Pioneers of the Catholic Church in Canada

Missionary activity has been an integral part of the Catholic Church since the beginning. Christ sent out his disciples and apostles and ever since, the Church has sent out missionaries to bring the message of the gospel to the ends of the earth. Early on, the Church had to build itself from nothing. Jacques Cartier and Samuel de Champlain brought some of the first settlers. Canada is a large land mass with vast, empty spaces which was inhabited by Indigenous, then French and English settlers and finally, migrants from all over the world.  There are many people we can write about; but we can narrow the list to three.

 Laval

“But in the heart of all this turmoil, we must not be demoralized; if men have the power to destroy, Our Lord’s hand is infinitely more powerful to build. We need only be faithful to Him and let Him work.” —Attributed to St. François de Laval, first bishop of Quebec (1623-1708)

Francois de Laval was the first Bishop of this new land. Authority of the fledgling Church in New France bounced around between the Jesuits and Recollects. How would spiritual authority be transferred to the New World in such a frigid land? His territory stretched from The Atlantic coast to Lake Michigan. There were no trains, planes, or Greyhound buses. A person needed to travel by horse or canoe. Priests were needed to guide the faithful and Bishop Laval responded by setting up the Grande Seminaire or Grande Seminary in Quebec City which eventually evolved into Laval University. Everyone was welcome in Laval’s diocese but, an important element to build up the Catholic faithful was education through parochial schools. This was done with vigour. Even in his declining health at the turn of the century and into the 1700s, Laval was known for never missing mass or a day of fasting. Missionary spirit was necessary in this land far from Rome. He lived by example and in simplicity.

 “He gives away everything and lives in poverty,” St Marie Guyart (1599-1672) said of Bishop Laval.   “His home, his life, his furnishings, his servants are all a reflection of how he lives his live in poverty.”

He was a great example for the people to follow.

 Marguerite Bourgeoys

 While Bishop Laval was trying to build up the Church, he surely knew he could not do it alone. He needed help to build up the Lord’s vineyard. Ste. Marguerite was profoundly moved during a procession to Our Lady of the Rosary when she was younger, and she needed to answer this call. “…I found myself so moved and so changed that I no longer recognized myself.” (The Writings of Marguerite Bourgeoys p. 163) However, being called to serve God is not so simple. The response to this call needs work and the seed needs to be nourished. It is not so much the form of the vocation because we must be attached to Christ.

 Marguerite Bourgeoys’s greatest desire was “that the great precept of the love of God above all things and of the neighbor as oneself be written in every heart.” This is a missionary zeal and this missionary zeal brought her to Canada. Her first school was in a simple stable structure donated to her and her young Congregation of Notre Dame Sisters. There was likely not much to work with in those early days of the colony. No internet, no whiteboard and little money made the climb up the mountain steep but not impossible. St. Albert the Great said, “The greater and more persistent your confidence in God, the more abundantly you will receive what you ask.” Do we always get what we want from God? No. Does he give us what we need? Always. I am thinking of the times I visited in Montreal, which was often. The history of the Church is everywhere despite its decline. Mark Twain, upon a visit to Montreal said, “It was at this banquet that he famously said of Montreal, “This is the first time I was ever in a city where you couldn’t throw a brick without breaking a church window.” This legacy was not built up in a day, but it took decades. It needed to be nourished and it is fearful that it could be lost.

 Frederic Janssoone

 An obscure man on the road to sainthood is ‘Good Father Frederic’ as he was nicknamed. This is a man whose legacy flies under the radar in the newspapers and on social media. I was reading an article in the Catholic Register from Canada from July 23, 2016, and my curiosity was piqued by this simple man. Frederic is credited with reviving the Via Crucis in the Holy Land, bringing the Good Friday Collection donations to the Holy Land and bringing the Franciscans back to Canadian life. He established a great Marian shrine at Cap-de-la Madeleine in Quebec. When he eventually found himself in Canada in 1888, he went about giving talks, visited people door to door and spread the good news of Jesus Christ in a very human way.

 The Journal des Trois-Rivieres wrote that he was “one of the best preachers that one could encounter.” We talk about influencers today and so many people having a podcast, but Father Frederic was a writer, and he wrote about the Holy Land, saints, and many of his thoughts were put on paper. His prayer, “Let me bring to you, whoever comes to me.” Everywhere he went in France, the Holy Land or Canada, he brought his missionary zeal with him. He used his ability to work with the various Christian communities in the Holy Land. I only learned about him through research about Canadian saints. Otherwise, I would have no idea who he was.

Conclusion

There are many saints, venerable and blessed people in the Canadian Church. So often I hear about the famous saints that have a devotion to them, but I need to read about some obscure potential saint through research. The Catholic faithful need to know about these great people who pioneered the Church. St. Frances Cabrini said, “I will go anywhere and do anything in order to communicate the love of Jesus to those who do not know him or have forgotten him.” And St. John Eudes said, “We are missionaries of mercy, sent by the father of mercy to distribute the treasures of mercy to those in need.”

I wasn’t so sure how to begin this article. I needed to do some research and once I did, I discovered some hidden treasures of the Church. I was listening to Catholic Radio on Sirius XM and some of the discussions inspired me to do some of this research. I need to give credit where credit is due.  In reality, the credit goes to Christ. He inspires us all.