The Hôtel-Dieu
While the Hôpital-Général was really an asylum, the Hôtel-Dieu was a hospital that provided medical care to soldiers and to people who were too poor to be cared for at home. Founded by Jeanne Mance, who also took part in the founding of Montréal, the Hôtel-Dieu was managed by the Hospitaller Sisters of Saint-Joseph. These were cloistered sisters who lived in the monastery adjacent to the hospital. From an administrative point of view, the sisters' assets were separate from those of the hospital; the latter were designated as being the assets of the “Paupers of the Hôtel-Dieu.” Behind the Hôtel-Dieu, there was a garden for the sisters and another for the “paupers” or sick of the hospital.