RELIGIOUS ORDERS All those who are called by God to the practice of the evangelical counsels, and who make faithful profession of them, bind themselves to the Lord in a special way. (Decree On the Up-To-Date Renewal of Religious Life) Women Religious Congregation of Notre Dame The Congregation of Notre Dame was founded in Montreal, then Ville Marie, in 1658 by Marguerite Bourgeoys , a native of France who had come to this country a few years earlier. The civil charter of the Congregation, signed by King Louis XIV in 1 671, refers especially to its "instruction of young girls in piety to enable them to practice the Christian and moral virtues according to their state". When Bishop Bernard MacDonald invited the Congregation here in 1857 he had the following ideas in mind: "For a long time I have wanted a house of education in this diocese directed by religious in order to provide young girls of the parish of Charlottetown , and those of country parishes when possible, the advantages of a polite education coupled with both moral and religious training". In 1857 four sisters of Notre Dame arrived in Charlottetown and opened a school in a donated building on . This was the first of the Congregation's schools on P.E.I. , with the St. Joseph's Convent School on opening in 1863. The following year brought sisters of Notre Dame to Miscouche and in 1868 sisters' schools opened in Tignish and Summerside . This was followed by the establishment of convent schools at Souris in 1881 and in South Rustico in 1882. Notre Dame Sisters, 100'' Anniversary. In 1870 the new Notre Dame Academy opened its doors on , replacing the much overcrowded former school there. Although Notre Dame Academy and St. Joseph's in Charlottetown remained as schools for girls, with a couple of brief exceptions, the other Island sisters' schools admitted boys, in some cases right from the beginning. From 1902 to 1922 these private convent schools, with the exception of Summerside and Dame Academy in Charlottetown , gradually gave way to becoming public schools, administered by the provincial Department of Education, with large numbers of sisters continuing to teach within the school system. This step was taken mainly because the cost of operating these private schools became too great a burden on the Catholic people. The Summerside convent Religious Orders ♦ 25