Domaine Villa-Maria | The Sisters leave, their heirs want to stay

The last large religious estate on the slopes of Mount Royal is about to be put up for sale for hundreds of millions of dollars, while its occupants prepare for their future, between resignation and the desire to last.

Domaine Villa-Maria, a 1.7 million square foot plot of land nestled between Westmount and Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, has belonged to the Sisters of Notre-Dame since 1854.

Every day, the two ends of earthly life come together. A noisy crowd of young people fill the Villa Maria and Marianopolis colleges, located in heritage buildings on the site. A few dozen meters away, the Bonsecours residence, where around a hundred sisters (average age of almost 90 years) continue to live in compliance with their perpetual vows, most of them in an infirmary.

The latter no longer have the energy to manage the places. Last year, they announced their desire to sell the real estate complex, which includes vast green spaces that are making real estate developers salivate. The nuns have already received numerous calls.

“We’ve been thinking about it for a long time. We did studies, had conversations. This is not a decision we take lightly. There is an immense impact on the lives of the sisters,” explains Sister Ona Bessette, superior general, in an interview with The Press. His tone is calm, calm, despite the imminent heartbreak. ” It’s sad. But we have to continue to provide for them, and taking care of this whole thing was just too much. »

“The history of this building is the history of our school”

If Marianopolis College (a private English-speaking CEGEP) has just purchased its building and its immediate surroundings from the Sisters, this is not the case for Villa Maria College. The private secondary school of 1900 Students was created by the congregation 170 years ago, at the time of the purchase of the estate. The nuns administered it until 2009.

The college’s lease will be respected until it expires in 2030, the Sisters assured. Then it is the future owner who will decide.

“The desire of our school is to remain on the site and continue the work of the Sisters of the congregation here, in its setting since always,” argues Catherine Maheu, president of the board of directors of the college.

The interview constitutes the first official statement by the institution since the announcement of the sale of the estate last year. It takes place in the distinguished and cozy atmosphere of the oldest section of the college, a villa which served as the official residence of three governors general of Canada in the mid-19th century.^e century.

“We work tirelessly” to ensure the future of the college on site “at all costs”, continues M^me Maheu, who emphasizes that the college itself had pavilions built on the site. “There is only this scenario. We are certain that there is a way forward, that there is a solution that is within reach. » This desire will be included in the real estate file that the brokerage firm Colliers should shortly publish.

“You have to agree to detach”

From the windows of the infirmary and the residence, the nuns can see the college where many of them worked. Like their founder Marguerite Bourgeoys 350 years ago, the Sisters of Notre-Dame have dedicated themselves to education, running hundreds of schools in Quebec and elsewhere in the world.

“You have to agree to detach. As painful as it may be (and it is), it is a transformation, let go of the Superior General. It’s not easy, but the sisters realize it’s a necessity. »

The congregation expresses the “very strong” wish to see future buyers maintain the Villa Maria college on the site, but was unable to find common ground with management so that it could purchase the premises.

The school can count on other support: “We are in regular contact with the Villa Maria college teams and we are aligned with them on the objective of keeping the school open”, indicates the district mayor, Gracia Kasoki Katahwa, through his office.

“Our priority is the preservation of this important heritage space for the borough as well as its green spaces,” she continues. Although no concrete project has been submitted to the borough for Domaine Villa-Maria, we are following this file closely and we await with interest initiatives for the site. »

Sister Bessette and other leaders of the congregation are now looking at where the nuns who need medical care will go after 2030. Part of the “hundreds of millions of dollars” that the sisters expect to receive from a possible buyer will be dedicated to ensure the subsistence of some 500 sisters of Notre-Dame.

The rest of the amount from the sale will go to the brand new Marguerite-Bourgeoys Fund, which “will support the most vulnerable students in high-needs environments, including students newly arrived in Canada” in the metropolis’s public schools. It will be managed by the Foundation for Montreal Students.