Sainte-Marie among the Hurons (french: Sainte-Marie-au-pays-des-Hurons) was a French

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

settlement in Wendake, the land of the Wendat, near modern Midland, Ontario, from 1639 to 1649. It was the first European settlement in what is now the province of Ontario. Eight missionaries from Sainte-Marie were martyred, and were canonized by the Catholic Church in 1930. Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1920. A reconstruction of the mission now operates as a living museum. A nearby historic site, Carhagouha, marks the spot where an earlier Récollet missionary to Wendake, Father Joseph Le Caron, presided in 1615 over the first Catholic mass conducted in present-day Ontario. Another related site of historical interest is Saint-Louis Mission National Historic Site, located in present-day Victoria Harbour, Ontario. It was at Saint-Louis that Jesuit missionaries Jean de Brébeuf and Gabriel Lalement were captured when the Wendat village was attacked by the Iroquois on March 16, 1649.

History

Sainte-Marie among the Hurons was established in 1639 by French Jesuits, Fathers Jérôme Lalemant and Jean de Brébeuf in the land of the Wendat. The fortified missionary settlement acted as a centre and base of operations for Jesuit

missionaries 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 ...

on the outskirts of what is now Midland, Ontario as they worked amongst the Huron. It also provided an example of a functioning European community to the Huron. The mission was built near the Huron settlement of '' Quieunonascaranas'', led by chief Auoindaon. The mission was initially founded by 18 men. Arriving in November 1639, the priests erected a makeshift shelter out of

cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the ...

pillars and a birch bark roof, using clay to build the interior walls. After the arrival of carpenter

Charles Boivin Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...

, further construction resulted in a chapel, a residence for the Jesuits, a cookhouse, a smithy and other buildings. Sainte-Marie became the Jesuit headquarters in Huronia, from which the Jesuits travelled among the Iroquoian-speaking Huron and Petun, and the Algonquian-speaking Nipissing,

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

and

Ojibwa The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

peoples, whose languages were distinct but related to each other.

Missionary life

A small group of religiously devoted men, also known as ''donnés'' (offered, given or gifts), worked at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, in return for food, clothing, and shelter. The Jesuits hired ''engagés'', labourers, and non-clerical Jesuits known as "lay brothers". The Jesuits preached the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Gospel to the Huron, often adapting the story to local customs and symbols. One of the most famous examples of this was the " Huron Carol", a Christmas hymn written by Jean de Brébeuf. A translated version of this song remains popular in Canadian churches to this day. Soldiers had a small but important presence at the mission. Twenty-three soldiers wintered at Sainte-Marie in 1644, but many of the Jesuits resisted the idea of a military presence. They feared the soldiers would "bring the worst of Europe" with them. The founding of the mission led to division amongst the Wendat, with conflict between those who

converted Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

to Christianity and those who maintained traditional beliefs. Infectious disease, an unintended result of first contact between the Jesuits, their farm animals and the Wendat, served to further the gap between the traditional Wendat and the missionaries. Epidemics of smallpox, which raged from 1634–1640, were brought by the increased number of children emigrating to the colonies with families from cities where the disease was endemic in France, England and the Netherlands. Also during this time, the rivalry between the Wendat and Iroquois began to reignite. The Wendat were weakened by their internal divisions and their losses from conflict.

War and martyrdom

With Iroquois aggression on the rise, an additional six soldiers were dispatched from France in 1649. The weakened Wendat nation was little match for the strengthened Iroquois, who had used their trading alliances with the Dutch to gain firearms. Eight of the missionaries—

St. Jean de Brébeuf ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...

(1649), St. Noël Chabanel (1649), St.

Antoine Daniel Antoine Daniel (27 May, 1601 – 4 July, 1648) was a French Jesuit missionary in North America, at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, and one of the eight Canadian Martyrs. Life Daniel was born at Dieppe, in Normandy, on 27 May, 1601. After two y ...

(1648), St. Charles Garnier (1649), St. René Goupil (1642), St. Isaac Jogues (1646), St. Jean de Lalande (1646), and St. Gabriel Lalemant (1649)—were killed in the

Huron-Iroquois War The Beaver Wars ( moh, Tsianì kayonkwere), also known as the Iroquois Wars or the French and Iroquois Wars (french: Guerres franco-iroquoises) were a series of conflicts fought intermittently during the 17th century in North America throughout t ...

. Owing to the proximity of their deaths to Sainte-Marie, the French recovered the bodies of Brébeuf and Lalemant to be buried at the mission.

