By Ursula Maxwell-Lewis
Quebec City: Are you fed up with the material world? Then Le Monastère des Augustines may be just the place for you. No television. Electronics parked at the front desk. A re-balancing of mind and body. And, on the doorstep – historic Old Quebec City. Intrigued? I certainly was. But, let’s begin at the beginning.
On August 1 1639 three French Augustinian nuns landed in Quebec City. Tasked by the Duchess of Alguillon to care for aboriginal people and the few settlers in the area, the sisters established the Hotel Dieu hospital. It was the first hospital north of Mexico.
As time passed,12 monastery-hospitals were established. Ultimately, this was the basis for what is now Quebec’s healthcare system.
The religious community, once cloistered behind massive stone walls, has now dwindled to 10. Time took it’s toll on both the religious order, and the historic old building. Ever-practical, the sisters faced the future with courage and good business sense.
How were they to save their historic home, yet continue to fulfill their community commitment to mental and physical wellness, plus the advancement of health sciences? A Trust was the answer.
On August 1 this year, exactly 375 years after the arrival of the first Augustinian sisters, a $40 million dollar redesign allowed Le Monastère des Augustines to reopen as a wellness hotel (and museum) while still continuing as a sanctuary and trust for the order.
Sun streamed into the simple, but comfortable, whitewashed rooms I visited. Prices range from $54 to $71 per night.
Reflexology, sleep therapy, yoga, and most programmes associated holistic spa healing and therapy are available, as well as organic foods and attention to good nutrition All a far cry from the 17th century medical instruments, and examples of life in a closed Roman Catholic order, displayed in the ground floor museum.
My guide tells me that all profits are re-invested into providing care for those in need, as well as their caregivers. The sisters have remained true to the origins of the order, yet moved with the times without compromising their principles.
The chapel is impressive. It’s ornate, as to be expected, but the alter behind a class drop-down door. In the part of the sanctuary open to me, I’m told the choir nuns sat in the lower pews, while the nursing sisters sat silently on the balcony. I try to picture the church congregation, as it would once have been.
Wandering down immaculate wide halls, I’m aware of the contemplative quiet of Le Monastère. I imagine the swish of black and white habits in the halls, no-nonsense black leather shoes on stone floors (now a warm wood). Perhaps the occasional bell summoning the sisters to prayers, or meals. To my surprise, I miss the smell of candle wax I always associate with convents.
Respecting the assorted faiths of visitors who will frequent the old building, religious signs are few, but the spartan immaculately kept spaces speak for themselves. Visitors are instinctively aware that this is still the home of the St. Ausgustines sisters, and is to be respected. I would like to have spent more time studying the museum artifacts and pictures – including the original charter signed by Louis XIII.
What would it be like to spend a week in such a sanctuary? Would I suffer withdrawal from my Twitter-Facebook-Instagram lifestyle? Would I feel refreshed? Renewed? Get a grip on life? I wonder.
If you go, let me know. Holistic cloistered basics might be precisely what the doctor ordered, and we are blessed with a Canadian dollar which encourages us to see more of Canada.
For more information go to www.augustines.ca or www.quebecregion.com
Ursula Maxwell-Lewis is a British Columbia writer and photographer. Contact her at utravel@shaw.ca