Henri Nouvel (1621 or 1624 in Pezenas, Herault (France) – between October 1701 and October 1702 at the

St. Francis Xavier Mission The mission of St. Francis Xavier was a seventeenth-century Jesuit mission located on the rapids of the Fox River near De Pere, Wisconsin. It was founded in 1671 by Claude Allouez to proselytize the native peoples of the western Great Lakes. In ...

near Baie des Puants) was a Jesuit priest who spent forty years as a missionary to Native American communities of

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 ...

. Nouvel was the first missionary on the north shore of the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

; and he visited

Saginaw Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

26 years before the French built a fort in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

(1701). Nouvel was already a priest when he entered the Jesuit order in August 1648, and performed religious functions in France until 1662. He sailed for New France in 1662 as a missionary, arriving in

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 thirte ...

in August 1662. During his first year in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

, he devoted himself to learning Indian languages. At the end of 1663, he established his first mission in the

Rimouski Rimouski ( ) is a city in Quebec, Canada. Rimouski is located in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, at the mouth of the Rimouski River. It has a population of 48,935 (as of 2021). Rimouski is the site of Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR), t ...

area. Between 1664 and 1669, he did missionary work in the Montagnais territory at

Lake Manicouagan Manicouagan Reservoir (also Lake Manicouagan) is an annular lake in central Quebec, Canada, covering an area of . The lake island in its centre is known as René-Levasseur Island, and its highest point is Mount Babel. The structure was create ...

. In 1671, he was sent from to the Jesuit missions in the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

amongst the

Odawa people The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ), said to mean "traders", are an Indigenous American ethnic group who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, commonly known as the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. They ...

. Nouvel made several trips to various Native American communities before being appointed superior of the Jesuit missions to the Ottawas in the region in 1672. He was "superior of the Otawa Missions", a position he would hold from 1672 to 1680 (with a two-year break in 1678–1679), and again from 1688 to 1695. In 1673, he informed Governor

Louis de Buade de Frontenac Louis de Buade, Comte de Frontenac et de Palluau (; 22 May 162228 November 1698) was a French soldier, courtier, and Governor General of New France in North America from 1672 to 1682, and again from 1689 to his death in 1698. He established a nu ...

about fur trading threats with the Indians. In 1674–75, he divided his time between Mission Sainte-Marie and

St. Ignace Mission The St. Ignace Mission (french: Mission Saint-Ignace) is located in a municipal park known as Marquette Mission Park. It was the site of a mission established by Jesuit priest, Father Jacques Marquette, and the site of his grave in 1677. A seco ...

, but was stationed at St. Ignace in 1677 and 1678. He traveled between the Amikwa,

Odawa The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ), said to mean "traders", are an Indigenous American ethnic group who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, commonly known as the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. They h ...

, and

. He attended the burial of Father

Jacques Marquette Jacques Marquette S.J. (June 1, 1637 – May 18, 1675), sometimes known as Père Marquette or James Marquette, was a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Sainte Marie, and later founded Saint Ign ...

in 1677 at the St. Ignace Mission. Between 1688 and 1695, during his second term as superior of the

Outaouais Outaouais (, ; also commonly called The Outaouais) is a region of western Quebec, Canada. It includes the city of Gatineau, the municipality of Val-des-Monts and the Papineau region. Geographically, it is located on the north side of the Ottaw ...

mission, Nouvel intervened in the conflict between the Jesuit missionaries and

Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac Antoine is a French language, French given name (from the Latin ''Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton (name), Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin. The name is used in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, West ...

over raids on Native American warriors and trafficking of

Eau de vie An ''eau de vie'' ( French for spirit, §16, §17 literally " water of life") is a clear, colourless fruit brandy that is produced by means of fermentation and double distillation. The fruit flavor is typically very light. In English-speakin ...

. During most of his last twenty years of ministry, he lived at the mission of St. Francis Xavier Mission near Green Bay, where he died between late 1701 and October 1702. Pointe-au-Père, Quebec (English: ''Father Point'') is named after Henri Nouvel, who celebrated the first mass there in 1663.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nouvel, Henri 17th-century French Jesuits 18th-century French Jesuits 1620s births 1700s deaths People from Pézenas