Saint Gabriel
Lalemant, martyr
Il était originaire de
Paris, mais il ne pouvait rester à enseigner la théologie ou la philosophie. Il
arrive à convaincre son provincial jésuite de l’envoyer comme missionnaire au
Canada. Il y rejoint Jean de Brébeuf et évangélise avec lui les indiens Hurons.
En 1649, les tribus indiennes des Iroquois reprennent le sentier de la guerre
contre les Hurons et les deux religieux jésuites sont faits prisonniers,
torturés, avec d'autres prisonniers chrétiens. Les souffrances sont
insoutenables à décrire. Ils entrent dans la paix de Dieu en 1649.
Saint Gabriel Lalemant
Martyr au Canada (+ 1649)
Il était originaire de
Paris, mais il ne pouvait rester à enseigner la théologie ou la philosophie. Il
arrive à convaincre son provincial jésuite à devenir missionnaire au Canada. Il
y rejoint Jean de Brébeuf et évangélise avec lui les indiens Hurons. En 1649,
les tribus indiennes des Iroquois reprennent le sentier de la guerre contre les
Hurons et les deux religieux jésuites sont faits prisonniers, torturés, avec
d'autres prisonniers chrétiens. Les souffrances sont insoutenables à décrire.
Ils entrent dans la paix de Dieu en 1649.
Jean de Brébeuf, Gabriel
Lalemant, Charles Garnier, Antoine
Daniel, Noël
Chabanel, Isaac
Jogues, René Goupil, Jean de La Lande,
canonisés en 1930, patrons secondaires du Canada depuis 1940, ils sont devenus
des figures nationales proposées en exemples à l'Église universelle. Avec nos
découvreurs et nos fondateurs, ils sont nos architectes: leurs courses ont
tracé nos routes d'eau et de fer; ils ont fixé le site de maintes de nos cités
et donné leurs noms à d'innombrables institutions (hôpitaux, universités,
collèges, écoles), à des villages, des paroisses, des routes et des rues du
Québec. Davantage, c'est jusqu'au cœur même du sol qu'ils ont pénétré par leur
sang répandu. (Les
saints martyrs canadiens - diocèse d'Edmundston)
La célébration liturgique
des saints martyrs canadiens a lieu le 26 septembre au Canada et le 19 octobre
dans l'Église universelle.
Chez les Hurons au
Canada, en 1649, la passion de saint Gabriel Lalemant, prêtre de la Compagnie
de Jésus. Avec toute la vigueur de son zèle, il répandit la connaissance de
Dieu dans ce peuple, et dans sa propre langue, jusqu’au jour où des ennemis,
adorateurs d’idoles, le traînèrent aux supplices les plus cruels.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/822/Saint-Gabriel-Lalemant.html
Saint
Gabriel Lalemant
Prêtre s.j. missionnaire
et Martyr (†1649)
Gabriel Lalemant naît
à Paris le 3 octobre 1610 ; son père était avocat au parlement.
Il avait 20 ans quand, le
24 mars 1630, il entrait au noviciat de Paris. Deux ans plus tard, il
obtenait de ses supérieurs la permission d’ajouter aux trois vœux ordinaires de
religion celui de se consacrer aux missions étrangères ; 14 ans
s’écouleront entre l’émission de ce vœu et l’arrivée de Gabriel au Canada.
Dans l’intervalle, il est
professeur au collège de Moulins (1632-1635), étudie la théologie à Bourges
(1635-1639), il est ministre des pensionnaires au collège de La Flèche
(1639-1641), professeur de philosophie au collège de Moulins (1641-1644), préfet
du collège de Bourges (1644-1646).
Le Journal des
Jésuites note son arrivée à la date du 20 septembre 1646. Sur son
séjour à Québec (1646-1648) nous savons peu de choses. Au début de septembre
1648, il arrivait à Sainte-Marie-des-Hurons, et il était appliqué à l’étude de
la langue. Les succès furent si rapides qu’en février 1649 il remplaçait à la
mission Saint-Louis le père Chabanel, appelé ailleurs.
