The Ursuline convent was founded in 1639 by Marie de l'Incarnation — the first superior of the order in New France and the most significant woman in the history of early Canada. The museum attached to the convent presents the history of the Ursuline Sisters and their three centuries of educational mission in Québec, with an impressive collection of religious art, embroidery, and colonial artifacts.
The chapel adjacent to the convent contains the skull of the Marquis de Montcalm, the French general who died defending Québec in 1759 — he was buried here as the closest consecrated ground after the battle. The convent school is still operating; the building complex contains some of the oldest surviving architecture in the city. The museum is small but uncommonly well curated.