The following resumé of the work of the Grey Nuns is interesting:
In 1801, at the request of the government officials, the insane were admitted and a special annex built. Previous to this, the sisters had already received twenty-three such patients and until this work was discontinued in 1839, the number received was 114.
In 1823, the community undertook the care of Irish orphan girls.
In 1846, at the request of the priests of the Seminary, a “dispensary” for the poor was opened and a system of house to house visitation was established.
In 1847, the sisters nursed the poor Irish immigrants stricken with typhus fever.
In the same year a temporary “home” was opened for the women left without resources after this terrible plague epidemic.
In 1849, at the request of the mayor of Montreal, the sisters undertook the nursing of the cholera victims in the “sheds” constructed for the typhus patients.
In 1851, St. Patrick’s Orphan Asylum was opened and the Grey Nuns took charge.
In 1858, the first “kindergarten” conducted by the Grey Nuns in Montreal was founded on Bonaventure Street by the Rev. Father Rousselot, a Sulpician. It was known as Salle d’ Asile St. Joseph, but was ultimately closed, because its proximity to the railroad made it dangerous for the small children who came there to school.
In 1861, the Nazareth Asylum for the Blind on St. Catherine Street was opened.