Marie-Rosalie Cadron-Jetté, SM, January 27, 1794 – April 5, 1864), religious name Marie of the Nativity, was a Canadian widow and midwife who undertook the charitable care of unwed and struggling mothers between 1840 and 1864.

After her death, Ignace Bourget, with whom she had worked closely throughout her life, proposed that Cadron-Jetté be considered for canonization by the Roman Catholic Church.

Cadron undertook brief education while boarding at a convent located in Pointe-aux-Trembles in east Montreal, but returned home due to loneliness after only a few weeks.

[13] Cadron-Jetté joined his Archiconfrérie du Très Saint et Immaculé Coeur de Marie, a group formed by Bourget to pray for the conversion of sinners.

[18] Beginning in 1840, Bourget began to call upon Cadron-Jetté to find crisis accommodation for unwed mothers who had approached him for confession and help.

This accommodation was to be secret, as unwed mothers carried a significant social stigma at the time and were often the targets of hostility, and it was to be "with a kind and prayerful woman".

[20] In 1845, in response to growing demand brought about by Montreal's burgeoning population, Bourget began an organised project to assist unwed mothers in need of crisis accommodation and medical care.

Although the Grey Nuns had been doing work in this area since 1754, their efforts were limited to the care of illegitimate newborns, and no services existed to aid the unwed mothers themselves.

[21] In addition, the work of the Grey Nuns did not address the rate of abortions and infanticides among unwed mothers, which was of concern to Bourget due to Roman Catholic Church prohibitions on these activities.

Therefore, rather than partnering with an existing religious community for this project, Bourget hoped to create a new one "free of traditions or previous hampering ties", and asked Rosalie Cadron-Jetté to take a leading role.

[24] Early on, conditions in the hospice were rudimentary, consisting only of a table, some chairs, a stove, and a few beds for the mothers (called "penitents"), with Cadron-Jetté herself sleeping on the floor.

This caregiver was Sophie Raymond née Desmarets, herself a widow, who in addition to helping with the mothers, undertook fundraising activities on behalf of the hospice.

[27] Through the combined efforts of Raymond and Bourget, the Hospice attracted the attentions of Antoine-Olivier Berthelet, a wealthy philanthropist, who provided money, food and firewood, and later contributed to the building of facilities for the Misericordia Sisters on Dorchester Boulevard.

[26] On July 26, 1846, Bishop Bourget unilaterally opened the noviciate of the Saint-Pélagie Community, and placed the assembled female staff of the Hospice as novices within that program.

[33] Elections were held within the community on November 6, 1846, with the result of Cadron-Jetté being appointed as the new superior for a period of one year, with Malo-Galipeau named as her assistant.

[34] In early 1847, Jean-Baptiste Bourgault, owner of the Wolfe Street premises, notified Cadron-Jetté and the Hospice that he was evicting them, citing concern for his reputation.

After exhaustive enquiries, a new premises was located on the corner of Sainte-Catherine and Saint-André streets, provided by John Donegani, a Montreal businessman, at a rent of 60 dollars a year.

The hospice's chaplain and director, Antoine Rey, and its midwife, Madame Montrait, were among the nine priests and 13 Religious Sisters of Montreal who were killed by the disease.

Those in attendance as observers at the profession ceremony included Bishop Ignace Bourget, and Émilie Gamelin, under whose leadership the Sisters of Providence had been founded five years previously.

[39] Along with her vows Cadron-Jetté took the religious name Soeur de la Nativité (Sister Nativity), a reference to the role of the Virgin Mary in the birthing of Christ.

[41] Beginning January 17, 1848, the eight founders of the Misericorde Sisters, including Cadron-Jetté, commenced practical training in midwifery under Dr Eugène-Hercule Trudele, a young obstetrician.

The training lasted for 18 months and concluded with an examination before two members of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Lower Canada, with the result that on July 12, 1849, the women received formal certificates of midwifery.

Plans for the motherhouse had been drawn up in 1852 but the Montreal fires of July 8, 1852, which destroyed around 11,000 homes along with the Saint-Jacques Cathedral, had the result of delaying construction projects throughout the city.

[50] In 1853, Bourget met with the Sisters and questioned whether their fourth vow (that of assisting in labour) should be abandoned, with the consequence of the medical work of midwifery being done by physicians and lay midwives.

Bourget's concerns stemmed both from pressure and criticism from the Montreal medical community,[42] and from a desire to expand the membership of the Sisters, as he feared potential candidates would be deterred by the necessity of learning and practicing the craft of midwifery.

However, during Bourget's visit to the Institute in late 1858, he made a speech to the assembled community confirming that in the eyes of himself and of the Church, Cadron-Jetté should receive credit as the foundress of the congregation.

[40] Symptoms observed in Cadron-Jetté by her contemporaries included difficulty breathing, almost constant coughing, fits of breathlessness while standing and at rest, and swollen legs displaying open sores.

Around 2 a.m. she made the sign of the cross and asked us to recite the Litanies of the Virgin Mary; then she arranged herself as if to prepare for sleep, then in a high pitched voice she said: O my Jesus!

A Story of Courage and Compassion, at the moment of Cadron-Jetté's death an "unknown, elderly sister" holding a lantern was observed by women in the Magdalens' dormitory.

[65] In 1881, in a letter to the Misericordia community, he said, "Your Mother of the Nativity must be canonized; you must have enough faith and confidence in her protection to obtain miracles from her, then the Church will make a formal declaration.