Photographs of the portrait of the founder of the Order of the Sisters of the Holy Names, her home in Quebec, other related items. Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary (SNMJ) was founded in 1843 by Eulalie Durocher in Longueil, Quebec. Sister Marie Rose, as was her name as a religious, was just 32 at the time, and her goal was to provide Christian education to girls and young women, particularly those who were poor and disadvantaged, especially in rural areas. In 1849, at the age of 38 and just six years after taking her vows and founding the Order, Mother Marie Rose died. She left behind a community of women that had grown from three to 44 sisters. In addition to the portrait of Sister Marie Rose is a painting of her childhood home in Saint-Antoine-sur-Richelieu, both of which are lovingly displayed at Academy of the Holy Names. As for the history of that school, in June 1880, Father Joseph Brouillet, the Pastor of AlbanyΓÇÖs Church of the Assumption, a French-Canadian church, received permission from the Bishop of the Albany Diocese, the Very Reverend Francis McNierney, to found a Canadian school. The French-speaking Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary (SNJM) from Longueil, Quebec arrived in September of that same year to teach in Assumption Parish School and to open an academy. The founding sisters of what would eventually become Academy of the Holy Names in Albany were: Mother Theresa of Jesus, Sister M. Rosalie, Sister Marie de l'Espérance, and Sister M. Cyprien. They left Hochelaga, Quebec (now part of the city of Montreal) on August 30, 1880, initially for Schenectady where Holy Names Sisters were already located. The Sisters of the Holy Names were teaching in 1880 at a school affiliated with the Church of Saint John the Evangelist at 809 Union Street in Schenectady. (Along the way, they visited with sisters in Rutland, VT., a point that underscores a French-Canadian presence elsewhere in the northeast.) Once settled in Albany, the Sisters lived for a brief time in the church rectory at 107 Hamilton Street. Fr. Brouillet purchased 113 (or 120) Hamilton Street with the purpose of it becoming the academy, but the Bishop did not allow them to proceed until the 1884-1885 academic year. That first year, the academy welcomed four boarders, 20 day scholars, 20 music pupils, and 15 ladies and young girls who studied painting and embroidery. By April 1885, the academy, incorporated as Academy of Notre Dame, relocated to 628 Madison Avenue. The school was officially renamed in 1899 as Academy of the Holy Names. Eventually the Academy found a new and permanent home at 1075 New Scotland Road.(Also of note: In 1877, the Rev. Joseph Brouillet came to Albany to become the pastor of Church of the Assumption. Prior to his arrival, the pastor was the Rev. L. M. Dugas, who left Assumption to become the pastor of St. JosephΓÇÖs Church in Cohoes.) (With sincere thanks to Mary Ellen Conboy at Academy of the Holy Names)