Burning of Sainte-Marie

On June 16, 1649, the missionaries chose to burn the mission rather than risk it being desecrated or permanently overrun by Iroquois in further attacks. Father

Paul Ragueneau Paul Ragueneau (18 March 1608 – 3 September 1680) was a Catholic Jesuit missionary. Biography He was born in Paris and died in the same city. He is sometimes confused with his elder brother François, also a Jesuit. Father François Ragueneau ...

wrote,

"We ourselves set fire to it, and beheld burn before our eyes and in less than one hour, our work of nine or ten years."

Before the burning, the survivors had decided that Brébeuf and Lalemant would be canonized as martyrs. Shoemaker Christophe Regnault had to extract the bones of the two men to save as relics. Regnault exhumed the bodies, placed them into a lye solution and wrapped the bones in linens. The men's flesh remains were reburied together in the same grave. The missionaries travelled to '' Gahoendoe'' with the Wendat in an effort to construct a second mission designed especially for defence. It was named Ste. Marie II. A severe winter and the constant threat of Iroquois attack eventually forced the French from the area, and they travelled back to New France. They took along the bones of Brébeuf and Lalemant on both trips. The bones have been held as holy relics at Ste. Marie II, which can be visited across from the Anglican church on Christian Island.

Modern reconstruction

The site lay dormant until 1844, when Jesuit Fr.

Pierre Chazelle Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

conducted initial site excavations. Father

Félix Martin Félix Martin (born 4 October 1804, in Auray, Morbihan; died in Vaugirard, Paris, 25 November 1886) was an antiquary, historiographer, architect, and educationist. Early life and work His father, Jacques Augustin Martin, for many years mayor o ...

continued this in 1855. In 1940 the Society of Jesus purchased the property where Sainte-Marie had stood. In 1941, Kenneth Kidd of the

Royal Ontario Museum The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest in Canada. It attracts more than one million visitors every year ...

undertook the first scientific excavations of the site, aided by W.J. Wintemberg. Wilfrid and Elsie Jury of the University of Western Ontario undertook additional excavations. In 1954 Fr.

Dennis Hegarty Denis Hegarty (27 March 1912 – 16 February 1998) was a South African sailor. He competed in the 5.5 Metre event at the 1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an interna ...

discovered the graves of Brébeuf and Lalemant. Starting in 1964, Sainte-Marie was reconstructed as a historical site and living museum.Article on Sainte-Marie
''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' All of the buildings and their contents are reproductions. A popular tourist attraction, it draws thousands of visitors each week during the summer months. The site is managed by Huronia Historical Parks, an agency of the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture. Canonized by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

in 1930, the eight martyred missionaries are collectively known as the

Canadian Martyrs The Canadian Martyrs, also known as the North American Martyrs (French language, French: ''Saints martyrs canadiens'', Holy Canadian Martyrs), were eight Jesuit missions in North America#Missions, Jesuit missionaries from Sainte-Marie among the H ...

. The site adjacent to the Martyrs' Shrine was visited by Pope John Paul II in 1984 as part of his papal visit to Canada. On August 22, 2006, three of the reconstructed buildings—the blacksmith forge, carpenter's workshop and the chapel—were severely damaged in a fire. They have since been rebuilt.

Affiliations

The museum is affiliated with the

Canadian Museums Association The Canadian Museums Association (CMA; french: Association des musées canadiens, ''ACM''), is a national non-profit organization for the promotion of museums in Canada. It represents Canadian museum professionals both within Canada and internat ...

, the

Canadian Heritage Information Network , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Logo of Canadian Heritage Information Network.png , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = ...

and the Virtual Museum of Canada.

Grounds

File:Sainte-Marie among the Hurons building in Jesuit section, Midland.JPG, Jesuit community reconstructed building File:Sainte-Marie among the Hurons Jesuit chapel.JPG, Jesuit chapel interior File:Sainte-Marie among the Hurons native section.JPG, Reconstructed buildings in First Nation section File:Sainte-Marie among the Hurons native Christian chapel.JPG, First Nations Chapel exterior File:Sainte-Marie among the Hurons native chapel interior.JPG, Chapel interior File:Sainte-Marie among the Hurons native chapel altar.JPG, Chapel altar

References

External links

Sainte-Marie among the Hurons official site

Jesuit Relations
{{Authority control Populated places established in 1639 First Nations history in Ontario Living museums in Canada Midland, Ontario 1639 establishments in New France National Historic Sites in Ontario Museums in Simcoe County History of Simcoe County Catholic missions of New France History museums in Ontario Populated places disestablished in 1649 1649 disestablishments in New France 1844 archaeological discoveries 1855 archaeological discoveries 1941 archaeological discoveries 1954 archaeological discoveries