A performance by Concordia theatre students midway through the official opening of the Grey Nuns Building brought home the significance of the place, and its new mission.
It began with the voice of one student reading from a letter written by Marguerite d’Youville, who founded the Sisters of Charity, better known as the Grey Nuns of Montreal, in 1737.
After a brief pause, the voice of another student chimed in, reading from the famous Le Refus Global manifesto, followed by a Native voice, reading a statement of solidarity in the Cree language.
Other voices joined in and began to overlap one another, swelling to a polyphony, which reverberated off the magnificent, vaulted ceilings of the former Chapel of the Invention of the Holy Cross, now home to Concordia’s new Reading Room and the centrepiece of the newly transformed Grey Nuns Building.
Then, just as soon as it had begun, it was over. Silence reigned once again, as it will from now on in Concordia’s new sanctuary for study and contemplation.
After welcoming the invited dignitaries, politicians and friends of Concordia, Clarence Epstein, Concordia’s senior director of Urban and Cultural Affairs, provided a brief history of the heritage building, located on the corner of Guy Street and René-Lévesque Boulevard.
He underlined how important it was for the university to preserve its historical character while converting it into a 600-bed residence and shared study spaces for students.
“We're embarking on a new era of responsibility where Concordia University will take on the stewardship that the sisters have lovingly and affectionately handed to us from here on in,” he said.