus said to His disciples: "Let the little children come to me" (Luke 18, 16). To accomplish this desire for the children of the Diocese of Rimouski, God prepared a marvellous woman, tender and caring: Elisabeth Turgeon. This woman of frail health but of brilliant intellect and a wise and generous heart, was born in Beaumont (Quebec) February 7, 1840. Her parents, Louis-Marc Turgeon and Angèle Labrecque, gave their nine children an exceptionally solid education.

Elisabeth was 15 years old when her father died prematurely. Five years later, she entered Laval Normal School in Quebec City. She received her diploma in 1862, then taught in Saint-Romuald, in Saint-Roch in Quebec City and in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré. April 3, 1875, on the invitation of His Grace Jean Langevin, bishop of the Diocese of Rimouski, she joined a group of women who were together by the wish of the Bishop to be prepared as qualified teachers for the parish schools of the Diocese of Rimouski.

September 12, 1879, with twelve of her companions, Elisabeth consecrated herself to the Lord through vows of religion. The same day, she was appointed first Superior of the Congregation. She sent sisters, two by two, to teach in three very poor parishes: Saint-Gabriel, Saint-Godefroi and Port-Daniel (all in Quebec). She then opened an independent school in Rimouski to prepare novices to learn the art of teaching.

Her maternal tenderness and her steadfast confidence were without limit, but her physical strength was already exhausted. Mother Marie-Elisabeth (her religious name) died August 17, 1881.