Louis André, S.J., (28 May 1631 – 19 September 1715) was a French Jesuit

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

and

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

who went to the French colony of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1669. He assisted with the

evangelization In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are ...

of the American Indians 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 thirtee ...

Life

André was born in

Saint-Rémy-de-Provence Saint-Rémy-de-Provence (; Provençal Occitan: ''Sant Romieg de Provença'' in classical and ''Sant Roumié de Prouvènço'' in Mistralian norms) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Southern France. L ...

. He was ordained a priest of the

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

and was sent to serve in the Jesuit mission in Canada in 1669. He assisted in the formal ceremony declaring the North West Territory was the territory of the King of France. His first missionary duty was served among the Indians around Lake Huron. With

Claude-Jean Allouez Claude Jean Allouez (June 6, 1622 – August 28, 1689) was a Jesuit missionary and French explorer of North America. He established a number of missions among the indigenous people living near Lake Superior. Biography Allouez was born in Saint ...

, S.J., André built the Mission of St. Francis Xavier in what is now

De Pere, Wisconsin De Pere ( ) is a city located in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 25,410 according to the 2020 Census. De Pere is part of the Green Bay Metropolitan Statistical Area. History At the arrival of the first European, J ...

. He continued to serve as a missionary, evangelizing the

Menominee The Menominee (; mez, omǣqnomenēwak meaning ''"Menominee People"'', also spelled Menomini, derived from the Ojibwe language word for "Wild Rice People"; known as ''Mamaceqtaw'', "the people", in the Menominee language) are a federally recog ...

, Potawatomi, and Winnebago tribes in the Green Bay, Wisconsin, area. He relocated to Mackinac in 1682 and 1683, going on to teach at the

Jesuit College The Jesuits (Society of Jesus) in the Catholic Church have founded and managed a number of educational institutions, including the notable secondary schools, colleges and universities listed here. Some of these universities are in the United Stat ...

in Quebec for several years. He returned to missionary work on the lower

St. 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 ...

from 1691 to 1692. He died in

some years later. André's ministry in the New World combined a great deal of missionary work as well as a number of years teaching philosophy and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

. At some time in Canada he compiled an important Algonkin and Ottawa dictionary and a small conversational manual which still exists.

References

*''Who Was Who in America: Historical Volume, 1607-1896.'' Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1967.

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andre, Louis 1631 births 1715 deaths People from Saint-Rémy-de-Provence 17th-century French Jesuits 18th-century French Jesuits French Roman Catholic missionaries Jesuit missionaries in New France French translators 17th-century French translators 18th-century French translators People of pre-statehood Wisconsin Missionary linguists