Gabriel Thubières De Levy De Queylus
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Gabriel Thubières de Levy de Queylus, S.S. (1612 – 20 May 1677), was a
Sulpician The Society of Priests of Saint-Sulpice (; 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, where it was founded. The members of the Society add the ...
priest from France, who was a leader in the development of
New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, 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 Kingdom of Great Br ...
. He was the founder and first superior of the Seminary of Saint-Sulpice in
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.


Life


Early life

De Queylus, as he was known during his life, was born in 1612 in Privezac, in the ancient Province of
Rouergue Rouergue (; ) is a former province of France, corresponding roughly with the modern department of Aveyron. Its historical capital is Rodez. It is bounded on the north by Auvergne, on the south and southwest by Languedoc, on the east by Géva ...
in the
Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...
, a son of a wealthy nobleman. Destined for service in the Church, at the age of 11 he was made the
commendatory abbot A commendatory abbot () is an ecclesiastic, or sometimes a layman, who holds an abbey ''in commendam'', drawing its revenues but not exercising any authority over its inner monastic discipline. If a commendatory abbot is an ecclesiastic, however, ...
of the Abbey of Loc-Dieu, giving him the lifelong title of
abbé ''Abbé'' (from Latin , in turn from Greek , , from Aramaic ''abba'', a title of honour, literally meaning "the father, my father", emphatic state of ''abh'', "father") is the French word for an abbot. It is also the title used for lower-ranki ...
. Choosing late in his life to pursue the priesthood, he studied at a seminary in the village of Vaugirard, now the Quartier Saint-Lambert in the 15th arrondissement of
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. He was
ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...
a priest on 15 April 1645. In July of that year, he joined the
Society of Saint-Sulpice The Society of Priests of Saint-Sulpice (; 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, where it was founded. The members of the Society add the ...
, dedicated to the sound training of a clergy for France and her territories. That same year, independently, he joined the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal, an organization dedicated to the conversion of the people of the
First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...
in the recently conquered territory of
New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, 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 Kingdom of Great Br ...
. Almost immediately after his admission to the Society, de Queylus gained the trust of its founder,
Jean-Jacques Olier Jean-Jacques Olier, S.S. (20 September 1608 – 2 April 1657) was a French Catholic priest and the founder of the Sulpicians. He also helped to establish the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal, which organized the settlement of a new town ca ...
, whom he might have known from their mutual
alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...
. Olier soon entrusted him with the task of establishing new seminaries in the format which he had instituted in 1641 in founding the Seminary of
Saint-Sulpice, Paris The Church of Saint-Sulpice () is a Catholic church in Paris, France, on the east side of Place Saint-Sulpice, in the 6th arrondissement. Only slightly smaller than Notre-Dame and Saint-Eustache, it is the third largest church in the city. ...
. Within a few years, de Queylus had established seminaries in his native region of
Rodez Rodez (, , ; , ) is a small city and commune in the South of France, about 150 km northeast of Toulouse. It is the prefecture of the department of Aveyron, region of Occitania (formerly Midi-Pyrénées). Rodez is the seat of the communau ...
(1647), as well as in
Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...
(1649) and Viviers (1650). In 1648, moreover, he was briefly made superior of the motherhouse of Saint-Sulpice in Paris. Two years later, de Queylus settled in the
Vivarais Vivarais (; ; {{cite web , url=http://www.columbia.edu/acis/ets/Graesse/orblatv.html , title = ORBIS LATINUS - Letter V) is a traditional region in the south-east of France, covering the ''département'' of Ardèche, named after its capital Vivier ...
, as the
pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...
of Privas, site of the final rebellion of the
Huguenots The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...
in France. He worked to convert the remaining Huguenot population to the Catholic faith. He also established a Sulpician seminary at Clermont in 1656. Shortly after that, he was recalled to Paris.


