December 31, 1849

At the request of Bishop Pierre-Flavien Turgeon, later Archbishop of Québec,
and on the instigation of lawyer George Manly Muir,
Marie-Josephte Fitzbach accepted to open a shelter in Québec City for women
 who were needy and homeless on leaving jail.
Marie-Josephte Fitzbach was 43 years old.

Her life's itinerary until then:

As an adolescent, Marie was already working!
As a young adult, she had married a widower with two children!
A widow herself at the age of 27, Marie-Josephte once again took a job to provide
for her three daughters, born of her marriage with François-Xavier Roy.
Later, thirsting for prayer and quietude, Marie retired with the Sisters of Charity of Québec.

Works started by Marie-Josephte Fitzbach:

Abandoned women asked for her help.
Unschooled children appealed to her devotedness.
Homeless adolescent girls solicited the reassurance of her maternal love.

Birth of the Good Shepherd community:

Young women wanting to help others asked to share
in her new work of charity.

Marie Fitzbach answered YES to all those calls. With simplicity, intelligence and goodness, she served families, society and the Church in her time and for decades to come.

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Works of the Congregation | Expansion