In 2018-2019, the Archives Centre and the Museum Storage Facility at Le Monastère des Augustines received financial assistance from the Department of Canadian Heritage’s Museum Assistance Program (MAP) to optimize storage conditions for collections and archives. Many storage structures were installed, which freed up space while improving the quality of the storage conditions.
When the monastery of the Hôtel-Dieu de Québec was rehabilitated, the artisans had a real consensus about the way the building should be; the old wings were the first thing where they focussed their work. Naturally, the highlight of the Augustinians architectural legacy was guided by their intangible, social and spiritual heritage.
Art lovers may be surprised to learn that there are works by famous painters in the Monastère des Augustines’ collection. One of these painters was Claude François, better known as Frère Luc (1614-1685). Let’s see in detail one of his works that can be discovered as part of the thematic visit Fine Arts at Le Monastère des Augustines, and see why Frère Luc is an important figure in Quebec art history.
Every month, an object from the heritage bequest by the Augustinian community is selected by the museum storage facility and archives center teams. Featured this month: a glass tube with an handwritten note.
Have you ever meditated outdoors? Doing it surrounded by nature while the wind gently rocks you is nothing short of a magical experience. What could be more enchanting than relaxing in one of the many parks of Old Québec, a UNESCO World Heritage Site? Le Monastère des Augustines has five parks to suggest for your next meditation session in Old Quebec this summer!
Every month, an object from the heritage bequest by the Augustinian community is selected by the museum storage facility and archives center teams. Featured this month: a religious statuette from the 17th or 18th century.
Le Monastère would like to invite you to experience two new guided tours, one on architecture and another on fine arts. These tours will help you discover the enchanting Le Monastère in a whole new light, and immerse yourself in its history and culture, which is very much alive.
As part of a traineeship project for her Bachelor’s Degree in Historical Science and Heritage studies at Université Laval, Farah Verret had the opportunity to work with the “Fonds Enfants abandonnés” at the archives centre of Le Monastère des Augustines. The Fund includes records, notes, correspondence and extracts from parish registers. With a goal to “understand and share the Fund,” Verret scanned 600 notes and literally transcribed 515 of these documents in anticipation of their possible release online. She wrote this article about “The Children of the Tour” as part of her internship experience at the archives centre.
At Le Monastère des Augustines, we have the privilege and responsibility to preserve and enhance the material, immaterial, social and spiritual heritage of the Augustinian Sisters. Since silence has settled in Le Monastère in thin layers for more than 375 years, we recognize it as a paradoxically immaterial legacy, but one that is tangible. We are constantly seeking ways to translate this legacy and modernize it in our modes of hospitality, our modalities of animation and our programming.
In the past, life at the monastery was organized according to a well-established rhythm, meeting the customary[1] requirements. Silence, which permeated every area of the monastery, was regularly broken by the resounding sound of different bells.