Gabriel Lalemant facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Saint Gabriel Lalemant
Jesuit, Missionary and Martyr of Canada
Born	3 October 1610 Paris, France
Died	17 March 1649(1649-03-17) (aged 38) Saint Ignace (Waubaushene near Tay, Ontario)
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church
Canonized	29 June 1930 by Pope Pius XI
Major shrine	Shrine of the Jesuit Martyrs, Midland, Ontario, Canada
Feast	26 September (Canada); 17 March (U.S.)

Gabriel Lalemant (born October 3, 1610 – died March 17, 1649) was a French Jesuit priest. He came to New France (which is now Canada) in 1646 to share his faith. He was caught in a war between the Huron people and the Iroquois Confederacy. Mohawk warriors killed him in St. Ignace. He is remembered as one of the eight Canadian Martyrs.

Life as a Missionary

Early Life and Joining the Jesuits

Gabriel Lalemant was born in Paris, France, on October 3, 1610. His father was a lawyer. Gabriel was the third of six children. Five of his siblings also chose a religious life.

In 1630, Gabriel joined the Jesuit order. This is a group of Catholic priests and brothers. In 1632, he promised to serve as a missionary in other countries. He taught at a school in Moulins from 1632 to 1635. He then studied theology in Bourges from 1635 to 1639. He became a priest there in 1638.

Gabriel taught at three different schools. He was a professor of philosophy in Moulins. He asked many times to go to New France. However, his leaders said no because he was not very healthy. Finally, his uncle, Jérôme Lalemant, helped him. Jérôme was the head of the Jesuit mission in Canada.

Arrival in New France

In September 1646, Gabriel arrived in Quebec. For his first few months, he learned the Huron language and their ways of life. Another missionary, François-Joseph Bressani, said Gabriel was very weak.

For two years, Gabriel worked near Quebec and the trading town of Trois Rivières. In September 1648, he was sent to Wendake. This was the land of the Wyandot (Huron) people. He worked as an assistant to Jean de Brébeuf at the mission called Sainte-Marie among the Hurons. In February 1649, he took over from Noël Chabanel at the Saint Louis mission.

Capture and Death

In March 1649, about 1,200 Iroquois warriors attacked the village of Saint Ignace. Most of the Huron warriors were away at the time. A few survivors escaped and warned the nearby village of St. Louis.

About eighty Huron warriors at St. Louis fought bravely. They tried to give the older people, women, and children time to escape. Lalemant and Brébeuf stayed with the warriors. They were captured and taken to the mission at Saint Ignace. Both priests were tortured before they were killed. Jean de Brébeuf died on March 16, 1649. Gabriel Lalemant died the next day, on March 17, 1649.

Burial and Recognition

On March 19, after the Iroquois left the area, seven Frenchmen went to St. Ignace. They found the bodies of the Jesuits and Huron people. They brought them back to Sainte-Marie. The bodies were buried there. Today, their special remains are kept at the Martyrs' Shrine in Midland, Ontario.

Gabriel Lalemant was made a saint by Pope Pius XI on June 29, 1930. His last name can be spelled as Lallemant or Lalemant.

Gallery

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  North American Martyrs

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  Bressani map from 1657 showing the deaths of Jean de Brébeuf and Gabriel Lalemant

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  Grave site at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons

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  Statue of Saint Gabriel Lalemant at the Shrine of the Canadian Martyrs

See also

In Spanish: Gabriel Lalemant para niños

• Blessed Julian Maunoir