New France


First mission

In 1656, the Societé de Montréal determined to establish a seminary in the colony of Ville-Marie, now
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
, for the training of missionaries to the indigenous people of America. Olier, himself a member of the society, nominated de Queylus, his trusted assistant who had already successfully founded four such schools. Given de Queylus' large fortune and his characteristic generosity, it seemed even more of a natural choice for an enterprise which would require all the resources that could be found. Some members of the society further proposed that the candidate should be a bishop. Queylus gave his consent to both proposals. His nomination was declared at the General Assembly of the French clergy held on 10 January 1657. The
Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
, who at that point had complete control of the colony, objected and put forth an alternate candidate, François de Laval, who enjoyed the favor of the
royal court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word ''court'' may also be app ...
. This rankled de Queylus for much of his time in New France, but he accepted the decision of the society. For the mission, Olier also appointed two other priests, Dominique Galinier and Gabriel Souart, and a
deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...
, Antoine d’Allet. All four set sail on 17 May 1657 from
Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Oc ...
in
Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
, after receiving ecclesiastical authority by letters dated 22 April, from François de Harlay de Champvallon, Archbishop of Rouen, who claimed authority over the operations of the Catholic Church in the colony. The archbishop had also given
letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...
to de Queylus, naming him as his
vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...
for the whole of New France. He did not tell de Queylus that his predecessor in Rouen had given that same authority to the Superior of the Jesuit missions in Canada in 1649. De Queylus and his colleagues arrived at Île d’Orléans in late July of that year, where they were hosted in Rivière-des-Roches (now the Les Rivières Quarter of
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
) at the house of René Maheut. As soon as he heard of the clerics' arrival, Jean de Quen, the Superior of the Jesuits, hastened to welcome them and brought them to
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
. Their first meeting was polite and cordial. A few days later, de Queylus showed de Quen his letters of appointment. They agreed that the Jesuit would take no action in his capacity as vicar general, since the Archbishop of Rouen had left his status unclear. After confirming Joseph-Antoine Poncet, the Jesuit pastor of Quebec, in his appointment, the Sulpicians sailed for Montreal. The Sulpicians had given Poncet a
papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...
of
indulgence In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for (forgiven) sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission bef ...
granted by
Pope Alexander VII Pope Alexander VII (; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death, in May 1667. He began his career as a vice- papal legate, and he held various d ...
on the occasion of his election to the papacy, with instructions to proclaim it from the pulpit. Without notifying his superior, Poncet read the papal document to his congregation. Quen interpreted this as a show of independence, and – as he was entitled to do by reason of his formal agreement with de Queylus – relieved Poncet as pastor and replaced him with Father Claude Pijart. Poncet, on his way to the Iroquois country, stopped at Ville-Marie at the beginning of September and informed de Queylus of this incident. De Queylus, taking offense in his turn, ordered Poncet to accompany him to Quebec. When they arrived there on 12 September, de Queylus immediately took control of the parish from Pijart and declared himself pastor. A battle of names ensued between de Queylus and de Quen. De Queylus then took the Jesuits to court in an effort to claim their residence as parish property, but the Jesuits proved that they had purchased it. By the summer of 1658, a visitor reported that the religious leaders of the colony were in harmony. That July, documents from the Archbishop of Rouen confirmed de Queylus as vicar general in Montreal and Poncet as vicar general for the rest of the colony. While de Queylus initially balked, but soon relented and moved to Montreal. During this period, de Queylus worked on building up the colony. In 1657 he reorganized the parish of Montreal and appointed his fellow Sulpician, Gabriel Souart, as its pastor. In 1658 he authorized the building of the Churches of Sainte-Anne at Beaupré and of Notre-Dame-de-la-Visitation at
Château-Richer Château-Richer () is a small town situated in the Capitale-Nationale region of Quebec, Canada. Located on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River east of Quebec City. It is the seat for the Côte-de-Beaupré Regional County Municipality. Th ...
. In 1659 he supervised the development of the settlement of Ville-Marie, fixing the site of the town and making it ready for the arrival of new settlers, who were to clear the fiefs of Saint-Marie and of Saint-Gabriel. De Queylus had envisioned the founding of a hospital at Ville-Marie for aged and sick Indians. He hoped that the natives, following their relatives who were being cared for there, would come to Montreal, settle there, and gradually acquire the French language and manners from their contacts with the settlers. Admiring the work of the
Canonesses of St. Augustine of the Mercy of Jesus The Canonesses of St. Augustine of the Mercy of Jesus (Augustinian Hospitallers) are a Roman Catholic religious order of canonesses who follow a semi- contemplative life and are also engaged in the ministry of caring for the sick and needy, from w ...
at
Hôtel-Dieu de Québec The Hotel-Dieu de Québec () is a teaching hospital located in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, and affiliated with Université Laval's medical school. It is part of the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec (CHUQ), a network of five teaching ...
, in 1658 he had offered them the administration of a hospital which was being operated by
Jeanne Mance Jeanne Mance (; November 12, 1606 – June 18, 1673) was a French nurse and settler of New France. She arrived in New France two years after the Ursuline nuns came to Quebec. Among the founders of Montreal in 1642, she established its first hos ...
, a laywoman who had helped to found the colony, pending the arrival of
canoness A canoness is a member of a religious community of women, historically a stable community dedicated to the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours in a particular church. The name corresponds to a canon, the male equivalent, and both roles share a ...
es from another religious Order in France. De Queylus obtained Laval's permission for the direction of this institution to be entrusted to the canonesses of Quebec. The administrator of the hospital, however, found another benefactor and was able to bring three Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph from the
Hôtel-Dieu In French-speaking countries, a hôtel-Dieu () was originally a hospital for the poor and needy, run by the Catholic Church. Nowadays these buildings or institutions have either kept their function as a hospital, the one in Paris being the oldest an ...
of La Fleche in France. De Queylus' position was eroded, moreover, with the hurried appointment of François de Laval as
apostolic vicar Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...
for the colony by the
Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
, which rejected the protests of the
Parlement Under the French Ancien Régime, a ''parlement'' () was a provincial appellate court of the Kingdom of France. In 1789, France had 13 ''parlements'', the original and most important of which was the ''Parlement'' of Paris. Though both th ...
s of both Rouen and Paris. Laval landed in Quebec on 16 June 1659. While initially confused as to his authority relative to that of de Queylus, the colonists soon accepted him as their spiritual leader. De Queylus acknowledged him as apostolic vicar the following August. This changed when new letters giving de Queyluy ecclesiastical authority over the colony were received from both the Archbishop of Rouen and King
Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
the following month. Recanting his earlier submission, de Queylus sought to have the governor of the colony enforce his authority. Unfortunately for him, the king had quickly reversed his decision. When a letter to that effect arrived, de Queylus relented. He then sailed back to France on 22 October 1659.


