Jean-Jacques Lartigue facts for kids
Quick facts for kids His Excellency, the Right Reverend Jean-Jacques Lartigue S.S. |
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| Bishop of Montréal | |
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| Diocese | Montréal |
| Enthroned | 13 May 1836 |
| Reign ended | 19 April 1840 |
| Successor | Bishop Ignace Bourget |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 21 September 1800 |
| Consecration | 21 January 1821 by Archbishop Joseph-Octave Plessis |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 June 1777 Montreal, Province of Quebec, Kingdom of Great Britain |
| Died | 19 April 1840 (aged 62) Montreal, Lower Canada, United Kingdom |
| Buried | Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Parents | Jacques Larthigue & Marie-Charlotte Cherrier |
| Alma mater | Grand séminaire de Montréal |
Jean-Jacques Lartigue (born June 20, 1777 – died April 19, 1840) was a Canadian Sulpician priest. He became the very first Catholic Bishop of Montreal. He played a big role in shaping the Catholic Church in Quebec during a time of change.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Jean-Jacques Lartigue was born into a well-known family in Montreal. His father, Jacques Larthigue, was a surgeon. Jean-Jacques was the only son.
He went to Collège Saint-Raphaël, which later became the Petit Séminaire de Montréal. He also spent two years at an English school run by the Sulpicians. This gave him a strong education. After school, he worked for three years as a law clerk in Montreal. This job made him very interested in the politics of Lower Canada. Lower Canada was a British colony that is now part of Quebec. His uncles, like Joseph Papineau, were also involved in politics.
In 1797, Lartigue decided to become a Catholic priest. He gave up his promising law career. He took the first steps toward priesthood from Bishop Pierre Denaut of Quebec. While studying to become a priest, he also taught at his old school, Saint-Raphaël. He became a deacon on October 28, 1799. Bishop Denaut then chose him as his secretary.
Becoming a Priest
On September 21, 1800, Lartigue was ordained as a priest. Bishop Denaut performed the ceremony at the Church of Saint-Denis. Lartigue helped the bishop with church business. He also helped with pastoral duties in Longueuil, where the bishop lived.
Even though he wasn't very healthy, he traveled with the bishop on church visits. In 1803, they visited the Maritimes, which was part of their diocese. No bishop had visited that area since the late 1600s.
After Bishop Denaut died in 1806, Lartigue joined the Society of Saint-Sulpice. This was a group of priests who lived a more quiet and intellectual life. He was the first Canadian-born person to join this group. He helped out at the Notre-Dame Parish, which was connected to the Seminary.
That same year, the new bishop, Joseph-Octave Plessis, asked for Lartigue's help. He needed Lartigue's legal knowledge. This was to fight a challenge from the Attorney General, Jonathan Sewell. Sewell was questioning the legal status of Catholic parishes that had been created after the British took over New France.
In 1819, the Sulpician Seminary faced another legal problem. The British governor of the province tried to take away their land holdings. These lands were their main source of money. Lartigue was chosen to go to London to present their case to the British government. He was picked because he knew a lot about law and spoke English very well. He traveled with Bishop Plessis, who was also going to London. Plessis wanted permission to start a new seminary and to divide the large Diocese of Quebec.
They sailed to London on July 3, 1819. Lartigue spent two months meeting with British officials. He even met with the main Catholic authority in the United Kingdom. When he felt he wasn't making progress, he went to Paris for a month. He hoped to get the French government to help. He returned to Canada feeling like his mission had failed. However, the Canadian governor's efforts to take the Seminary's lands did not succeed.
Becoming a Bishop
Bishop Plessis was not allowed by the British Crown to divide his diocese. But they reached a compromise. Plessis could have four assistant bishops to help him manage the large diocese. He already had Lartigue in mind for one of these roles. Lartigue was not eager to accept, as it meant leaving his Sulpician community life. But the head of the Sulpicians in Paris left the decision to the head of the Seminary, who agreed to Plessis's request.
In February 1820, Lartigue was named an assistant bishop for the Diocese of Quebec. He was also appointed as the main church leader for Montreal. He became a bishop on January 21, 1821, at the Church of Notre-Dame. He was given a big job: to manage the many Catholic institutions in Montreal and the surrounding area.
At first, the Sulpicians were happy about his appointment. But then they realized he was still under the authority of the Bishop of Quebec. Lartigue soon found himself disagreeing with his former Sulpician friends. They worried that the church leaders in Quebec were trying to reduce the Sulpicians' power in Montreal. Notre-Dame was a Sulpician church. In June 1821, while Lartigue was away, his special bishop's chair was removed from the church. When he returned, Lartigue had to move his office to the chapel of the Hotel-Dieu.
His cousin, Denis-Benjamin Viger, gave land for a new church. The first stone for Saint-Jacques Cathedral was laid in May 1823. Lartigue put his secretary, Ignace Bourget, in charge of building it. Bishop Plessis officially opened the cathedral in September 1825.
One of Lartigue's first actions as bishop was to start a major seminary. This was a school for training priests. It was called the Séminaire Saint-Jacques and opened in 1825. He put Ignace Bourget in charge. The goal was to train good priests for the diocese. Lartigue and Bourget strongly believed that the papacy (the Pope's authority) was supreme in the Catholic Church. This idea was called ultramontanism. Their school became a center for this belief. This sometimes caused disagreements with his own Sulpician community and other Catholics.
Lartigue also focused on teaching young children. He believed this was the Church's job, not the government's. In 1824, the Canadian government passed a law about "fabrique" schools. He encouraged priests to use this law to set up schools in their parishes. He hoped this would help children grow up with a stronger Catholic faith. He started a school in his own home, which taught about 80 children within a year. He also founded a second school in another location.
The Catholic Church in Quebec felt that the British government was often against them. For example, London refused to let the Diocese of Quebec be divided. So, Pope Gregory XVI took action himself. On May 13, 1836, he issued an official order, called a papal bull. This order made Montreal an independent diocese. Faced with the Pope's decision, the British authorities finally agreed.
During the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837, Bishop Lartigue warned the people of his diocese against fighting. Over a thousand "Patriotes" marched in front of Saint-Jacques Cathedral to protest his warning. But the Bishop was not afraid. He even said that patriots killed during the rebellions could not be buried in sacred church ground. Lartigue understood that the Patriotes were outnumbered and not well-equipped. His warning helped moderate Patriotes in Quebec realize that fighting would be a very unequal conflict.
Later Life and Legacy
Jean-Jacques Lartigue served as bishop until he died on April 19, 1840. His associate, Ignace Bourget, became the next bishop. Lartigue is buried in the crypt of the Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde in Montreal.
See also
- Thomas Maguire
