A historic congregation in Lachine is holding a massive garage sale during the May long weekend.

The Sisters of Sainte-Anne are preparing to move from the convent on Provost St. they've called home for over a century.

With dwindling numbers, they felt that now was the right time to relocate.

"We've been more than 2,000 and now we're down to 325," said Sister Celine Dupuis. "Even here in this house, at one point we were 300 sisters and now we're about 180, so it's too big for us. Now, we'll have to move out."

The average age of a current nun at the convent is 87.

Thousands of items were available at the sale.

They included everything from lamps to dishes to crucifixes to statues.

"We used to have quite a few statues in every house, but when we close a house, everything comes back here," Dupuis said. "So we can have two, three, four, even 10 of the same kind [of statue]."

The money raised will fund special projects, including maintenance of the chapel, which is set to become a community venue. 

There are plans to build a new home for the sisters on the property.

Part of the mother house will be converted into low-income housing. 

"If that can be useful for other people, thank God," said Dupuis.