![St Marie Hurons 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/St_Marie_Hurons_2.jpg)
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
Midland is a town located on Georgian Bay in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Huronia/Wendat region of Central Ontario.
Located at the southern end of Georgian Bay's 30,000 Islands, Midland is the economic centre of the region, ...
, from 1639 to 1649. It was the first
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an settlement in what is now the province of
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
.
Eight missionaries from Sainte-Marie were
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
ed, and were
canonized by the
Catholic Church
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 ...
in 1930. Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons was designated a
National Historic Site of Canada
National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment
An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of t ...
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
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
. It was at Saint-Louis that Jesuit missionaries
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 France ...
and Gabriel Lalement were captured when the Wendat village was attacked by the
Iroquois
The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
on March 16, 1649.
History
Sainte-Marie among the Hurons was established in 1639 by French Jesuits, Fathers
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 ...
and
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 France ...
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
Midland is a town located on Georgian Bay in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Huronia/Wendat region of Central Ontario.
Located at the southern end of Georgian Bay's 30,000 Islands, Midland is the economic centre of the region, ...
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
A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...
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 chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
, 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
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 ...
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
![Sainte-Marie, Tent](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Sainte-Marie%2C_Tent.jpg)
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
Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
to the Huron, often adapting the story to local customs and symbols. One of the most famous examples of this was the "
Huron Carol
The "Huron Carol" (or "Twas in the Moon of Wintertime") is a Canadian Christmas hymn (Canada's oldest Christmas song), written probably in 1642 by Jean de Brébeuf, a Jesuit missionary at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons in Canada. Brébeuf wrote the ...
", a
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
hymn
A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''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 infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...
, 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
An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time.
Epidemics of infectious d ...
of
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
, 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
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
in France,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. Also during this time, the rivalry between the Wendat and
Iroquois
The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
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 (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
Isaac Jogues, S.J. (10 January 1607 – 18 October 1646) was a French missionary and martyr who traveled and worked among the Iroquois, Huron, and other Native populations in North America. He was the first European to name Lake George, calli ...
(1646), St.
Jean de Lalande (1646), and
St. Gabriel Lalemant (1649)—were killed in the
Huron-Iroquois War. 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
A lye is a metal hydroxide traditionally obtained by leaching wood ashes, or a strong alkali which is highly soluble in water producing caustic basic solutions. "Lye" most commonly refers to sodium hydroxide (NaOH), but historically has been us ...
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
The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...
undertook additional excavations. In 1954 Fr.
Dennis Hegarty 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
The Martyrs' Shrine, also known as Shrine of the Canadian Martyrs (french: Sanctuaire des martyrs canadiens)is a Roman Catholic church in Midland, Ontario, Canada, which is consecrated to the memory of the Canadian Martyrs, six Jesuit Martyrs an ...
was visited by Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
in 1984 as part of his papal visit to Canada.
On August 22, 2006, three of the reconstructed buildings—the blacksmith
A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
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
The Digital Museums Canada (DMC; , ''MNC'') is a funding program in Canada "dedicated to online projects by the museum and heritage community," helping organizations to build digital capacity.
Administered by the Canadian Museum of History (CMH) ...
.
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
See also
* Jesuit missions in North America
Jesuit missions in North America were attempted in the late 16th century, established early in the 17th century, faltered at the beginning of the 18th, disappeared during the suppression of the Society of Jesus around 1763, and returned around 183 ...
* List of Jesuit sites
* Sainte Marie among the Iroquois
Sainte Marie among the Iroquois (originally known as ''Sainte Marie de Gannentaha'' or ''St. Mary's of Ganantaa'') was a 17th-century French Jesuit mission located in the middle of the Onondaga nation of the Haudenosaunee/Iroquois. It was locat ...
* Wyandot people
The Wyandot people, or Wyandotte and Waⁿdát, are Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands. The Wyandot are Iroquoian Indigenous peoples of North America who emerged as a confederacy of tribes around the north shore of Lake Ontario ...
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