François-Joseph Bressani, (Francesco-Giuseppe), (6 May 1612 – 9 September 1672), was an Italian-born Jesuit priest who served as a

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 ...

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...

between 1642 and 1650. At one point, he was captured by the Mohawk people and ritually tortured. Because of failing health, he returned to Italy, serving the church there.

Life

Francesco Giuseppe Bressani was born in Rome, Italy on 6 May 1612. He entered the seminary and joined the Jesuit order 16 August 1626 and studied at Rome and Clermont. Prior to his ordination, he taught at Sezza, Tivoli, and Paris. He request to serve as a missionary in New France was granted in 1642. Bressani arrived in North America in 1642 and was assigned to the spiritual care of the French at

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 ...

, where he was given training about the indigenous peoples he would encounter and started studying their languages. The following year was sent to the Algonquins at

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of ...

in present-day Quebec province. From there, he received permission to penetrate the interior to

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 ...

country. En route, he and his companions were captured by

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans * Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people * Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been ...

warriors near Fort Richelieu. They took Bressani to their village of Ossernenon about 9 miles west of the confluence of the Schoharie and Mohawk rivers in present-day New York.Dean R. SNOW, (1995) ''Mohawk Valley Archaeology: The Sites,'' University at Albany Institute for Archaeological Studies (First Edition); ''Occasional Papers Number 23,'' Matson Museum of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University (Second Edition). They ritually tortured and mutilated him, cutting off nine fingers. He was finally ransomed by Dutch traders from

Fort Orange Fort Orange ( nl, Fort Oranje) was the first permanent Dutch settlement in New Netherland; the present-day city of Albany, New York developed at this site. It was built in 1624 as a replacement for Fort Nassau, which had been built on nearb ...

(Albany) and returned to France, where he arrived in November 1644.Ciampolini, Anna Foschi. "Francesco Giuseppe Bressani Literary Prize", ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''
/ref> Bressani quickly returned to Trois-Rivières and again served with the Huron missions. He was also stationed for a time in Québec, where he occasionally officiated Mass. His health failing, he retired to Italy in November 1650. He died in Florence on 9 September 1672. When he prepared his history of the Jesuit missions in Canada, Bressani drew what is known as the François-Joseph Bressani map of 1657 to accompany it. The map depicts the martyrdom of

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 Gabriel Lalemant, as well as illustrations of daily Indian life. Bressani wrote his account of the Jesuit missions in Italian, ''Breve Relatione'', published in 1653 in Italy. Joseph Pivato, "An Italian Jesuit in Canada: Faith and Imagination in Bressani's ''Breve Relatione'' of 1653." in ''Faith and Fantasy in the Renaissance.'' eds. O.Z. Pugliese & E.M. Kavaler. Toronto: Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies, 2009.

Legacy and honors

*The Italian Cultural Centre Society of

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

established the biennial F. G. Bressani Literary Prize in 1986 during the celebrations for Vancouver's Centennial.

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bressani, Francois-Joseph 1612 births 1672 deaths Italian Roman Catholic missionaries 17th-century Italian Jesuits Jesuit missionaries in New France Italian explorers of North America Italian torture victims