Litany of the Resurrection
Huron Carol
St. Jean de Brebeuf, a Jesuit priest doing missionary work near present-day Quebec, needed to find a way to communicate to the natives about the message of Christ’s birth.
Despite being blamed for disasters, this companion of St. Isaac Jogues would earn their respect.
He brought the scene of the Nativity to Quebec, converting the stable to a bark lodge, the wise men to chiefs, the shepherds to hunters, and so on. Then he set the words he’d written in Huron to an old French melody.
The Christmas carol he wrote from French to Huron goes:
‘Twas in the moon of wintertime
When all the birds had fled,
That mighty Gitchi Manitou
Sent angel choirs instead;
Before their light, the stars grew dim,
And wandering hunter heard the hymn:
“Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born,
In Excelsis Gloria.”
This faithful companion encouraged the natives to dress in their culture as he was telling this story. The main message he shared with them is that Christ came to save all of mankind.