Henri-Marie Dubreuil de Pontbriand ( c. January 1708 – 8 June 1760), who became the sixth bishop of Roman Catholic diocese of Quebec, was from a titled family and grew up at the Pontbriand Château (now in

Ille-et-Vilaine Ille-et-Vilaine (; br, Il-ha-Gwilen) is a department of France, located in the region of Brittany in the northwest of the country. It is named after the two rivers of the Ille and the Vilaine. It had a population of 1,079,498 in 2019.

), France.

Biography

He received his classical education at

La Flèche La Flèche () is a town and commune in the French department of Sarthe, in the Pays de la Loire region in the Loire Valley. It is the sub-prefecture of the South-Sarthe, the chief district and the chief city of a canton, and the second most po ...

from the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

and studied theology with the

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, ...

in Paris. He stayed in Paris and was ordained there in 1731 and received a doctorate from the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

.Lavallée, Jean-Guy “Dubreuil de Pontbriand, Henri-Marie”, ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'', vol. 3, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003
/ref> Pontbriand spent some time serving the

bishop of Saint-Malo The former Breton and French Catholic Diocese of Saint-Malo ( la, Dioecesis Alethensis, then la, Dioecesis Macloviensis, label=none) existed from at least the 7th century until the French Revolution. Its seat was at Aleth up to some point in the ...

who made him his

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

. In 1740, at the suggestion of his maternal uncle, the Comte de La Garaye, he was named bishop of Quebec by

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...

and this appointment was approved by pope

Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV ( la, Benedictus XIV; it, Benedetto XIV; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Be ...

in March 1741. Before his departure, he spent some months at the Sulpician seminary in Paris learning about his diocese, as the congregation was active in Montreal. He left for Canada that same year on the ''Rubis'', which landed at Quebec 29 Aug. 1741. On the same ship was

Jean-Olivier Briand Jean-Olivier Briand (January 23, 1715 – June 25, 1794) was the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Quebec from 1766 to 1784. Life Jean-Olivier Briand was born at Plérin, Brittany on January 23, 1715. He studied at the Seminary of St. Brieu ...

, who served Henri-Marie during his time as bishop and became bishop of Quebec himself in 1766. Pontbriand commenced his pastoral visits the following January. In 1749 tension developed between the bishop and the

Séminaire de Québec The Seminary of Quebec (French: Séminaire de Québec) is a Catholic community of 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 a Society of d ...

over which had the right to appoint a parish priest in Quebec. He undertook the rebuilding of the Ursuline convent in

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

which had burned in 1752; and the

Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal The Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal (founded in 1645) was the first hospital established in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. ''Hôtel-Dieu'', literally translated in English as ''Hotel of God'', is an archaic French term for hospital, referring to the origi ...

, which burned in 1755.

References

External links

Biography at ''the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
* 1760 deaths University of Paris alumni Roman Catholic bishops of Quebec 18th-century Roman Catholic bishops in New France Burials at the Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec Year of birth unknown Year of birth uncertain {{Canada-RC-bishop-stub