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St. Isaac Jogues and the North American Martyrs

Editor’s Note: In a recent interview, Pope Francis referred to proselytism as "solemn nonsense" which "makes no sense." What did he mean? The standard definition of "proselytism" is to "convert or attempt to convert someone from one religion to another." Surely, the Holy Father wasn’t referring to the dogmas that one must be baptized and subject to the Roman pontiff in order to be saved. Doesn't this naturally lend a degree of urgency to the Catholic mission to baptize all nations, based on Christ’s mandate? Our neo-Catholic friends assure us that the word has a new meaning, which has to do with swearing off "coercion" and/or intimidating people into becoming Catholic. Now that’s a serious problem!, c oercing people into the baptism fount. Please! By all accounts, the more pressing problem these days is that most Catholics just don't care. One wonders if this new, pejorative meaning of "proselytism" isn’t based on a novel understanding of salvation itself, on a new ecumenism, and on the presumption of God’s mercy on the practitioners of false religions. In the meantime, sans papal clarification, the world is left to construe that St. Isaac Jogues and the other martyr-heroes of our Faith back to eleven of the twelve Apostles, may well have given their lives for "solemn nonsense". God help us, Holy Father, please explain. MJM

St.Isaac Jogues and his seven companions were the first martyrs of the North American continent.

Isaac was born in Orleans, France. He entered the Society of Jesus, and after his ordination he was sent as a missionary to Canada, assigned to work among the Huron Indians. The Huron tribe was frequently attacked by the Iroquois.

During one of these attacks, Isaac and many of the Hurons were captured.

The Iroquois were a savage tribe and they treated their captives in a most cruel way. Isaac and his companions were dragged from village to village. They were beaten and tortured and made to watch their Huron converts being put to death.

Isaac finally was ransomed and was able to escape to New York and then to return to his home in France. The Iroquois had cut, chewed or burned off several of his fingers, so he was no longer able to say Mass, but Pope Urban VIII gave him special permission to offer Mass, and that gave him great joy.

After a few months, Isaac and a companion, Jean de Lalande, sailed for the mission among the Hurons and resumed their work. Then he was asked to try to make peace with the Iroquois.

He started on this peace mission but he was captured by a Mohawk war party, tomahawked and beheaded. His companion, Jean Lalande, was beheaded the next day.

The first of the missionaries to be martyred was Rene Goupil, a layman like Lalande, who had offered his services to the missionaries. While a captive, he was killed by an Iroquois who saw him trace the sign of the cross on the forehead of some children.

John de Brebeuf (1593-1649) was a French Jesuit who had served among the Indians for many years. He taught the Huron language to all the new missionaries, wrote catechisms, and saw seven thousand Hurons profess their belief in Jesus before his death. He was captured by the Iroquois and suffered a most cruel and inhuman death.

Father Gabriel Lalemant (1610-1649) had taken a fourth vow—that of devoting his life to the work of a missionary. He had been in the missions less than three years as an assistant to Father Brebeuf before suffering with him the same dreadful death.

Father Anthony Daniel (1601-1648) was also killed by the Iroquois on July 4, 1648. As the Iroquois suddenly attacked the Mission of St. Joseph, Father Anthony baptized as many catechumens as possible. Then he ran to the cabins of the old and sick to baptize them. Going back to the church, he was surrounded by Iroquois, and they shot their arrows into him. Afterward his body was thrown into the chapel which was then set on fire.

Father Charles Garnier (1605-1649) was shot to death during an Iroquois attack on the Petun village of St. John, and Father Noel Chabanel (1613-1649) was killed by a Huron who hated Christians.

These martyrs were men of great faith and heroism. They brought the teachings of the Lord Jesus to the primitive Indians of seventeenth-century America. Their only thought was to teach the Indian people about God’s love for them, even though they knew that martyrdom would be their reward. At the suggestion of the hierarchies of Canada and the United States, canonization procedures for Isaac Jogues and his fellow martyrs were begun in 1912. All eight Jesuit missionaries were proclaimed saints in 1930. Together they are called the North American Martyrs. v

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