Joseph-Laurent Bertrand (November 6, 1741 – October 29, 1813) was a Roman Catholic priest from

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

. He was born at

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

and died at Rivière-du-Loup. Bertrand came to the priesthood after his wife died and having no children, felt the need for a new vocation. He was ordained by Bishop

Jean-Olivier Briand Jean-Olivier Briand (January 23, 1715 – June 25, 1794) was the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Quebec from 1766 to 1784. Life Jean-Olivier Briand was born at Plérin, Brittany on January 23, 1715. He studied at the Seminary of St. Brieu ...

at the age of 34. In his first parish, the church was destroyed by fire and in the resulting turmoil over re-building, he became unhappy with the situation and asked for a transfer. In 1786, he was assigned to the parish at Rivière-du-Loup by Bishop Louis-Philippe Mariauchau d’Esgly. He appears to have been rather authoritarian and drew more attention than was normal for a parish priest. His importance to history revolves around the construction of another church and more specifically the land on which it was to be built. Father Bertrand sued the man who was to provide land for the church of a new parish and disputed the Church's authority to create said parish and require land for a church. There was a protracted legal battle which was eventually produced a ruling against the Church. The lawsuit had raised questions about the Roman Catholic Church and its legal status after the conquest. Although the ruling did not explicitly state the fact, it set precedent for the future in creating parishes in Quebec. Joseph-Laurent Bertrand had lost a case but his tenacity in pursuing the best interests of his parishes made him a respected community and religious leader.

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''

Histoire de la paroisse d'Yamachiche: précis historique - Joseph Laurent Bertrand
(French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bertrand, Joseph-Laurent 18th-century Canadian Roman Catholic priests 1813 deaths 1741 births 19th-century Canadian Roman Catholic priests