Robert Wolfall was an

Anglican 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 particul ...

who served as chaplain to

Martin Frobisher Sir Martin Frobisher (; c. 1535 – 22 November 1594) was an English seaman and privateer who made three voyages to the New World looking for the North-west Passage. He probably sighted Resolution Island near Labrador in north-eastern Canada ...

's third expedition to the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

. He celebrated the first

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

(i.e. post-Reformation)

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

in what is now

Canadian territory Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

in 1578 in

Frobisher Bay Frobisher Bay is an inlet of the Davis Strait in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is located in the southeastern corner of Baffin Island. Its length is about and its width varies from about at its outlet into the Labrador Sea ...

. Wolfall was the vicar of the Church of St Mary in the

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

village of

West Harptree West Harptree is a small village and civil parish in the Chew Valley, Somerset within the unitary district of Bath and North East Somerset. The parish has a population of 439. The village is south of Bristol, southwest of Bath and east of W ...

. He sailed from Harwich on 31 May 1578 in the fleet of 15 sailing ships of the Frobisher expedition. In describing the company, chronicler

Richard Hakluyt Richard Hakluyt (; 1553 – 23 November 1616) was an English writer. He is known for promoting the English colonization of North America through his works, notably ''Divers Voyages Touching the Discoverie of America'' (1582) and ''The Pri ...

called Wolfall "one Maister Wolfall, a learned man, appointed by her Majestie's Councell to be their Minister and Preacher," who, "being well seated and settled at home in his owne countrey, with a good and large liuing, hauing a good, honest woman to wife, and very towardly children, being of good reputation amongst the best, refused not to take in hand this paineful voyage, for the onely care he had to saue soules and to reforme these infidels, if it were possible, to Christianitie."William Stevens Perry, ''The History of the American Episcopal Church 1587-1883'' (Boston, 1885) vol.1, p. 7 Wolfall conducted religious services on the voyage across the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

. The journal of the captain of the ship ''Judith'' describes a communion service on that ship on 22 July 1578. The captain of the ship ''Anne Francis'' wrote that "Master Wolfall made sermons and celebrated the Communion at sundry ... times in several and sundry ships, because the whole company could never meet together at any one place." He presided over the first communion service in what is now Canadian territory on 3 or 4 September 1578, at Frobisher Bay on

Baffin Island Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is , slightly larger than Spain; its population was 13,039 as of the 2021 Canadia ...

. Hakluyt's description of the occasion states:

References

Year of birth missing Year of death missing 16th-century English Anglican priests {{England-Anglican-clergy-stub