Fully bilingual, it offers instruction in both of the country's official languages: French and English.

The university has been entrusted for over a century and a half to the Congregation of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.

[2] In 1848, Joseph-Bruno Guigues, the first bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ottawa, established the College of Bytown.

Starting with only four books, the library began immediately to grow through generous donations from other religious institutions, as well as through the founder's judicious purchases, to become the largest of its kind in Canada.

The excellent quality of the library has long been recognized by scholars in philosophy, medieval studies and theology.