Mélodie Dufresne was born in Beloeil on November 9, 1809. She was the second child of Jean-Baptiste Dufresne known as “master blacksmith” and Ursule Poirier. Fourteen children were born into the family but only eight survived. Being in a privileged situation at the time, Mr. Dufresne paid to give the boys classical courses and the girls two years at boarding school.

Mélodie attended the village school first and then continued her training at Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu, at the convent of the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame.

In 1825, she met Eulalie Durocher for the first time. The two young girls got along well immediately. A short time after a trial period with the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame, in 1833, Mélodie was invited to come to help Eulalie at the rectory in Beloeil. The desire to consecrate their life to God brought these two young women closer together. Until 1843, they placed their competence and creativity at the disposal of the parish of Saint-Matthieu in Beloeil and collaborated in the mission of the Oblate Fathers of Mary Immaculate.

In 1843, Bishop Ignace Bourget invited Eulalie and Mélodie to go to Longueuil to join Henriette Céré, the teacher at the parish school. It was there that they founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary dedicated to the education of youth.

On December 8, 1844, Mélodie took the name Sister Marie Agnes. All her life, she had made an effort to apply herself to the work entrusted to her: housekeeping, sewing, drawing and creative crafts. What she produced with her artistic talent was a source of great joy for her. As the art teacher, she had the pupils help her and entrusted them with responsibilities. If sometimes she seemed too demanding, she was able to apologize with great humility. A generous soul, her love of beauty and a great sensitivity softened the difficulties of character manifested even as a youngster. "She was strict, but we would say: 'She’s a saint,'" affirmed a former pupil.

Mother Marie Rose’s death in 1849 left a great void in Sister Marie Agnes’s heart. It was in God that she found the strength and hope to maintain the spirit of the Congregation she had helped to found. She died on December 22, 1881, at the age of 72. A mystic, she followed the path of renunciation and prayer to offer God her life as a teacher, artist and religious.