Le 16 mars 1649,
une armée de 1000 Iroquois envahit le bourg Saint-Ignace et s’en empare presque
sans coup férir, avant le lever du soleil. De là, elle se rend à la mission
Saint-Louis, distante d’une lieue (distance qu’on peut parcourir à pied en une
heure). Ici, les Hurons se défendent énergiquement, repoussent un premier
et un second assaut. Mais les Iroquois, étant supérieurs en nombre, gagnent.
À Jean de Brébeuf et à
Gabriel Lalemant, qui étaient à la mission Saint-Louis, on leur
conseille de fuir mais ils refusent. Dès qu’ils sont fait captifs, on les
dépouille de leurs vêtements, on leur arrache les ongles et on les conduit au
bourg Saint-Ignace (à mi-chemin entre Coldwater et Vasey, dans le comté de
Simcoe, en Ontario).
Le P. Brébeuf mourut le
16 mars, à quatre heures de l’après-midi. Lalemant a-t-il eu connaissance
des souffrances de son confrère ? Nous ne le savons pas. Quant à lui, son
martyre commença le 16 mars, à six heures du soir, et dura jusqu’au
lendemain matin. Voici ce que la Relation à retenu : « Dans le plus
fort de ces tourments, le Père Gabriel Lalemant levait les yeux au Ciel,
joignant les mains et jetant des soupirs à Dieu qu’il invoquait à son secours …».
Son corps, enterré avec
celui de Brébeuf, sous la chapelle de la résidence Sainte-Marie, fut transporté
à Québec au printemps de 1650.
Gabriel Lalemant et
7 sept autres missionnaires jésuites, ont été béatifiés le 21 juin 1925 et
canonisés, le 29 juin 1930, par Pie XI (Ambrogio Damiano Ratti,
1922-1939).
Le Vénérable Pie XII (Eugenio Pacelli, 1939-1958) a déclaré les
saints martyrs canadiens, Patrons secondaires du Canada.
Pour un approfondissement
biographique des martyrs, cliquer sur les noms ci-dessous :
René Goupi
SOURCE : https://www.levangileauquotidien.org/FR/display-saint/a378c275-1807-401b-86f4-a106d0d26a8b
_-_North_American_martyrs_reliquary_(de_Brebeuf%2C_Garnier%2C_Lalemant).jpg)
_-_relics_of_Brebeuf%2C_Lalemant%2C_Garnier.jpg)
Saint Gabriel Lalemant
Le père Gabriel Lalemant (1610-1649) devint jésuite à 19 ans, et a été ordonné prêtre à 27 ans, il était un intellectuel brillant, professeur et administrateur de collège, de physique délicat, mais ardent dans son désir d’aller dans la mission en Huronie. Après 7 mois de séjour dans cette mission il était déjà capable de parler la langue huronne. Il a été l’assistant du P. de Brébeuf pendant un mois, et ensuite son compagnon de martyr pendant 17 heures interminables.
Inspiré par l’exemple de
son oncle, un missionnaire dans la Nouvelle France, il désirait devenir
missionnaire lui-même et fit un vœu d’aller en mission au moment de prononcer
ses vœux de fin de noviciat. Malgré son enthousiasme, on fit de lui un enseignant.
Chaque année il demandait les missions, et chaque année on lui refusait,
probablement à cause de sa mauvaise santé. Finalement sa demande a été
acceptée, probablement grâce à l’intercession d’un autre oncle, un jésuite qui
venait d’être nommé supérieur des missions.
Le 13 juin 1646 le P.
