Jean Pierron (born at

Dun-sur-Meuse Dun-sur-Meuse (, literally ''Dun on Meuse'') is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Meuse department The following is a list of the 499 communes of the Meuse department of France ...

, France, 28 September 1631; date and place of death unknown) was a French

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

missionary to New France (Canada).

Life

He entered the Jesuit novitiate at Nancy, 21 November 1650. After studying at Pont-à-Mousson, he became an instructor at

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

and

Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...

. He completed the curriculum in 1665 and spent two years more as an instructor at

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

. On his arrival in Canada in June, 1667, he was sent to the mission of Sainte-Marie, which ministered primarily to the Huron people, an Iroquoian-speaking group. In a letter written to friends in France the same year, Oierron described his impressions of the country, the characteristics and customs of the Native Americans, and expressed an admiration for the Iroquoian Huron language, which reminded him of Greek. He arrived at Tionontoguen, one of the three principal villages of the

Mohawk Nation The Mohawk people ( moh, Kanienʼkehá꞉ka) are the most easterly section of the Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois Confederacy. They are an Iroquoian-speaking Indigenous people of North America, with communities in southeastern Canada and northern Ne ...

, on 7 October 1668, where he replaced

Jacques Frémin Jacques Frémin (12 March 1628, Reims – 21 July 1691, Quebec) was a French Jesuit missionary to New France (Canada). Life Frémin entered the Society of Jesus in 1646, and taught for five years at Alençon. He was ordained in 1655 at Moulins. ...

as missionary. These people were one of the most flourishing of the five Iroquois nations: warriors, and difficult to convert. Father Pierron made use of pictures which he painted in order to express his teachings in a way the Mohawk could grasp. He invented a game by means of which the Indians learned the doctrines and devotions of the Church. He taught the children to read and write. Returning north, Pierron spent one winter in

Acadia Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17th and early ...

to ascertain whether it would be possible to re-establish the missions, which had been expelled in 1655. He also travelled through

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

(which at that time had a Catholic governor, Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore, and a policy of religious tolerance), and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Returning to the Iroquois, he worked among them until 1677 and returned to France the following year.

References

;Attribution * The entry cites: **Ed. Thwaites, ''Jesuit Relations'' (Cleveland, 1896–1901); **Campbell, ''Pioneer Priests of North America'' (New York, 1909)

External links

Biography
''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Pierron, Jean 1631 births 17th-century French Jesuits French Roman Catholic missionaries Year of death unknown Roman Catholic missionaries in Canada Jesuit missionaries in New France