Jean de Brébeuf
Jean de Brébeuf | |
|---|---|
| Martyr Apostle of the Hurons | |
| Born | 25 March 1593 Condé-sur-Vire, Normandy, France |
| Died | 16 March 1649 (aged 55) Huron village of St. Ignace, near Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, near Midland, Ontario, Canada |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church, Anglican Communion |
| Beatified | 12 June 1925 |
| Canonized | 29 June 1930, Canada, by Pope Pius XI |
| Major shrine | Martyrs' Shrine, Midland, Ontario |
| Feast | 16 March, 26 September (Canada, also United States in General Roman Calendar 1962), 19 October (United States and elsewhere) |
| Attributes | Pyx |
| Patronage | Canada |
Jean de Brébeuf SJ (French: [ʒɑ̃ də bʁe.bœf]) (25 March 1593 – 16 March 1649) was a French Jesuit missionary who travelled to New France (Canada) in 1625. There he worked primarily with the Huron for the rest of his life, except for a few years in France from 1629 to 1633. He learned their language and customs, writing extensively about each to aid other missionaries.
In 1649, Brébeuf and another missionary were captured when an Iroquois raid took over a Huron village (referred to in French as St. Louis). Together with Huron captives, the missionaries were ritually tortured and killed on 16 March 1649. Afterwards, his heart was eaten by Iroquois tribesmen. Brébeuf was beatified in 1925 and with eight Jesuit missionaries was canonized in the Catholic Church in 1930.