On May 1, 1874, at the age of 27, Eliza entered the novitiate of the Congregation of Notre Dame in Montreal and, in December of that same year, received the habit and her new religious name.
From 1903 to 1918, Sister Saint Mary Magdalen was superior and headmistress of the Villa Barlow in St. Albans, Vermont, where she reorganized the school and its community.