François-Xavier Babineau (21 March 1825 – 16 April 1890) was a

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priest, and the first

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

-born

Acadian The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern American region of Acadia, ...

to become a Catholic priest. Babineau was born the son of prosperous farmers in New Brunswick. He received his early education locally and then studied at

Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière () is a parish municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec, located in the Kamouraska Regional County Municipality. Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Sainte-Anne-de- ...

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. He pursued further studies for the priesthood at

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

, and was ordained in 1851 by Bishop Charles-François Baillargeon. Babineau returned to his home province to minister and served in a number of parishes. In 1859 at Cap-Pelé, he singlehandedly saw a number of his parishioners through a

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 (W ...

epidemic. In 1864, François-Xavier became the first resident priest for Cap-Pelé and, over a number of years, ministered there and at Buctouche, New Brunswick. In 1878, being unhappy with his postings, he left the ministry. In 1881, he obtained a teaching certificate and finished his life in that capacity.

References

External links

Biography at ''the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
19th-century Canadian Roman Catholic priests Acadian people 1825 births 1890 deaths {{Canada-clergy-stub