Lalemant quitta La Rochelle en France avec 3 autres jésuites et atteignit
Québec le 20 septembre. Avant de commencer son ministère, il passa 2 ans à
apprendre la langue et les coutumes des Hurons. Finalement, en août 1648 il
alla à Sainte Marie, le quartier général de la mission, avec un groupe de
Hurons qui étaient venus à Québec pour vendre des peaux. Il consacra encore
quelques mois à l’étude de la langue et, au début de 1649 il commença à
accompagner le P. de Brébeuf pour sa tournée hebdomadaire des villages des
environs. Après toutes ces années d’attente, sa carrière comme missionnaire fut
courte, et il ajouta le sacrifice de sa vie à celui de la messe qu’il célébrait
chaque jour.
A peine six mois après
son arrivée à Sainte Marie, il partit avec le P. de Brébeuf pour le village de
Saint Louis. Pendant la nuit les Iroquois attaquèrent un village des environs,
et les 2 jésuites savaient que Saint Louis suivrait. Le matin suivant, le 16
mars les Iroquois attaquèrent le village huron et vainquirent sans peine. Les 2
jésuites furent fait prisonniers parce qu’ils avaient refusé de fuir dans la
forêt avant l’attaque. Les assaillants arrachèrent les ongles de leurs doigts
et mâchèrent leurs doigts avant de les obliger à courir nus dans la neige
jusqu’à un autre village où d’autres guerrier les attendaient. Là ils durent
courir entre deux rangées de guerriers, après ils ont été conduits à l’endroit
de leur exécution. Apparemment, le P. Lalemant a été obligé de regarder les
tortures de son compagnon, avant de subir le même sort vers 6 heures du soir.
Ses tortionnaires allumèrent un feu autour de ses pieds, ensuite ils le
brûlèrent avec des lames de haches rougies au feu et versèrent de l’eau
bouillante sur sa tête. Après lui avoie coupé les mains, ils lui firent sauter
les yeux, ils mirent des charbons brûlants dans ses sabots. Ensuite ils
s’arrêtèrent, afin de lui faire subir une autre journée de torture. Le
lendemain ils commencèrent par mettre des charbons brûlants dans sa bouche et
lui coupèrent la langue. Le P. Lalemant s’est montré aussi courageux que son
compagnon et a refusé de crier pour implorer la pitié. Finalement ils lui
arrachèrent le cœur et le mangèrent pour obtenir son courage. Il n’avait que 36
ans et rendit l’âme après 17 heures d’incroyables tortures. Son corps a été
enterré avec celui du P. de Brébeuf près de la porte de la chapelle de Sainte
Marie.
Autres martyrs d’Amérique du Nord
Initialement regroupé et
édité par: Tom Rochford, SJ
Traducteur: Guy Verhaegen
Parc
des Martyrs commémorant les saints martyrs canadiens. Voir http://www.patrimoine-culturel.gouv.qc.ca/rpcq/detail.do?methode=consulter&id=113997&type=bien#.W9YzVJNKiUk
Dans la foulée de la
canonisation en 1930 des missionnaires jésuites martyrisés en 1640, le curé
Joseph-Arthur Gauthier de la paroisse Saint-Ignace-de-Loyola entreprend de
créer un lieu de pèlerinage qui leur serait consacré. Grâce à des corvées
paroissiales, un sanctuaire est aménagé en 1927 au sud du cimetière paroissial,
entre l'avenue Loyola et le chemin Royal. Il comportait plusieurs
infrastructures édifiées en petits cailloux arrondis: le monument aux Martyrs,
des bassins et une imposante grotte. Une chapelle, dédiée aux Martyrs, est
également construite sur le site, selon les plans de Gérard Morisset. Toujours
conservée, elle singularise l'extrémité ouest du site patrimonial déclaré de
Beauport.
Deux bassins, alimentés par un ruisseau, furent aménagés à l'ouest et au sud de
la chapelle. Près du chemin Royal, un monument dédié aux saints martyrs
canadien a été élevé devant un troisième plan d'eau en forme de croix. Au
sud-ouest du cimetière, une grotte (constituée de plusieurs petits cailloux de
rivière) dédiée à Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes fut réalisée par Adélard Métayer.
