Zenobius Membré, O.M.R. (1645 – c.1687), was a French

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

Recollect The Recollects (french: Récollets) were a French reform branch of the Friars Minor, a Franciscan order. Denoted by their gray habits and pointed hoods, the Recollects took vows of poverty and devoted their lives to prayer, penance, and spiri ...

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...

and missionary in North America.

Life

Membré was born at

Bapaume Bapaume (original Dutch name Batpalmen) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. The inhabitants of this commune are known as ''Bapalmois'' or ''Bapalmoises''. Geography Bapaume is a far ...

, then in the ancient Province of

Artois Artois ( ; ; nl, Artesië; English adjective: ''Artesian'') is a region of northern France. Its territory covers an area of about 4,000 km2 and it has a population of about one million. Its principal cities are Arras (Dutch: ''Atrecht'') ...

, and entered the local friary of the Franciscan Recollect Province of St. Anthony. He arrived in Canada in 1675, and in 1679 he accompanied

Robert de La Salle The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

to the country of the

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, of which he wrote a description. His missionary work there had little success.Engelhardt, Zephyrin. "Zenobius Membré." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 14 January 2018 In 1681 Membré descended the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

with La Salle to the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

, returned with the leader of the expedition to Europe by way of Canada. There he became

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...

of the Franciscan friary in his native city. Membré returned to American and in 1684, along with two other Franciscans and three

Sulpicians The Society of Priests of Saint-Sulpice (french: Compagnie des Prêtres de Saint-Sulpice), abbreviated PSS also known as the Sulpicians is a society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men, named after the Church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris, ...

, sailed with La Salle, intending to found a colony at the mouth of the Mississippi River, but inaccurate maps and navigational errors caused them to anchor 400 miles (644 km) west, off the coast of Texas near Matagorda Bay. La Salle erected Fort St. Louis, a 50-mile (80 km) overland trek from Matagorda Bay in 1685, near what is now

Inez, Texas Inez ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP), on Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59 fifteen miles northeast of Victoria, Texas, near the Jackson County, Texas line in Victoria County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,098 at the 2010 census. I ...

. Membre endeavored to establish a mission among the Cenis nation (Hasinai). In this he failed. After about two years Membre was killed, along with Father Maximus Le Cerq, Father Chefdeville, and the small garrison which La Salle had left at the settlement.Membré, Zénobius, 1645?-1687?, and Chrestien Le Clercq. ''Narrative of the first attempt by M. Cavelier de La Salle to explore the Mississippi.: Drawn up from the manuscripts of Father Zenobius Membré, a Recollect.'' New York, 1852. Pdf
Library of Congress website
Retrieved 16 March 2022.

References

;Attribution * The entry cites: **BARCIA, Ensayo Cronológico (Madrid, 1723); **

Louis Hennepin Father Louis Hennepin, O.F.M. baptized Antoine, (; 12 May 1626 – 5 December 1704) was a Belgian Roman Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Recollet order (French: ''Récollets'') and an explorer of the interior of North Amer ...

, ''Description de la Louisiane'' (Paris, 1683); **THWAITES, A New Discovery of a Vast Country (Chicago, 1903); {{DEFAULTSORT:Membre, Zenobius 1645 births 1680s deaths People from Pas-de-Calais Recollects 17th-century French Roman Catholic priests People of New France Franciscan missionaries French Roman Catholic missionaries Explorers of Texas People murdered in Texas Male murder victims Roman Catholic missionaries in New Spain Roman Catholic missionaries in New France French Franciscans