New Brunswick boasts over 100 museums and heritage sites, with CBC News showcasing eight historic places in small towns in its Museum Road Trip summer series. In Tracadie, northeastern New Brunswick, the Religieuses Hospitalières de Saint-Joseph, a nun order, played a significant role in the community’s life.
The order was involved in caring for the sick, running an orphanage, and providing education. Although no longer active in Tracadie, their legacy is honored at the Musée Historique de Tracadie. Initially, the nuns focused on operating a lazaretto, a hospital for lepers.
Leprosy, a bacterial infection affecting various body parts, was first identified in Tracadie in 1828. The disease’s spread in the town was believed to have started with immigrants from Norway who carried the infection. The first lazaretto in Tracadie was constructed in 1849 to accommodate lepers from across Canada.
In 1943, Dr. Guy Henry Faget’s discovery of the drug promin as an effective treatment for leprosy marked the closure of the lazaretto in 1965. Apart from treating leprosy patients, the nuns also provided general healthcare services to the community, operating a francophone hospital well before New Brunswick’s official bilingualism.
The museum showcases historical medical equipment, including glass IV bottles and metal syringes, offering insights into past medical practices. The presence of a scary-looking incubator from the past intrigues visitors. The nuns also addressed the lack of education in Tracadie by establishing day and boarding schools, attracting students from various regions for quality education.
While the Religieuses Hospitalières de Saint-Joseph order remains active in other communities, their tenure in Tracadie officially ended in 2025.