Marie Guyard

1599-1672. Roman Catholic missionary to Quebec. Born in Tours, France, she married to please her parents, though her real desire was to become a nun. After four years, during which she had a son, her husband died. In 1631 she decided to enter the Ursuline Convent in Tours. Eight years later she agreed to the request of her archbishop to go with two other nuns to the Jesuit mission in Quebec and there found a community of nuns. She became the first superior. The work was primarily educational and social among both Indians and French. She showed great fortitude, determination, and bravery. Throughout her life, both in France and Quebec, she received visions which on the instruction of her confessors she recorded. Her letters have been published in several French editions. In 1911 Pius X pronounced her Venerable.