Marie-Josephte Fitzbach, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetMarie-Josephte Fitzbach
founder of the Good Shepherd Congregation of Quebec
Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Saint-Vallier, Quebec, Canada
About Marie-Josephte Fitzbach
- Marie-Josephte Fitzbach (October 16, 1806 – September 1, 1885) was the founder of the Good Shepherd Sisters of Québec.The daughter of Charles Fitzbach, a native of Luxembourg, and Geneviève Nadeau, she was born in St-Vallier de Bellechasse, Lower Canada.
- She did not go to school as a child and left home at the age of 13 to become a housekeeper in Quebec City to support her family.
- Three years later, she began working for François-Xavier Roy, a merchant.
- At the same time, she paid a student to teach her how to read and write and basic accounting.Following the death of her employer's wife, she married Mr.
- Roy in 1828 at Cap-Santé; he had two children and the couple had three more daughters.
- After her husband died in 1833, the two older children were put in the care of grandparents and she was left to raise her three daughters.
- One daughter died in 1846.
- In 1849, her two daughters joined the Sisters of Charity of Quebec.
- She moved to the Sisters' hospice to be closer to her daughters.
- In December 1849, at the request of bishop Pierre-Flavien Turgeon, she established St.
- Magdalen’s Refuge, a home for women released from prison.
- In February 1856, as Mother Mary of the Sacred Heart, she became the first mother superior for the Good Shepherds of Quebec.
- She was the first person born in Quebec to found a religious order.Her portrait was painted by painter Marie-Elmina Anger, a member of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd in Quebec who also painted the portraits of other Quebec religious figures.She was declared venerable in June 2012.
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