Henri de Bernières ( c. 1635 – 1700) was a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' refe ...

who served as the first resident

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 Quebec in France's American colony 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 also served as the first Superior of the

Séminaire de Québec The Seminary of Quebec (French: , ) is a Catholic Church, Catholic community of Secular clergy, diocesan priests in Quebec City founded by Bishop François de Laval, the first bishop of New France in 1663. History The Séminaire de Québec is ...

Early life

Bernières was born in

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

, the son of Pierre de Bernières,

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

of Acqueville, and of Madeleine Le Breton. He was destined by his parents for service in the Church and received the

tonsure Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice in ...

at the age of nine, when he was entrusted into the care of his uncle, Jean de Bernières de Louvigny, who then raised him in a religious community which he had founded in 1644 in the same city, though he was a

layman In religious organizations, the laity () — individually a layperson, layman or laywoman — consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. ...

. His work was a part of the reform movement of the Catholic Church sparked by the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent (), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most ...

, and the hermitage was a major influence in that movement, in association with the Compagnie du Saint-Sacrement. A young priest,

François de Laval Francis-Xavier de Montmorency-Laval, commonly referred to as François de Laval (; 30 April 1623 – 6 May 1708), was a French Catholic prelate who served as Apostolic Vicar of New France from 1658 to 1674 and as Bishop of Quebec from its creat ...

spent several years in retreat at the community, coming to know the young Henri during that time. In 1659, Laval, by then a member of the

Paris Foreign Missions Society The Society of Foreign Missions of Paris (, , MEP) is a Catholic Missionary order, missionary organization. It is not a religious institute, but an organization of secular clergy, secular priests and Laity, lay persons dedicated to missionary wo ...

, had been appointed by

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 longest of any monar ...

to serve as the first Bishop of Quebec in the colony of

. Upon the recommendation of his uncle, though still only in

minor order In Christianity, minor orders are ranks of church ministry. In the Catholic Church, the predominating Latin Church formerly distinguished between the major orders—priest (including bishop), deacon and subdeacon—and four minor orders—acolyte ...

s, Bernières was chosen as one of a group of

cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

s to accompany the new bishop to America.

New France

Laval and his companions sailed from

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...

on 13 April 1659, together with the

Jesuit 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 ...

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 wh ...

. They arrived in

Fort Ville-Marie Fort Ville-Marie was a French fortress and settlement established in May 1642 by a company of French settlers, led by Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve, on the Island of Montreal in the Saint Lawrence River at the confluence of the Ottawa River, ...

two months later, on 16 June, only to find that no residence had been provided for them, but they found temporary quarters. Bernières was appointed Laval's

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

and continued his theological studies until 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 ...

as a priest on 13 March 1660. Laval soon entrusted Bernières with the

pastoral care ''The Book of Pastoral Rule'' (Latin: ''Liber Regulae Pastoralis'', ''Regula Pastoralis'' or ''Cura Pastoralis'' — sometimes translated into English ''Pastoral Care'') is a treatise on the responsibilities of the clergy written by Pope Greg ...

of the district 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, ...

. The young priest also supervised the building of a residence for the bishop and clergy, completed in 1662. That same year Laval returned to France to deal with a number of issues plaguing the colony, leaving Bernières one of two

Vicars 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 vicar ...

in charge of the mission. When the bishop returned to the colony the following year, he brought with him a

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

for the establishment of a seminary. Further, he established a

canonical The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean 'according to the canon' the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, ''canonical exampl ...

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

, the first in New France, and was appointed as its first pastor.

Seminary of Quebec

By 1665 the seminary appeared to be reliably enough established, and Laval selected Bernières for this office. He was to hold it for four terms: 1665–72, 1673–83, 1685–88 and 1693–98, a total of 25 years. The seminary began to develop in stages: first as a school of theology (1663), then it became a classical college (1668), after which it grew into a seigneurial corporation (1668), then a large corporation, supporting the clergy of the colony. As a frontier mission, sources of funding needed to be secured. The priests engaged in the ministry looked to the seminary for support, the seminary, in turn, relied upon the Séminaire des Missions Étrangères in Paris, by virtue of an agreement made by Laval with his

religious congregation A religious congregation is a type of Religious institute (Catholic), religious institute in the Catholic Church. They are legally distinguished from Religious order (Catholic), religious orders – the other major type of religious institute – i ...

in 1665, as well as upon donations from monasteries and individuals back in France who wished to support the Catholic Church's mission to the native peoples. Bernières died in Quebec in 1700.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bernieres, Henri De 1630s births 1700 deaths Clergy from Caen 17th-century French Roman Catholic priests French Roman Catholic missionaries Roman Catholic missionaries in New France Roman Catholic priests in New France