Cultural Communities
Beechwood Cemetery has been fortunate to cultivate and maintain a longstanding relationship with the National Capital Region’s vibrant and deeply rooted French Canadian community. As one of Canada’s most historic and nationally significant cemeteries, Beechwood recognizes the important role that French Canadians have played in shaping the cultural, political, religious, and social fabric of both Ottawa and Canada as a whole.
To reflect this enduring relationship and to better serve the needs of families, Beechwood has remained committed to providing services in both of Canada’s official languages. Through bilingual staff and culturally responsive service, Beechwood strives to ensure that French-speaking families and communities feel welcomed, respected, and supported during some of life’s most important and sensitive moments.
Beechwood is proud to acknowledge that, as partners in the building of this country, generations of French Canadians from across the region have selected Beechwood as their final resting place. Many families have entrusted Beechwood with the care of their loved ones and have embraced the cemetery as their preferred provider of funeral and funeral alternatives, cemetery, cremation, and memorial services.
Over the years, numerous francophone organizations, cultural associations, religious communities, and families have also chosen Beechwood as a trusted community partner and preferred service provider. These relationships continue to strengthen Beechwood’s role as an inclusive national cemetery that reflects the linguistic and cultural diversity of Canada.
A significant symbol of this relationship can be found in Section 110, where a statue honouring Élisabeth Bruyère and St. Marguerite d’Youville was unveiled through the fundraising efforts of The Beechwood Cemetery Foundation and dedicated members of Ottawa’s francophone community. The monument stands not only as a tribute to two extraordinary women, but also as a reflection of the lasting contributions of French Canadian communities to the development of Ottawa and Canada.
The monument was sculpted by renowned Canadian artist Achim Arthur Klaas and honourably dedicated to two remarkable French Canadian women whose legacies continue to inspire generations.
St. Marguerite d’Youville, foundress of the Grey Nuns of Montréal, devoted her life to caring for the poor, the sick, widows, and abandoned children. Her compassion, leadership, and unwavering faith transformed social care in New France. She became the first Canadian-born woman to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church, recognizing her extraordinary contribution to Canadian society and humanitarian service.
Élisabeth Bruyère, a member of the Grey Nuns, was selected by the congregation to establish the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa in Bytown. Her impact on the early development of Ottawa was profound. She played a pioneering role in creating some of the city’s first bilingual schools, helping ensure that both French and English-speaking children had access to education. She also established a General Hospital, an orphanage, and a home for the elderly, dedicating her life to serving the most vulnerable members of society.
Together, these two women represent compassion, leadership, faith, education, and community service. Their monument at Beechwood Cemetery serves as a lasting reminder of the enduring influence of French Canadian heritage within Ottawa and across Canada, while reinforcing Beechwood’s continued commitment to remembrance, inclusion, and national history.