D'autres éléments décoratifs ont aussi été aménagés dont un autel, chaire,
fontaine, rose mystique, porte du ciel, tour de David et médaille miraculeuse.
Après avoir été abandonné, le parc fait l'objet d'un réaménagement en 1991. La
chapelle abrite aujourd'hui un columbarium.
LALEMANT, GABRIEL,
prêtre, jésuite, missionnaire et martyr, né à Paris le
3 octobre 1610, tué par les Iroquois le 17 mars 1649,
canonisé par le pape Pie XI le 29 juin 1930.
Gabriel Lalemant était
fils d’un avocat au parlement de Paris. La Relation de 1649 insinue
qu’il appartenait à la noblesse : « Quoy que quittant le monde, il
eût quitté la part que sa naissance luy donnoit à des charges
honorables ». Il avait 20 ans quand, le 24 mars 1630, il entrait
au noviciat de Paris. Deux ans plus tard, il obtenait de ses supérieurs la
permission d’ajouter aux trois vœux ordinaires de religion celui de se
consacrer aux missions étrangères ; 14 ans s’écouleront entre l’émission
de ce vœu et l’arrivée de Gabriel au Canada. Dans l’intervalle, il est
professeur au collège de Moulins (1632–1635), étudie la théologie à Bourges
(1635–1639), il est ministre des pensionnaires au collège de La Flèche
(1639–1641), professeur de philosophie au collège de Moulins (1641–1644),
préfet du collège de Bourges (1644–1646). Le Journal des Jésuites note
son arrivée à la date du 20 septembre 1646. Sur son séjour à Québec
(1646–1648) nous savons peu de choses. Au début de septembre 1648, il arrivait
à Sainte-Marie-des-Hurons, et il était appliqué à l’étude de la langue. Les
succès furent si rapides qu’en février 1649 il remplaçait à la mission
Saint-Louis le père Chabanel,
appelé ailleurs.
Le 16 mars 1649,
une armée de 1000 Iroquois envahit le bourg Saint-Ignace et s’en empare presque
sans coup férir, avant le lever du soleil. De là, elle se rend à la mission
Saint-Louis, distante d’une lieue. Ici, les Hurons se défendent énergiquement,
repoussent un premier et un second assaut. Mais comme les Iroquois ont le
nombre, ils ont aussi la victoire.
Jean de Brébeuf et
Gabriel Lalemant étaient alors à la mission Saint-Louis. On leur conseille de
fuir ; ils refusent, « et pendant la chaleur du combat, leur cœur
n’estoit que feu pour le salut des ames ». Dès qu’ils sont fait captifs,
on les dépouille de leurs vêtements, on leur arrache les ongles et on les
conduit au bourg Saint-Ignace (à mi-chemin entre Coldwater et Vasey, dans le
comté de Simcoe, en Ontario).
Brébeuf mourut le
16 mars, à quatre heures de l’après-midi. Lalemant a-t-il eu connaissance
des souffrances de son confrère ? Nous ne le savons pas. Quant à lui, son
martyre commença le 16 mars, à six heures du soir, et dura jusqu’au
lendemain matin. Voici ce que la Relation en à retenu :
« Dans le plus fort de ces tourmens, le Pere Gabriel Lallement levoit les
yeux au Ciel, joignant les mains de fois à autres, et jettant des soûpirs à
Dieu qu’il invoquoit à son secours ». Il « avait receu un coup de
hache sur l’oreille gauche, qu’ils lui avoient enfoncé jusque dans la cervelle
qui paroissoit à découvert ; nous ne vismes aucune partie de son corps,
depuis les pieds jusqu’à la teste qui n’eut esté grillée, et dans laquelle il
n’eut esté bruslé tout vif ; mesme les yeux où ces impies avoient fourré
des charbons ardens ».
Son corps, enterré avec
celui de Brébeuf, sous la chapelle de la résidence Sainte-Marie, était levé et
transporté à Québec au printemps de 1650.
