The Collection

History

The first idea of a Good Shepherd collection came from Sister Mary of the Incarnation (Mary Mullin, 1830-1902), who was born in Ireland. She persuaded a benefactor to donate a cabinet that could suitably preserve souvenirs of the Congregation’s foundation.

In 1890, Sister Marie-du-Carmel (Émilie Langlois, 1852-1936) built on that rudimentary beginning and preserved, for future generations, various objects, documents and souvenirs which had once belonged to Marie Fitzbach, George Manly Muir and the initial collaborators. Various artefacts were added to the collection over the years. A real little museum was set up at the Mother House on rue De La Chevrotière.
Chest which belonged to Marie Fitzbach

In 1976, following the expropriation of the Mother House, this ?place of memory? was moved to the Generalate in Sainte-Foy. The artefacts exhibited represented a small percentage of the total collection. It was not until 1992, when the Good Shepherd Museum opened, that this collection, which recalls a significant chapter of Quebec's social and religious history, became accessible to the general population.

The Mother House, rue De La Chevrotière
Sister Marie-du-Carmel (Émilie Langlois)
  

A team of professionals began computerizing the collection at the Museum and the Generalate on October 23, 2000, as part of a pilot project organized by Mission Patrimoine Religieux (Religious Heritage Mission). Sister Marie-Berthe Bailly, the Good Shepherd Museum's Director at the time, led the project which ended in mid-January 2001.

Data were subsequently added to the Canadian Heritage Information Network and the Infomuse network of the Société des musées québécois. www.rcip.gc.ca Computerizing continues today, as new objects are regularly added to the collection.