Jean-Marie-Raphaël Le Jeune (born Jean-Marie; 12 April 1855 – 21 November 1930) was a

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

priest, Oblate of Mary Immaculate,

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who 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.Thoma ...

, linguist, author, and newspaper publisher. Born in Pleyber-Christ 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 ...

in northwestern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, Le Jeune was educated in his village and in the neighbouring town of

Saint-Pol-de-Léon Saint-Pol-de-Léon (; ) is a commune in the Finistère department in Brittany in north-western France, located on the coast. It is noted for its 13th-century cathedral on the site of the original founded by Saint Paul Aurelian in the 6th cen ...

. At the age of eighteen he began his theological studies at

Autun Autun () is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Saône-et-Loire Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region of central-eastern France. It was founded during the Principate era of the e ...

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

, where he was ordained on 7 June 1879. Soon after, he volunteered for missionary service, and was assigned to the Indian missions of

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. Le Jeune and another young missionary, Father Eugène-Casimir Chirouse, travelled to North America in the company of Bishop

Paul Durieu Pierre-Paul Durieu (; December 3, 1830 – June 1, 1899), was a Roman Catholic missionary and the first Bishop of New Westminster, in British Columbia, Canada. Life Durieu was born in 1830 in Saint-Pal-de-Mons, the second son of Blaise Durieux ...

, who on the voyage across the Atlantic instructed them in the basic vocabulary of

Chinook Jargon Chinook Jargon (' or ', also known simply as ''Chinook'' or ''Jargon'') is a language originating as a pidgin language, pidgin trade language in the Pacific Northwest. It spread during the 19th century from the lower Columbia River, first to othe ...

, a

pidgin A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified form of contact language that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn f ...

trade language in use in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

composed of

Chinookan The Chinookan languages are a small family of extinct languages spoken in Oregon and Washington along the Columbia River by Chinook peoples. Although the last known native speaker of any Chinookan language died in 2012, the 2009-2013 American C ...

, Nootkan, French, and English. After crossing the continent by train and travelling by steamer from

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, the party arrived in

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the cap ...

in October 1879, where Le Jeune spent the winter. The following June he was sent to the

Fraser Canyon The Fraser Canyon is a major landform of the Fraser River where it descends rapidly through narrow rock gorges in the Coast Mountains en route from the Interior Plateau of British Columbia to the Fraser Valley. Colloquially, the term "Fraser Ca ...

area to begin his missionary work among the Indians and minister to the Catholics who were among the thousands of workmen then employed in the construction of the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

. While there, Le Jeune began his study of the

Thompson language The Thompson language, also known as , also known as Nlaka'pamuctsin, also known as the Nlaka'pamux ('Nthlakampx') language, is an Interior Salishan language spoken in the Fraser Canyon, Thompson Canyon, Nicola Country of the Canadian provinc ...

.Gurney, William Harold, ''The work of Reverend Father J.M.R. Le Jeune, O.M.I.'', M.A. thesis, University of British Columbia, April, 1948. In the fall of 1880, Le Jeune was sent to St. Mary's Mission, which had been established by the Oblates in 1861 as the centre for missionary activity among the Indians of the Lower Fraser Valley, where he spent the next two years. In 1882, Le Jeune was assigned to St. Louis Mission in

Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the North Thompson River, North and South Thompson Rivers, which join to become the Thompson River in Kamloops, and east of Kamloops Lake. The city is the ad ...

, and traveled throughout the region proselytizing to the native communities. In 1891 he became rector of St. Joseph's Church on the Kamloops Indian Reserve, and in 1893 succeeded Father Jean-Marie J. Le Jacq as superior of St. Louis Mission, a post he held until 1929. Le Jeune spoke several native languages, and in 1890 adapted

Duployan shorthand The Duployan shorthand, or Duployan stenography (), was created by Father Émile Duployé in 1860 for writing French. Since then, it has been expanded and adapted for writing English, German, Spanish, Romanian, and Chinook Jargon. The Dupl ...

to Chinook Jargon. The system was widely adopted among the native community and in 1891 Le Jeune launched a newspaper written in English and Chinook Jargon called the '' Kamloops Wawa''. Both the ''Wawa'' and Le Jeune's Indian pupils received international recognition at shorthand competitions and exhibitions in France. At the exhibition at

Montlhéry Montlhéry () is a Communes of France, commune in the Essonne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located from Paris. History Montlhéry lay on the strategically important road from Paris to Orléans. U ...

in May, 1896, Le Jeune was awarded a gold medal as editor of the ''WaWa'', and entries from two of his Indian pupils were awarded bronze. Further awards were received at the exposition at Nancy in October of that year, while at the Shorthand Exposition and Concours held at

Roubaix Roubaix ( , ; ; ; ) is a city in northern France, located in the Lille metropolitan area on the Belgian border. It is a historically mono-industrial Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, depar ...

from January to May 1897, the ''Wawa'' won another gold medal and fifty diplomas were awarded to the highest-ranking of the entries submitted by 150 Indians from the Kamloops, Shuswap, and surrounding areas. Le Jeune also wrote a number of pamphlets about native languages such as ''Practical Chinook vocabulary'' (1886), ''Prayers in the Okanagan language'' (1893), ''Polyglott manual of prayers'' (1896, contributor), and ''Chinook rudiments'' (1924). In 1904 Le Jeune returned to Europe for the first time in 25 years to attend an Oblate chapter meeting at Liege. He was accompanied on the trip by Chiefs Louis Clexliqen of Kamloops and John Chiliheetza of Douglas Lake. After landing at

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, Le Jeune and the two chiefs travelled to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, to Le Jeune's home in Brittany, to the Oblate chapter meeting at Liege, where they spent three weeks, and to pilgrimage sites on the continent. The trip ended in

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 they were received by

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...

in a group audience of some 50 persons. Detailed accounts of the journey were published in the December 1904 issue of the ''Kamloops WaWa'' and in the ''Kamloops Standard'' of 12 November 1904. The latter report noted that the party had brought back 2000 medals blessed by the Pope for distribution to the Indians, as well as 150

stereopticon A stereopticon is a slide projector or relatively powerful "magic lantern", which has two lenses, usually one above the other, and has mainly been used to project photographic images. These devices date back to the mid 19th century, and were a pop ...

views which Le Jeune had exhibited to a large crowd at the hall on the Kamloops Reserve. Le Jeune died November 21, 1930, at New Westminster and is buried in the Oblate cemetery at

Mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

Lac Le Jeune Lac Le Jeune is a lake and provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located approximately 37 kilometres south of Kamloops and 47 kilometres north of Merritt. The lake is located within Lac Le Jeune Provincial Park, a 213-hectare provincial p ...

, near Logan Lake, bears his name.

External links

Chinook Vocabulary (1892)Chinook manual, or, Prayers, hymns and catechism in Chinook (microform) (1896)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Le Jeune, Jean Marie Raphael 1855 births 1930 deaths Roman Catholic missionaries in Canada 19th-century Canadian Roman Catholic priests Linguists from Canada Franco-Columbian people People from New Westminster Clergy from Finistère Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate Chinook Jargon Creators of writing systems French Roman Catholic missionaries Missionary linguists French emigrants to Canada 20th-century Canadian Roman Catholic priests