Second mission

After his return, de Queylus immediately began to form plans to return to New France. Laval, suspecting him of this, had already requested that the king take steps to prevent his return. In February 1660, King Louis explicitly forbade de Queylus from leaving France without his express permission. When de Queylus was unsuccessful in getting the king to reverse his decision, he covertly left for
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, where he tricked the Apostolic Datary into giving him a
papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...
which established a parish in Ville-Marie independent of the Vicar Apostolic's authority. It further gave the right of nomination of the pastor for said parish to the
Superior General A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of an 'order' of religious persons (nuns, priests, friars, etc) or, in other words, of a 'religious institute' in the Catholic Church, and in some other Christian denominations. The super ...
of the Sulpicians, and the right of appointment to the Archbishop of Rouen. Once he had received this appointment by the archbishop he sailed to New France under an alias. Disembarking at Percé, he then took a small boat which arrived in Quebec before the ship from Europe had arrived, landing there on 3 August 1661. Laval was completely astonished at de Queylus' arrival and claims of authority. He refused to recognize the papal bull and threatened de Queylus with suspension of his priestly faculties if he were to proceed with his plans to go to Montreal. Completely ignoring the threats of sanctions, de Queylus took a canoe and arrived in Ville-Marie on 6 August. When King Louis heard of this, he ordered
Pierre Dubois Davaugour Baron Pierre Dubois Davaugour (; before 1620–1664) was the French soldier and Governor of New France from 1661 to 1663. He was related to the old family who were counts and dukes of Penthièvre in Brittany. Davaugour was a career soldier (40 ...
, the newly appointed Governor of New France to have him sent back upon his arrival in the colony. De Queylus boarded a boat bound for France on 22 October 1661, which ended the struggle between himself and de Laval. It further led the Archbishop of Rouen to drop his claims of authority over the colony.


