Brother Jean-Paul Desbiens, Frère Pierre-Jérôme, F.M.S., OC (March 7, 1927 – July 23, 2006) was a

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 ...

writer, journalist, teacher and member of the

Catholic institute The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

Marist Brothers The Marist Brothers of the Schools, commonly known as simply the Marist Brothers, is an international community of Catholic religious institute of brothers. In 1817, St. Marcellin Champagnat, a Marist priest from France, founded the Marist Brother ...

. He was born at Métabetchouan in the

Lac Saint-Jean Lac Saint-Jean (Canadian French: ) is a large, relatively shallow lake in south-central Quebec, Canada, in the Laurentian Highlands. It is situated north of the Saint Lawrence River, into which it drains via the Saguenay River. It covers an are ...

region of Quebec in 1927. He joined the Marist order in 1944 and studied at the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-de ...

and the

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Montmo ...

, graduating with a degree in philosophy in 1958. He began a teaching career in high schools of his native Lac-St-Jean region. His 1960 book ''

Les insolences du Frère Untel ''Les insolences du Frère Untel'' is a book first published in Montreal by ''Les Éditions de l'Homme'' in 1960. In a very short time it sold more than 100,000 copies, in a society where a book with a 10,000 copy print run was considered a best s ...

'' (1960) (translated as ''The Impertinences of Brother Anonymous'', 1962), is a strong attack on the quality of public education system in Quebec. The book, which also denounces the poor quality of the spoken and written

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

among the younger generations, is credited by many as inspiring the

Quiet Revolution The Quiet Revolution (french: Révolution tranquille) was a period of intense socio-political and socio-cultural change in French Canada which started in Quebec after the election of 1960, characterized by the effective secularization of govern ...

in Quebec. A follow-up, ''Sous le soleil de la pitié'' (translated as ''For Pity's Sake: The Return of Brother Anonymous'', 1965) was published in 1965. His identity revealed and his relationship with the church establishment strained, Desbiens left the Quebec intellectual scene and attended

University of Fribourg The University of Fribourg (french: Université de Fribourg; german: Universität Freiburg) is a public university located in Fribourg, Switzerland. The roots of the university can be traced back to 1580, when the notable Jesuit Peter Canisius ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, where he obtained a

Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

in philosophy. He later worked with the Ministry of Education in Quebec to help improve the public school and junior college programs in the province. Desbiens was chief editorial writer for '' La Presse'' from 1970 to 1972. He was also the provincial head of his religious congregation for some time. He wrote many essays, and published his personal journal. He was named an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

in 2006. He died in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

on July 23, 2006, after a long battle with

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

References

*W. H. New, ed. ''Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada.'' Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002: 288.

External links

''Jean-Paul Desbiens (1927-2006) Homme d'Église, enseignant, écrivain'' (french)Jean-Paul Desbiens entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Desbiens, Jean-Paul 1927 births 2006 deaths Marist Brothers Officers of the Order of Canada People from Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean Journalists from Quebec Writers from Quebec Université Laval alumni Canadian writers in French