On the same grounds, to the south of Monument Lefebvre, is what was, until 2014, the Memramcook Institute, once the home of Collège Saint-Joseph, in front of which stands this statue. It it a larger than life sized bronze likeness of
Father Camille Lefebvre. It was he who was responsible for the founding, in 1864, of Collège Saint-Joseph. It was opened on the site of St. Thomas Seminary, founded in 1852 by his predecessor, Father F. X. Lafrance. The seminary had been closed in 1861.
The statue stands upon a multi-tiered granite plinth, on the front of which is embossed the words:
Père Lefebvre
1864 - 1914
The dates refer not to the life of the Father (1831-1895), but to the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of Collège Saint-Joseph. With the establishment of the University of Moncton in the 1960s the college was closed.
The sculpture by artist Philippe Hébert offers a lifelike resemblance of Father Lefebvre who appears to welcome passers-by with his outstretched arms. The statue was erected in 1914 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Collège Saint-Joseph by Father Lefebvre. The statue pays tribute to the man who, after arriving in Memramcook in 1864, spent the last 30 years of his life there as the pastor of the parish of Saint-Thomas de Memramcook and superior of the Collège Saint-Joseph.
In 1870, Father Lefebvre had a girls’ academy built. It later became the Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Cœur convent, where a congregation was founded under the same name in 1924.
Two other facts relating to religion deserve mention. Highly regarded in his own religious community, Father Lefebvre served as the provincial superior of the Holy Cross Congregation for Canada, from 1871 to 1880, while continuing his duties as parish priest and college superior. During his stint as provincial superior, his efforts resulted in the founding of the Petites Sœurs de la Sainte-Famille, whose convent was located quite near the Collège Saint-Joseph.
From Historic Places Canada
To the right (north) of the statue is mounted a plague outlining the life of Father Lefebvre, the text of which is reproduced below.
Father Camille Lefebvre
Erected in 1914, in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the foundation of Saint-Joseph's college, the statue on your left honours the one who toiled in Memramcook for over 30 years, as superior of St Joseph's college, which he founded, and as pastor of Saint-Thomas Parish.
Camille Lefebvre's career begins years before arriving in Memramcook. Born in Saint-Philippe de Laprairie, in the province of Quebec, on February 14, 1841, Lefebvre was to give "l' Acadie" its first lasting institution of advanced education on Acadian soil.
Following his early upbringing in his native township, a young Camille enters Saint-Laurent college, near Montreal, in 1852. This institution is operated by the Holy Cross order, a congregation founded at Le Mans, in France, by F. Basile Moreau, in 1835. He becomes the first candidate of Canadian origin to request admission to this congregation in which he will eventually be ordained to the priesthood on July 29, 1855.
Following his ordination, Lefebvre will serve as assistant to the pastor at St-Eustache and at Ste Rose, in the province of Quebec. He then returns to Saint-Laurent college where he teaches catechism, a field where he reveals himself as a strong communicator. In 1861, he is assigned to Saint-Aimé college, province of Quebec, where he also assists the local pastor as well as accompany the bishop on his confirmation tours. It is at this time that he develops a certain charisma as a preacher, thereby acquiring the esteem of his colleagues and the faithful. He is then in great demand in the region for preaching at parochial missions.
But the biggest demand for his services is yet to come: in March 1863, Fatter Moreau, founder of his religious order, asks him if he would come to Memramcook, to replace Father F. X. Lafrance as pastor of Saint-Thomas parish. The latter's health was on the decline and, two years prior, due to financial difficulties, he had been forced to close the "seminary" which he had founded in 1852. Lefebvre, in accepting this assignment, takes on the responsibility of pastor of Saint-Thomas as well as the challenge of re-opening Lafrance's college which had been known as "seminaire Saint-Thomas".
Lefebvre arrives in Memramcook on June 7, 1864. Shortly after his arrival, he hastens to refurbish the old buildings left by Lafrance in order to re-open the college by the fall of that year. He is seconded in these efforts by three other priests and three brothers of his religious order. The first students, 31 in total, "humble beginnings of an institution destined to regenerate a people", arrive on October 10, 1864. The "silent century" of the Acadians was coming to an end. In the school year 1865-66, there will be 69 students and ten years later the number has climbed to 200.
Saint-Joseph's college, as it will be known, accepts French-speaking and English-speaking students alike and will develop rapidly at the same time as Acadians are coming up with more ways to reaffirm their identity, such as newspapers, national conventions, etc... Camille Lefebvre is able to stimulate a sense of pride in the Acadian population without alienating people of other nationalities. Four years only after its inception, the college is granted its charter along with a yearly subsidy from to provincial government.
Within his own congregation, Lefebvre is recognized for his administrative skills and in 1871 he is named Provincial Superior of his order, with headquarters in Montreal. He hesitates at first and then accepts the position in 1872 on condition that he be allowed to remain in Memramcook and continue as director of his college. In 1876, in recognition of his devotion toward the Acadian community and the catholic population of the Maritimes, he receives the title of "Apostolic Missionary" from the Vatican.
As pastor of Saint-Thomas parish, F. Lefebvre reveals himself as an eloquent preacher as well as a capable administrator. Assisted by his Holy Cross colleagues, he ministers to parishioners in a parish which still extends well beyond the limits of the Memramcook valley. It's under his leadership that, in 1879, the wooden spire of the church is demolished and replaced by a bigger and taller stone steeple which survives to this day.
Memorable celebrations take place in 1880 to recognize his 25 years of priesthood, in 1881 on the occasion of the first Acadian national convention, and again in 1889 to mark the 25th anniversary of the college. In 1894, Laval University recognizes Lefebvre by bestowing upon him an honorary doctorate "for services rendered to the French Acadian cause in New Brunswick and for his professorship in theology for twelve years". Thus are recognized his role as an orthodox teacher for his students as well as within the community. In referring to the reports covering national convetions in later years, it's easy to see that he had maintained his fiery eloquence of early days. Parishioners, religious colleagues, students and the Acadian population at large are much saddened by the news of his death in 1895. It is then said that "we have experienced a national loss and all Acadians are mourning deeply...this man, more than any other, was our benefactor. He is the new Moses who delivered us from the slavery of ignorance".
His educational institution has survived his death, since his modest college has evolved into a university. In the later half of the 20th century, that institution took on an unexpected progress as it moved to Moncton to become known in 1963, as "l'Université de Moncton". Three years later, the Memramcook college closes its doors after having dispensed advanced education for 102 year and having allowed the Acadians to gain their rightful place on the university scene of our country.
Homage to the one who gave to the Acadian population the promise of a future of their own!
From the Plaque by the Statue