Third mission

De Queylus' forced return to France was a major setback for the waning Societé de Montréal. He had been a major financial supporter of their undertakings. In March 1663 they ceded ownership of Montreal Island to the Sulpicians. Though they were now the ''
Seigneurs A seigneur () or lord is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. The seigneur owned a seigneurie, seigneury, or lordship—a form of ...
'' of the colony, without de Queylus' guidance and financial support, they questioned the viability of the project of a seminary there. During a visit to France, de Laval was asked to allow his return. This he steadfastly refused to do. By 1668, however, de Queylus' quiet submission in the matter changed de Laval's mind and he allowed him to return to New France as the Superior of the Seminary of Ville-Marie. Laval even appointed him Vicar General for the island. Upon his return in the autumn of that year, de Queylus embarked on an ambitious program of missionary activity by the Sulpicians of the colony. He sent two priests to establish a mission among the Onondagas on
Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...
, aided the following year by
François-Saturnin Lascaris d'Urfé François-Saturnin Lascaris d'Urfé, S.S. (1641 – June 30, 1701) was a French nobleman and Sulpician priest who became the first resident pastor of the parish of Saint-Louis-du-Haut-de-l'Île (in what is now the town of Baie-D'Urfé) on the Is ...
. By 1670 there were three separate missions on the shores of the lake. At the same time, he sent two Sulpicians to
evangelize Evangelism, or witnessing, is the act of sharing the Christian gospel, the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is typically done with the intention of converting others to Christianity. Evangelism can take several forms, such as persona ...
the
Odawa people The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ) are an Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous North American people who primarily inhabit land in the Indigenous peoples of the Eastern Woodlands, Eastern Woodlands region, now in jurisdictions of th ...
in the
Mississippi Valley The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
. They traveled as far as
Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...
, which they claimed in the name of France. De Queylus also took up the challenge of the cultural conversion of the native children, having both boys and girls educated in French and useful trades by the Sulpicians and the early members of the Congregation of Notre Dame. These attempts proved ineffective. Additionally, he also attempted to fulfill his earlier promises to the canonesses of Quebec for funding a medical mission to the Native Americans. In 1671, in order to persuade them to assume this undertaking, he promised them a generous grant of land and a fund of 10,000
French livre The livre (abbreviation: Pound sign, £ or Livre tournois, ₶., French language, French for (pound)) was the currency of Kingdom of France and its predecessor states of Francia and West Francia from 781 to 1794. Several different livres exist ...
s. This project never reached completion. His offer of land grants to colonists who would come to serve for a time as
indentured servant Indentured servitude is a form of Work (human activity), labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract called an "indenture", may be entered voluntarily for a prepaid lump sum, as paymen ...
s nearly tripled the population of Ville-Marie between 1666-71.


Final days

By 1671 de Queylus' accomplishments had won the praise of the king and others. That year he returned to France for the division of his father's estate among himself and his brothers. While there, he took seriously ill and retired to the motherhouse in Paris, where he died on 20 May 1677.


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thubieres, Gabriel 1612 births 1677 deaths People from Villefranche-de-Rouergue 17th-century French Roman Catholic priests Sulpicians People of New France History of Catholicism in Quebec