Marie-Thérèse Auffray was born in Saint-Quay-Portrieux in 1783 and died there in 1864. A member of the Eudist Third Order (a congregation founded in the 17th century and dedicated to teaching and preaching), she trained for religious life in the community of Notre-Dame de Charité in Saint-Brieuc.

In 1821, after taking the name Mère Saint-Louis de Gonzague, she founded the congregation of the Filles des Saints-Cœurs de Jésus et Marie. The motherhouse would be in Saint-Quay-Portrieux. Deeply involved in the life of the parish, the sisters had a vocation of hospitality, teaching and care.
After its foundation, the community built and occupied the large building sheltered by the high walls of rue Jeanne d’Arc. In the courtyard, a large chapel was used for daily services. By the 1830s, the building could accommodate over 500 retreat participants several times a year.

The success of the Saint-Quay community prompted the congregation to found a similar community in Val-André in 1882 and in Trégastel in 1884. The three congregations flourished for some twenty years, before declining.

The sisters were very active, running a boarding school for girls and a number of primary and secondary schools, and later technical colleges. A dispensary was available to local residents, and they provided home care to the people of Quinocéan. They also welcomed the elderly.

In July 1841, with the agreement of the Bishop of Saint-Brieuc, the sisters took in two women from Guingamp, whose doctor had prescribed “therapeutic” sea bathing, as boarders during the summer months, to provide additional means of support. The following year, they returned, accompanied by several friends… The sea-bathing craze was just beginning, but the train didn’t yet serve Saint-Quay-Portrieux, or even Saint-Brieuc… so the “adepts” came mainly from nearby towns.

A few years later, this activity developed within the community buildings. The sisters were authorized by the bishop to welcome “all honourable families who request it and present references”.

In 1905, the law on the separation of church and state, which introduced freedom of conscience, put an end to the Concordat regime. As religious buildings became public property, many religious congregations were expelled.

In Saint-Quay-Portrieux, the expulsion of the community’s nuns took place on February 10, 1908. It was a violent and traumatic experience for the inhabitants. The nuns were dispersed, forbidden to wear the habit, and left with no choice but to return to their families or leave for communities abroad.