André Garin (May 7, 1822 – February 16, 1895) was a

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

, missionary, and

oblate In Christianity (especially in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Methodist traditions), an oblate is a person who is specifically dedicated to God or to God's service. Oblates are individuals, either laypersons or clergy, normally livi ...

Biography

Garin was born in

La Côte-Saint-André La Côte-Saint-André () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. Populations Personalities * Hector Berlioz was born here. His birthplace is now a museum: Musée Hector-Berlioz. * Philippe du Contant de la Molette was ...

Isère Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He received his education at the lesser seminary of his native town, and entered the Order of the

Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) is a missionary religious congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded on January 25, 1816, by Eugène de Mazenod, a French priest born in Aix-en-Provence in the south of France on August 1, ...

on November 1, 1842. As he was still too young to be admitted to the priesthood, he was sent to Canada, where he was ordained on April 25, 1845, by Bishop Bourget of Montreal. Garin, who spoke both Montagnais and English, worked for twelve years in the Indian missions of Eastern Canada. In 1847 he succeeded

Jean-Nicolas Laverlochère Jean-Nicolas Laverlochère (December 6, 1812 in St. Georges d'Espérance, Grenoble, France – October 4, 1884 in Témiscaming, Quebec) was a French missionary in Canada. He began his religious life as a lay brother in the Congregation of the ...

as missionary to

James Bay James Bay (french: Baie James; cr, ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, Wînipekw, dirty water) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean, of which James Bay is the southernmost par ...

, and completed Laverlochère's work on a

catechism A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult c ...

and prayerbook translated into

Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...

. Afterwards he occupied the post of superior successively at

Plattsburgh Plattsburgh ( moh, Tsi ietsénhtha) is a city in, and the seat of, Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the 2020 census. The population of the surrounding ...

and at

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

. Later, Garin was sent to minister to the French Canadians in

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...

, where he remained as pastor for twenty-five years. There he built a number of churches and schools, as well as establishing several religious confraternities. He died on February 16, 1895; two years later, the members of his parish built a statue in his honor.

References

cites: *''Notices nécrologiques des Oblats de Marie Immaculée'' (Bar-le-Duc, 1899), VII. 19th-century French Roman Catholic priests French Roman Catholic missionaries 1822 births 1895 deaths Roman Catholic missionaries in the United States Roman Catholic missionaries in Canada French expatriates in Canada French expatriates in the United States Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate {{RC-clergy-stub