Jean de Brébeuf

ARTICLE CONTENTS:  |  Suggested Reading  |  Links to Other Sites

Brébeuf, Jean de
Jean de Brébeuf, Jesuit missionary, author of Relations des Jésuites, 1635, 1636 (b at Condé-sur-Vire, France 25 Mar 1593; martyred at St-Ignace in HURONIA 16 Mar 1649; canonized 29 June 1930). Brébeuf came to Canada in 1625 as a missionary to the nomadic MONTAGNAIS. Sent to the HURON near Georgian Bay in 1626, he learned their language and preached there until 1629, when Québec was captured by the KIRKE brothers and the Jesuits were forced to return to France. He returned in 1633 and was among the Huron again in 1634, remaining in charge of the mission (see STE MARIE AMONG THE HURONS) for 4 years.

Brébeuf, an accomplished linguist, supervised the preparation of a Huron grammar and dictionary. In 1640, following a devastating smallpox epidemic, the Huron attacked him and his companion and damaged their mission. In 1640-41 Brébeuf began a mission among the NEUTRAL, but they regarded him as a sorcerer.

In 1644 he returned to Huronia, remaining there until 16 March 1649, when he was captured by invading IROQUOIS at the St-Louis mission, taken to St-Ignace and brutally killed. After his death, Paul Ragueneau discovered 39 fragmentary writings in which Brébeuf described his visions, his ecstasies and prophetic dreams. His bones are buried at the Martyrs' Shrine near Midland, Ontario.

Martyrdom of the Jesuits
Martyrdom of the Jesuits
This composite view of the torture and death of the blackrobes of Huronia (Gabriel Lalemant left and Jean de Brébeuf right) in 1649 was one of the most powerful images distributed of the New World, not least for its value as propaganda (courtesy Library and Archives Canada).

Author CORNELIUS J. JAENEN


Suggested Reading
Guy Laflèche, Les Saints Martyrs Canadiens, vol 3 (1990).


Links to Other Sites
Saint-Louis Mission National Historic Site of Canada
An information page describing the heritage value of the Saint-Louis Mission National Historic Site of Canada. From the "Canada's Historic Places" website.

0
0
Absolutely free, with over 40,000 articles in French and English, The Canadian Encyclopedia is the ultimate online resource for all things Canadian, from history, sports, arts, science, technology, and much, much more. Get started at www.TheCanadianEncyclopedia.com
Feature Articles
Maisonneuve and the Founding of Montreal

The story of the founding of Montreal is perhaps unique in history....

INSIDE TCE

Gallery
Browse the rich visual resources of The Canadian Encyclopedia through thematic galleries of Canadian Art, History, Nature, People, and Science and Technology.
Interactive Resources
Illustrations, lively text, animations, sounds and games help make learning about Canadian history, art, geography, architecture and other topics entertaining as well as informative.
Canucklehead
The ultimate test of your knowledge of Canada, trivial and otherwise. You can choose from more than 60 dynamic quizzes with visual or text clues. Your scores depend on the speed with which you answer and the number of clues you need. Results are sent to you by email and high scores are posted on the site.
Timeline
This unique resource includes more than 6000 events from Canadian and world history. It can be searched by era, subject, keyword or date. To find out what happened on your birthday, select the month and day of your birth.
100 Greatest Events
This selection of the 100 "greatest" events in Canadian history was made by editor in chief James H. Marsh to draw attention to events that have left an indelible memory in the minds of later generations.