Barthélemy Vimont (January 1, 1594 – July 13, 1667) was a French Jesuit missionary in

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...

, North America.

Biography

Born at

Lisieux Lisieux () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. It is the capital of the Pays d'Auge area, which is characterised by valleys and hedged farmland. Name The name of the town derives from the ...

, he entered the Society of Jesus at Rouen in 1613. After his novitiate, he studied philosophy at the Collège at La Flèche where he was a student of

Énemond Massé Énemond Massé (3 August 1575 – 12 May 1646) was a French Jesuit missionary, one of the first Jesuits sent to New France. Life Nesmes Massé was born 3 August 1575 at Lyon. He was the eldest son of François and Philippe Bica Massé. His f ...

, a Jesuit missionary newly returned from New France. Father Vimont first arrived in North America as part of a flotilla of four ships and a bark commanded by Charles Daniel in August 1629. Caught in a storm off the Newfoundland Banks, the ships were scattered with one ship carrying Vimont and the Captain making it to Cape Breton Island. Fort Sainte Anne was established and Vimont began his missionary work but was recalled to France the following year. In 1639, Father Vimont returned to the New World, this time to

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

to become third superior of the Jesuit Mission in Canada, succeeding Father

Paul Le Jeune Paul Le Jeune (1591–1664) was a French Jesuit missionary in New France. He served as the Superior of the Jesuits in the French colony of Canada from 1632 to 1639. During his tenure, he began a mission at Trois-Rivières, founded the community ...

. He functioned in that capacity in New France until 1645. Vimont, a friend and admirer of

Jean Nicolet Jean Nicolet (Nicollet), Sieur de Belleborne (October 1642) was a French ''coureur des bois'' noted for exploring Lake Michigan, Mackinac Island, Green Bay, and being the first European to set foot in what is now the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Ea ...

, wrote the only contemporary account of Nicolet's 1634 voyage to the interior of North America (published in Paris in 1642). He had also arrived in

with Marie-Madeline de Chauvigny de la Peltrie who was the secular foundress of the

Ursulines of Quebec The Ursuline Monastery of Quebec City (french: Monastère des Ursulines de Québec) was founded by a missionary group of Ursuline nuns in 1639 under the leadership of Mother Marie of the Incarnation, O.S.U. It is the oldest institution of learni ...

and

Marie de l'Incarnation Marie of the Incarnation (28 October 1599 – 30 April 1672) was an Ursuline nun of the French order. As part of a group of nuns sent to New France to establish the Ursuline Order, Marie was crucial in the spread of Catholicism in New France. S ...

who was the Ursuline foundress. He died at Vannes in 1667.

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
1594 births 1667 deaths People from Lisieux 17th-century French Jesuits French explorers French Roman Catholic missionaries Roman Catholic missionaries in Canada 17th-century French people Jesuit missionaries in New France {{NewFrance-stub