In addition to the philosopher René Descartes, he had as fellow-students several of the great missionaries of New France, such as François Ragueneau, Claude Quentin, Charles Du Marché, and Jacques Buteux.

On 2 February 1630, while at Mass, Dauversière felt that he had heard the calling to found a religious congregation of charitable young women in La Flèche dedicated to the Holy Family and under the special protection of St. Joseph for the service of the poor and the sick, especially in France's new colony in North America.

Possessed of firm piety, even though he was unclear as to the validity of the calling he felt, Dauversière and his brother Joseph organized charitable undertakings in his small town.

In May 1636, Marie de la Ferre and Anne Foureau committed themselves to lives of religious service at the Hotel-Dieu with three servants of the poor already working there.

Olier involved some of his wealthy penitents, while Royer found support from the Baron de Fanchamp, also a native of La Flèche.

These three were men who had become part of the movement for "montreal" and who, as a result of a near mystical vision shared nearly identically but independently by Royer and Olier, had bought the rights to the Island.

A fellow traveler on that boat was Marguerite Bourgeoys, who was to play a major role in the future of the colony, founding the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal.

The Hospitaller Sisters received letters patent from King Louis XIV of France authorizing them to take over the hospital and its operations two years after their arrival.