Paul Ragueneau (18 March 1608 – 3 September 1680) was a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Jesuit

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 ...

Biography

He was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and died in the same city. He is sometimes confused with his elder brother François, also a Jesuit. Father François Ragueneau accompanied Father Charles Lalemant who was returning to Canada in 1628. Their vessel was captured by Kirke who was then blockading the

St. Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. " laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roma ...

and he was sent as a prisoner to England. It cannot be determined whether Francois ever did visit the Canadian missions.Pouliot, Léon
"Ragueneau, Paul"
''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'', vol. 1, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003– Paul Ragueneau became a novice in the

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

in 1626.Lindsay, Lionel
"Paul Ragueneau"
''The Catholic Encyclopedia'' Vol. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 14 January 2018 From 1628 to 1632 he taught at the Collège in Bourges after which he furthered his religious training at the College of La Flèche. From there, he went to

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 ...

in 1636. Upon arriving in Quebec, he was almost immediately sent to the

Huron Huron may refer to: People * Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America * Wyandot language, spoken by them * Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec * Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi ...

mission where he worked under the instruction of Fathers

Jean de Brébeuf Jean de Brébeuf () (25 March 1593 16 March 1649) was a French Jesuit missionary who travelled to New France (Canada) in 1625. There he worked primarily with the Huron (Wyandot people) for the rest of his life, except for a few years in Franc ...

and

Jérôme Lalemant Jérôme Lalemant, S.J. (Paris, April 27, 1593 – Quebec City, January 26, 1673) was a French Jesuit priest who was a leader of the Jesuit mission in New France. Life Lalemant entered the Jesuit novitiate in Paris on 20 October 1610, after whi ...

for eight years. In 1645 he became superior of the Huron mission. During his time as superior, a number of his missionaries met their deaths, the first being

Jean de Lalande Jean de Lalande, SJ (died October 19, 1646) was a Jesuit missionary at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons and one of the eight North American Martyrs. He was killed at the Mohawk village of Ossernenon after being captured by warriors. Life Jean de ...

in October 1646. They became known as the Canadian Martyrs. He remained at his post on St. Mary's on the Wye until 1649, when persuaded by the Huron leaders to join the fugitives on St. Joseph's island (1649). After a bloody defeat, followed by the massacres of Fathers

Noël Chabanel Noël Chabanel (February 2, 1613 – December 8, 1649) was a Jesuit missionary at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, and one of the Canadian Martyrs. Biography Chabanel entered the Jesuit novitiate at Toulouse at the age of seventeen, and was ...

and Charles Garnier, Ragueneau, yielding to the entreaties of the few whom famine, pestilence, and the fury of the Iroquois had spared, led the small band of 400 survivors, the remnants of a nation of ten thousand, to their final refuge, Quebec, after a long and perilous journey. Ragueneau wrote the ''Relations of the Hurons'' of 1648–49, 1649–50, 1650–51, and 1651–52 which describes the destruction of the mission. In 1650, he became vice-

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the College of Quebec, and superior of the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

mission. In 1656, Ragueneau was assigned to the residence at Trois-Rivières. In 1657, he left for Sainte-Marie-de-Ganentaa. He was part of the times that saw the departure of Fathers Chaumonot, Le Moyne, and other missionaries. This first attempt at an organized apostolate among the Iroquois had failed. In 1662 he returned to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and remained there as

procurator Procurator (with procuracy or procuratorate referring to the office itself) may refer to: * Procurator, one engaged in procuration, the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency * ''Procurator'' (Ancient Rome), the title o ...

of the mission. Ragueneau died in Paris 3 September 1680. The Parish Municipality of Ragueneau in Quebec, Canada, is named after him. In July 2012, there were proposals to name a Canadian federal riding after him.http://www.redecoupage-federal-redistribution.ca/qc/now/proposals/Laval.pdf

References

External links

''New Catholic Dictionary''

Biography at ''the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ragueneau, Paul 1608 births 1680 deaths 17th-century French Jesuits French Roman Catholic missionaries Jesuit missionaries in New France Roman Catholic missionaries in Canada