If you sometimes find there’s not much on your plate, imagine what it must have been like for the Grey Nuns who, from their beginnings in 1747 until 1938, ate their meals from pewter plates barely larger than the saucer of a cup (i.e. 22 centimeters).
As if it weren’t enough to make do with portions that would barely satiate a toddler today, the Grey Nuns, during periods of wartime famine, for example, went without food altogether to meet the needs of the indigents they cared for.
What’s particularly fascinating is that the Sanctuary’s permanent exhibition now features original remnants of these precious pieces of crockery, dating back to Marguerite d’Youville’s time at the Montreal General Hospital in the 18th century! It’s easy to guess that these symbols of the sacrifices and devotion of the Grey Nuns will never find their way into a dishwasher…