CHAPTER VII. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SISTERS OF THE CONGREGATION OF NOTRE DAME AT VILLE-MARIE. Sister Bourgeois had now lived four years in Ville-Marie, during which time she had practised the most heroic virtues. Her zeal for the glory of God was ever increasing, her only desire being to win souls to His service, and to love and imitate the virtues of His divine Mother. About this period she felt interiorly inspired to build a church in honor of Mary, in which she might at times assemble her little pupils for instruction, in order to effect greater good among them. Hitherto she had literally to run after them from house to house, which unavoidably caused a great loss of her precious time. Yet, obedient to the inspirations of grace, she first consulted her confessor, Father Pizart, a Jesuit, who was then the only priest in Ville-Marie. To test her firmness he represented and exaggerated the difficulties she would have to encounter, but her zealous determination overcame his objections, and he approved of her design, not doubting that God would assist her to accomplish it. Being strengthened in her resolution by his approval, and full of confidence in God and His Holy Mother, she went directly to M. de Maisonneuve to ask for a suitable tract of land on which to erect the building. This he gave most willingly, as there was nothing dearer to him than to promote devotion to the Mother of God by every means in his power. Having unbounded confidence in Sister Bourgeois, he desired her to select a site for the edifice, wherever she pleased, and she accordingly took possession of the ground on which the church of Bon-Secours stands today, being about four hundred paces from the city of Ville-Marie. The extent of the lot was only 40 by 30 feet, which small enclosure she judged sufficient for her purpose, but she had no earthly means to carry out her design. However, she set to work hopefully, and enlisted the sympathies of the colonists. Nor was she disappointed, as all were disposed to assist; some prepared lumber, others quarried stone, mechanics worked as their services were required, laborers waited on the workmen, several contributed money quite liberally, and in a few days the foundation was ready to receive the ponderous wooden structure to be laid upon it. Everything seemed to be progressing favorably, but it was the work of God, and had to encounter contradiction to make it perfect. The contradiction came, too, from a quarter the least expected, God having so permitted in order to purify still more the heart of this holy woman. Until then, there had been no bishop at Quebec, and M. l'Abbe de Quelus, first superior of the Seminary of St. Sulpice at Montreal, arrived from France, at the precise time they were putting up the building. He came as Grand-Vicar of the Archbishop of Rouen, in whose name all spiritual jurisdiction in Canada had hitherto been exercised. He had never heard of Sister Bourgeois, and