(Translated from the original text in French)

Born in Quebec City on March 11, 1930, the son of Adjutor Sylvain and Maria Drolet, Brother Bertrand Sylvain completed his primary and secondary education there. He obtained a nursing diploma in 1957.

He entered the Franciscan novitiate in Sherbrooke on August 12, 1951, and took his temporary vows there in 1951. He made his solemn vows in 1955 at the Convent of the Sacred Stigmata in Quebec City.

From the beginning, Brother Bertrand took on various duties such as sacristan, launderer, and refectory worker in several Franciscan convents, ranging from Sherbrooke to Quebec City, passing through Trois-Rivières and Montreal. Upon his arrival at the St-Pierre-Baptiste Convent in Sorel-Tracy, Brother Bertrand enrolled in nursing courses at the Hôtel-Dieu de Sorel, where he obtained his nursing diploma in March 1957 with the highest distinction, summa cum laude. He served as a nurse at the Convent of the Sacred Stigmata in Quebec City from 1957 to 1962.

At the end of October 1962, Brother Bertrand left Canada for the Holy Land, where he stayed for nearly 15 years. He served as a sacristan and participated in fraternal life in many convents, both in Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Upon his return to Canada, Brother Bertrand resided at the Convent of the Sacred Stigmata from 1977 to 1981.

In December 1981, after nearly four years in Quebec City, Brother Bertrand Sylvain packed his bags once again and headed back to the Holy Land. He spent three years in Jerusalem before returning permanently to Montreal in August 1984. Brother Sylvain spent the next 30 years at the St. Anthony Convent in Trois-Rivières before moving to the provincial infirmary in 2015.

He passed away in Montreal on February 24, 2024, at the age of 93, after 73 years of religious life.