On a cool autumn morning, a crowd gathered around the intersection of Avenue des Pins and Avenue Jeanne Mance in Montréal, just outside the site of one city’s historic former hospitals. Members of the Drummond Foundation were among those present to witness the unveiling of a statue commemorating the100th anniversary of the Quebec healthcare system’s official recognition of the nursing profession in 1920.

The statue, entitled Our Breath Beyond was designed and created by La Société des archives affectives (Artistes Véronique Perrière et Fiona Annis). The conceptual design features casts of nurses’ hands intertwined with flowing nursing capes, all cast in bronze to highlight the ways that nurses are connected to the fabric of our everyday lives.

Image of Our Breath Beyond circulated at the unveiling on October 10th, 2023. 

The heroic effort to create this statue was spearheaded by four now retired nurses who trained at St. Mary’s School of Nursing: Catherine McIninch Murphy, Judith Tisseur Norton, Maureen Fitzgerald et Brenda Noonan Brown. These women gathered together many members of the Montréal community to help realize this dream, further delayed by the COVID pandemic.

Top: The four nurses who spearheaded the project: Catherine McIninch Murphy, Judith Tisseur Norton, Maureen Fitzgerald et Brenda Noonan Brown
Bottom: Statue artists Véronique Perrière et Fiona Annis
Photo Credit: The Drummond Foundation

The Drummond Foundation was thrilled to support this project, particularly because of the Foundation’s historical connection to the profession. Julia Parker Drummond (1860-1942) worked closely with nurses in her roles as a Founder and first Vice-President of the Victoria Order of Nurses (now NOVA), and in her leadership role with the Canadian Red Cross in the United Kingdom throughout the First World War.

Drummond Foundation President Bruce Drummond McNiven with Megan Batty – Grants Coordinator (left) and Marie Senécal-Tremblay – Chair of the Donations Committee (right) at the unveiling on October 10th, 2023.
Photo Credit: The Drummond Foundation.

As Maureen Fitzgerald noted in her moving speech, the motto of St. Mary’s Nursing School is “With hand and heart”  –  a sentiment that perfectly captures the dedication and compassion of the nurses honoured through the creation of this new piece of public art for all to enjoy.