June 25, 2015

Inspired and inspiring women

On April 15, members of the Association des femmes entrepreneures de Québec (AFEQ) gathered together at a roundtable discussion to hear Sr. Lise Tanguay, member of the Fiducie’s Board of Directors and Superior General of the Fédération des Monastères des Augustines, Marie Rübsteck, General Manager of the Fiducie, and Isabelle Duchesneau, Executive Director of the Monastère project describe their personal experiences as participants in this exciting adventure.

Each of the participants in the roundtable discussion, moderated by Renée Hudon, held the audience’s attention as they talked about their role in the project. Sr. Lise Tanguay recalled certain historical events, dating back to the arrival of the first Augustinian sisters in Québec in 1639. She also explained how the idea of converting the Monastère des Augustines into an inhabited place of memory and of transferring the community’s cultural heritage to the people of Québec came into being. As her eyes filled with pride for this project that will become a reality in just a few weeks from now, she spontaneously described it as an “initiative bursting with the energy of youth, carried out with the experience of adulthood.”

Next, the General Manager of the Fiducie discussed the enormous challenge of rehabilitating this historic site and said a few words about the conservation of the Monastère’s tangible and intangible heritage. “The Augustinian sisters have bequeathed not only their monastery to us, but also many of the values that we will perpetuate through the social and cultural mission being developed by the Fiducie – a mission aimed at offering care to those who take care of others and providing young people and the public as a whole with access to the heritage and archives of the Augustinian sisters,” Ms. Rübsteck explained.

The management of the Monastère des Augustines project has been entrusted toanother woman of vision, Isabelle Duchesneau. She explained that the Monastère will offer “An adventure within” on several levels. Everything there is to discover at the Monastère – from the museum to the accommodations, the restaurant, the archives and the holistic health program, with its workshops on various health-related issues – is focused on care of both the body and the mind.

The roundtable discussion was held at the Hôpital général de Québec monastery founded by the Augustinian sisters in 1693. Afterwards, participants were invited to take a guided heritage tour of historic parts of the monastery, including the rooms where the Comte de Frontenac once lived.

To view other photos of the event, click here.