Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary - R.S.R. Archives Department

BRIEF HISTORY
Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, originally referred to as The Sisters of the Little Schools, was founded by Élisabeth Turgeon in Saint-Germain-de-Rimouski on September 14^th, 1874. 

The Institute’s goal is to form strong teachers and to maintain small schools in places that demonstrate the most urgent need.

The foundation of two French-language normal schools and a section of an English-language normal school granted the dearest wish of Monsignor Jean Langevin, first bishop of the diocese.

Their pedagogical adaptation followed the social and scholarly evolution where the nuns undertook their apostolate.

In July 1982 the Centre for Christian Education was established in Rimouski, offering activities throughout the region and having an impact across Quebec and beyond.

DESCRIPTION OF FONDS AND COLLECTIONS
The archives include:

• Élisabeth Turgeon, our founder’s, letters
• Letters of the bishops of the diocese of Rimouski and other bishops
• Letters of different religious orders
• The history of the mother house, the farm, the orchard, and others

All of our documents concerning teaching and education in the parishes where we were operating were transferred to the BAnQ of Rimouski, in August 2019.

Other Collections:

Antique books: transferred to the Joseph-Charles Taché Centre at UQAR, on February 26^th, 2018.

The collections of ornithology, of geology, seeds, seashells, stones, were transferred to the Cégep of Rimouski on May 16^th, 2018.
 

Time span included in the archives: 1840-today
Technical specifications and maps: approx. 20
Iconographic documents: 8,000
Text documents: 1540 m.l.
Hours of sound recordings: approx. 50
Hours of video recording: approx. 20
Individual objects: approx. 500

MANDATE AND MISSION
The mission of the R.S.R. archives department consists of preserving the historical and administrative documents of the Congregation of the Sisters of our holy lady of the Holy Rosary so as to represent the organization’s institutional memory and to make private documents that bear witness to the history of the institution accessible to external clientele and to the community according to laws regarding access to information and confidentiality.

In order to realize its mission, the Centre prioritizes the classification of documents and the effort to meet the needs of the present clientele both internal and external.