October 19 – Eight Jesuit Martyrs of North
America - t. Isaac Jogues, St. Jean de Brebeuf, and Companions
Isaac Jogues and his
companions were the first officially recognized martyrs of the North American
continent officially recognized by the Church. As a young Jesuit, Isaac Jogues,
a man of learning and culture, taught literature in France. He gave up that
career to work among the Huron Indians in the New World, and in 1636 he and his
companions, under the leadership of John de Brébeuf, arrived in Quebec. The
Hurons were constantly warred upon by the Iroquois, and in a few years Father
Jogues was captured by the Iroquois and imprisoned for 13 months. His letters
and journals tell how he and his companions were led from village to village,
how they were beaten, tortured and forced to watch as their Huron converts were
mangled and killed.
An unexpected chance for escape came to Isaac Jogues through the
Dutch, and he returned to France, bearing the marks of his sufferings. Several
fingers had been cut, chewed or burnt off. Pope Urban VIII gave him permission
to offer Mass with his mutilated hands: "It would be shameful that a martyr
of Christ be not allowed to drink the Blood of Christ." Welcomed home as a
hero, Father Jogues might have sat back, thanked God for his safe return and
died peacefully in his homeland. But his zeal led him back once more to the
fulfillment of his dreams.
In a few months he sailed for his missions among the
Hurons.
In 1646 he and Jean de Lalande, who had offered his
services to the missioners, set out for Iroquois country in the belief that a
recently signed peace treaty would be observed. They were captured by a Mohawk
war party, and on October 18 Father Jogues was tomahawked and beheaded. Jean de
Lalande was killed the next day at Ossernenon, a village near Albany, New York.
The first of the Jesuit missionaries to be martyred was René
Goupil who, with Lalande, had offered his services as an oblate. He was
tortured along with Isaac Jogues in 1642, and was tomahawked for having made
the Sign of the Cross on the brow of some children.
Jean de Brébeuf (1593-1649): Jean de Brébeuf was a
French Jesuit who came to Canada at the age of 32 and labored there for 24
years. He went back to France when the English captured Quebec (1629) and
expelled the Jesuits, but returned to his missions four years later. Although
medicine men blamed the Jesuits for a smallpox epidemic among the Hurons, Jean
remained with them. He composed catechisms and a dictionary in Huron, and
saw 7,000 converted before his death. He was captured by the Iroquois and died
after four hours of extreme torture at Sainte Marie, near Georgian Bay, Canada.
Father Anthony Daniel, working among Hurons who were
gradually becoming Christian, was killed by Iroquois on July 4, 1648. His body
was thrown into his chapel, which was set on fire.
Gabriel Lalemant had taken a fourth vow—to
sacrifice his life for the Native Americans. He was horribly tortured to death
along with Father Brébeuf.
Father Charles Garnier was shot to death as he baptized
children and catechumens during an Iroquois attack.
Father Noel Chabanel was killed before he could answer his
recall to France. He had found it exceedingly hard to adapt to mission life. He
could not learn the language, the food and life of the Indians revolted him,
plus he suffered spiritual dryness during his whole stay in Canada. Yet
he made
a vow to remain until death in his mission.
These eight Jesuit martyrs of North America were canonized in
1930.
