Amanda Viger
Amanda Viger | |
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Born | July 27, 1845 |
Died | May 8, 1906 | (aged 60)
Other names | Saint-Jean-de-Goto |
Amanda Viger was a Canadian nun known for her work in helping people with leprosy.
Early life
[edit]Amanda Viger, known as Saint-Jean-de-Goto, was born on July 27, 1845 in Boucherville, Quebec to her parents Bonaventure Viger and Eudoxie Trudel.[1] She completed her secondary studies at the Congregation of Notre-Dame in Boucherville’s boarding school.[citation needed] She was 15 years old when she joined the Religious Hospitallers of Saint Joseph of Montreal and she took her vows on February 2, 1863.[2]
Career
[edit]Viger was one of six sisters who moved to Tracadie, New Brunswick in 1868 to help people suffering from leprosy, with Viger's focus first on establishing a pharmacy to provide medicines for people in need.[1] She ultimately remained at the facility for 34 years.
She also established a school in 1873 where she and other nuns helped to educate children until 1885. From 1888 the children were lodged near the lazaretto, and Viger helped raise funds for a new school that was completed in 1898.[2]
In 1875 she was elected as superior of her community, and she was elected mother superior seven more times.[1] Then, in 1902, she was elected superior of the Hôtel-Dieu of Arthabaskaville which she had a larger building constructed and helped with the financial issues facing the institution.[1]
Viger died from cancer on 8 May 1906.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d La Plante, Corinne. "Biography – VIGER, AMANDA, named Saint-Jean-de-Goto". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. XIII (1901-1910). Retrieved 2023-12-05.
- ^ a b c "Les religieuses fondatrices". Musée Historique de Tracadie. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
Further reading
[edit]- Losier, Mary Jane (1999-01-01). Amanda Viger. Halifax, NS: Halifax, N.S. : Nimbus. ISBN 1-55109-299-9.
- Bourque, Charles L. (2009). Des aboiteaux à la génomique et au-delà : histoire de la Faculté des sciences de l'Université de Moncton. Internet Archive. Moncton, N.-B. : Université de Moncton, Institut d'études acadiennes. ISBN 978-0-9810041-1-2.