The statue honors St. Marguerite d'Youville, who founded of the order of the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart in 1737.
Outside the Koessler Administration Building on the D'Youville campus sits the statue of St. Marguerite. It was commissioned by D'Youville College's Centennial Committee to honor St. Marguerite d'Youville, who founded of the order of the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart in 1737, and was canonized as the first Canadian-born saint by Pope John Paul II in 1990.
The bronze life-size statue was sculptured and cast by Tonawanda-native, David Derner, who worked on the commission over a three-year period. Derner's extensive research into the life and legacy of St. Marguerite d'Youville included studying renderings of her; interviewing people about her work; and a visit to the Grey Nun Motherhouse and museum in Montreal, Quebec.
The bronze statue was completed in August of 2008 and erected on the D'Youville Campus in September of 2008 by Stone Art Memorial of Lackawanna who also installed a 3,000 pound Vermont granite base.
The statue shows St. Marguerite with her hand on the shoulder of a young girl, meant to symbolize her work with the poor, unwed mothers and orphans of Montreal. Included in the sculpture are a kitten (hidden) and a door key (an exact replica of the key to St. Marguerite's room in the motherhouse).
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