Sister Luc d'Antioche, SNJM

Sister Luc d’Antioche (Delphine Beuglet) was a trailblazing teacher when she started teaching in St. Boniface in 1900. In 1925, she became principal at the Académie St-Joseph, a position she held until 1941. Under her leadership, the school evolved immensely.

On March 19, 1929, Sister Luc d’Antioche successfully had the school recognized as a collegiate, a designation that comes with several privileges. She also encouraged girls to study sciences. To support her pupils, she had a chemistry lab and a physics lab set up in the school, with all the required equipment. She also created a section dedicated to home economics, where girls learned to cook, sew and weave. A business course was also available, granting professional training. Each year, executives from Great West Life and other large companies reached out to the Académie, looking for future secretaries.

On June 3, 1936, Sister Luc d’Antioche’s dream came true: in collaboration with the University of Manitoba, a college for girls was created. Sydney E. Smith, then president of the University of Manitoba granted the Académie with an affiliation to the university. At the time, it was the only college for girls in all of Manitoba. For many teachers, it was an opportunity to further their education, in French, beyond their education certificate.