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Rémi Gaulin (30 June 1787 – 8 May 1857) was a
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
priest and bishop who spent time in the service of Bishop
Joseph-Octave Plessis Joseph-Octave Plessis (March 3, 1763 – December 4, 1825) was a Canadian Roman Catholic clergyman from Quebec. He was the first archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec after the diocese was elevated to the status of an archdiocese ...
. Plessis ordained Gaulin in 1811 and appointed him
curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...
to Alexander MacDonell in
Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of t ...
. In 1815 he became a missioner in
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native En ...
. In 1840 he succeeded Macdonnell as bishop of the Diocese of Kingston.


Life

Rémi Gaulin was born 30 June 1787 in
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...
to François and Françoise Amiot Gaulin. His father was a
cooper Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * Cooper (video game character), in ' ...
. Rémi Gaulin was the great-grandnephew of Antoine Gaulin, missionary to the Abenakis and
Miꞌkmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the no ...
of
Acadia Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17th and early ...
and Nova Scotia. Rémi studied at 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 ...
and then at the Séminaire de Nicolet. In the summer of 1811, he accompanied Bishop
Joseph-Octave Plessis Joseph-Octave Plessis (March 3, 1763 – December 4, 1825) was a Canadian Roman Catholic clergyman from Quebec. He was the first archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec after the diocese was elevated to the status of an archdiocese ...
, as secretary, on a pastoral visit to the
Îles de la Madeleine The Magdalen Islands (french: Îles de la Madeleine ) are a small archipelago in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence with a land area of . While part of the Province of Quebec, the islands are in fact closer to the Maritime provinces and Newfoundland th ...
and
New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic Canad ...
; and was ordained the following October. Father Gaulin was assigned to assist Bishop Alexander Macdonell as a curate in Glengarry County in Upper Canada. Gaulin was tri-lingual, speaking English, French, and
Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...
. Macdonnell had been
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 ...
for many of his parishioners, who were former soldiers who had emigrated from
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
. During the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It ...
, he formed them into the Glengarry Light Infantry Fencibles to defend Upper Canada. Gaulin saw service as a chaplain. He was put in charge of the parishes of St. Raphael and St. Andrews. In May 1815, Gaulin returned to Quebec in order to accompany Bishop Plessis on a pastoral visit to the missions on the
Gulf of St Lawrence , image = Baie de la Tour.jpg , alt = , caption = Gulf of St. Lawrence from Anticosti National Park, Quebec , image_bathymetry = Golfe Saint-Laurent Depths fr.svg , alt_bathymetry = Bathymetry ...
. In July, Plessis assigned Gaulin to be the first resident pastor of St. Ninian's parish in
Antigonish, Nova Scotia , settlement_type = Town , image_skyline = File:St Ninian's Cathedral Antigonish Spring.jpg , image_caption = St. Ninian's Cathedral , image_flag = Flag of Antigonish.pn ...
, with responsibility for Margaree and Chéticamp, Cape Breton. He subsequently transferred his base to Chéticamp and by October 1816 was serving the Acadians of that community and of Margaree, and the Scots living in the
Bras d'Or Lake Bras d'Or Lake ( Mi'kmawi'simk: Pitupaq) is an irregular estuary in the centre of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. It has a connection to the open sea, and is tidal. It also has inflows of fresh water from rivers, making the brackish ...
district. In July 1819 he took charge of the
Arichat, Nova Scotia Arichat is an unincorporated place in the Municipality of the County of Richmond, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the main village on Isle Madame on the southeastern tip of Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-B ...
mission. The diocese of Kingston was largely Scots and Irish. Macdonnell sought a coadjutor who was neither. Three potential candidates declined before Bishop
Jean-Jacques Lartigue Jean-Jacques Lartigue, S.S., (20 June 1777 – 19 April 1840) was a Canadian Sulpician, who served as the first Catholic Bishop of Montreal. Early life Lartigue was born to a noted Montreal family, the only son of Jacques Larthigue, a surge ...
of
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
suggested Gaulin. In 1833, Gaulin was consecrated as a bishop and made coadjutor to Macdonell with the right of succession. Gaulin became the bishop in the diocese of Kingston in 1840 when MacDonell died.
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...
saw an influx of Irish immigrants, many of whom did not attend church regularly. At the instigation of Bishop Gaulin, Bishop
Ignace Bourget Ignace Bourget (October 30, 1799 – June 8, 1885) was a Canadian Roman Catholic priest who held the title of Bishop of Montreal from 1840 to 1876. Born in Lévis, Quebec, in 1799, Bourget entered the clergy at an early age, undertook several co ...
led the French-Canadian hierarchy to petition for a new diocese. Michael Power, the vicar general of Montreal, was chosen as the first bishop of the Diocese of Toronto. Power had been born in Nova Scotia of Irish parents and spoke French. Bishop Gaulin said, "This gentleman is sufficiently Irish to be well thought of here and sufficiently Canadian to live up to all we might expect of him." Bishop Power died of typhus in 1847, contracted while ministering to the sick. Beginning in 1841 Gaulin's physical and mental health began to deteriorate. Bishop Bourget brought Gaulin to Montreal and appointed Patrick Phelan as coadjutor of Kingston. The latter was ordained bishop on 20 August 1843 and administered the diocese from then onwards. Bishop Gaulin died on 8 May 1857 in Sainte-Philomène, near Montreal. He is buried in
St. Mary's Cathedral, Kingston St. Mary's Cathedral (or its full name Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception) in Kingston, Ontario, Canada is a Roman Catholic cathedral. It is one of three churches located within 600m along Clergy Street (the others are Chalmers U ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaulin, Remi 1787 births 1857 deaths People from Quebec City Roman Catholic bishops of Kingston, Canada Pre-Confederation Quebec people Burials at St. Mary's Cathedral, Kingston 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Canada