ACSM, Mémoires touchant
la mort et les vertus des pères Isaac Jogues, etc. (Ragueneau), repr. RAPQ,
1924–25 : 3–93 passim.— JJ (Laverdière et Casgrain).— JR (Thwaites),
XXXIV : 24–36 (source principale sur Gabriel Lalemant).— Positio
causae.— Récit veritable du martyre et de la bien heureuse mort, du Pere Jean
de Brebœuf et du Pere Gabriel l’Alemant en la Nouvelle france, dans le pays des
hurons par les Iroquois, ennemis de la Foy, RAC, 1884 : xivs., lx–lxii.— Léon Pouliot,
Notice sur Gabriel Lalemant, dans Les Saints Martyrs canadiens (Montréal,
1949), 25–28, 115–121.— Rochemonteix, Les Jésuites et la N.-F. au XVIIe siècle,
II.
© 1966–2015 Université
Laval/University of Toronto
SOURCE : http://www.biographi.ca/fr/bio.php?BioId=34440
Carte
de Nouvelle France, Jésuites, Novae Franciae accurata delineatio,
Bressani, Francesco Giuseppe (1612-1672), 1657
.jpg)
Francesco
Giuseppe Bressani (1612-1672). Cartouche sur la carte de la
Nouvelle-France, Novae Franciae accurata delineatio. (détail)
19 October as
one of the Martyrs
of North America
formerly 26
September
Profile
Nephew of the Jesuit missionaries Charles
and Jerome Lalemant. Entered the Jesuits in Paris, France on 24 March 1630. Missionary,
arriving in Canada on 20
September 1646.
Assigned as assistant to Saint John
de Brebeuf among the Huron in early 1649,
he was soon martyred with
him. One of the Martyrs
of North America.
Born
10 October 1610 at Paris, France
tortured to death over
the course of three hours on 17 March 1649 at
the Saint Ignatius mission in the Huron country, Canada
interred by fellow priests at
Saint Mary’s mission
some relics moved
to Quebec in the spring of 1650
Additional
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Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
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of Canadian Biography
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Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
Martirologio Romano, 2005 edition
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MLA
Citation
“Saint Gabriel
Lalemant“. CatholicSaints.Info. 2 September 2022. Web. 22 September 2024.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-gabriel-lalemant/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-gabriel-lalemant/
Gabriel Lalemant
Jesuit missionary,
b. at Paris,
10 October, 1610, d. in the Huron country,
17 March 1649. He was the nephew of Charles and Jerome
Lalemant, and became a Jesuit at Paris,
24 March 1630. He arrived in Canada,
20 September, 1646 and after remaining in Quebec for two years, was sent to
the Huron missions
as de Brébeuf's assistant. He was scarcely there a month when the Iroquois attacked
the settlement of St. Ignatius which they burned, and then descended on the
mission of St. Louis where they found de
Brébeuf and Lalemant. After setting fire to the village and killing
many of the inhabitants, they led the two priests back
to St. Ignatius where they were tied to stakes and after horrible torture put
to death. Lalemant stood by while his companion was being killed. De
Brébeuf expired at three in the afternoon. Lalemant's suffering began
at six that evening and lasted until nine o'clock next morning. When the Iroquois withdrew,
the bodies of the two priests were
carried over to St. Mary's where they were interred.
Some of the relics of
Lalemant were subsequently carried to Quebec.
Sources
Relations, passim;
ROCHEMONTEIX, Les Jésuites de la Nouvelle France; MARTIN, Hurons et Iroquois;
FERLAND, Histoire du Canada ; Journal des Jésuites.
MLA citation. Campbell,
Thomas. "Gabriel Lalemant." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New
York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 16 Mar. 2015
<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08752b.htm>.
Copyright © 2023 by Kevin Knight.
Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08752b.htm
Gabriel Lalemant / l6l0 -
1649
by ANGUS MACDOUGALL
Three Lalemants made
their mark as Jesuit blackrobes in 17th century Canada. There was Charles, the
first to come, brother of Jerome and uncle of Gabriel. Charles landed at Quebec
with Brebeuf in 1625. After his enforced return to France in 1629 and after the
restoration of New France in 1632, Charles continued his missionary role by
acting as procurator for the mission of Canada.
His brother, Jerome, a
very illustrious Jesuit in 17th century Que-bec, followed in Charles' footsteps
and arrived in Canada in 1638. He immediately set out for Huronia and replaced
the wonderful Jean de Brebeuf as superior of the Huron mission. To him fell the
task of building Sainte-Marie, the ambitious central mission residence, and it
was he who, in great measure, systematized the evangelization of the growing
mission to the Hurons and their neighbors the Tobaccos and the Nipis sings.
Jerome went to Quebec in
1645 to assume control of the whole Canadian mission and so was at the helm
during the difficult days of Iroquois attacks and the eventual destruction of
the Hurons and their flourishing mission.
A truly eminent Jesuit in
his time, Jerome was the advisor of gover-nors, Bishop Lava' and the other
leaders of New France; he was a talented and devoted superior; a gifted
director of souls, and a man much esteemed for his wisdom, prudence and
charity. He served the Canadian mission long and well and has left us some of
the finest Rela-tions, especially those of 1646-49 and 1660-64.
GABRIEL THE NEPHEW
Gabriel, the nephew of
Charles and Jerome, arrived in Quebec only many years after his uncles, but his
martyrdom at the hands of the Iroquois in March 1649 has given him the place of
honor among these splendid 17th century Lalemants.
Our martyr was born in
Paris, October 31, 1610. He was the son of an able French jurist and the third
of six children, five of whom entered the religious life. His older brother
Bruno became a Carthusian monk, three sisters became nuns, and Gabriel entered
the Jesuit Order on March 24, 1630, at the age of nineteen. The youngest child,
a boy, grew up to be, like his father, a successful lawyer and an admirable
Christian.
His family must have been
surely a deeply christian one, for Gabriel's mother was left a widow with young
children and brought them up well and with a profound sense of dedication. She
herself, after her children had reached maturity and after the martyrdom of her
son Gabriel, joined the Recollectines and ended her days in seclusion and
prayer.
Gabriel, after his
novitiate, taught for several years in various Jesuit colleges. He then made
his theological studies at Bourges and was ordained a priest in that city in
1638. After the priesthood he con-tinued to teach, being professor of
philosophy at Moulins, and later was "prefect" at the famous college
of La Fleche. But ever since his ordination Gabriel had begged his superiors to
send him to the mis sion of New France. The example of his exemplary uncles
spurred him on.
TO NEW FRANCE - 1646
We know that Gabriel was
not very robust. Indeed, Father Bressani, a fellow missionary in New France and
among the Hurons, referred to him as a man of extremely frail constitution.
This, no doubt, was the main reason for deferring his departure for Quebec.
However, his obvious goodness, generosity and insistence overcame all obstacles
in 1646.
His uncle Jerome welcomed
him to Quebec but hesitated to send him up to Huronia. He knew from his own
experience the difficulties and rigors of that mission. So for the first two
years he applied Gabriel to priestly ministry in and around Quebec and at Three
Rivers, the great trading centre. In 1648 he had even decided to send him among
the Algonkian Montagnais who were not too far from Quebec.
However, circumstances
changed and the uncle finally allowed him to leave for Huronia along with
Fathers Bressani, Bonin, Daran and Greslon and a large party of Frenchmen and
Hurons. After all, the Iroquois menace was a real one and both French and Hurons
had to travel in large numbers for their own safety and protection. They
reached Huronia in August 1648.
AUGUST TO MARCH 1648-49
The new missionary among
the Hurons, now thirty-eight years of age, seemed right in his element. He
studied the difficult Huron language at the village of Ossossane under the
direction of the able Father Chau-monot. The experienced missionary marvelled
at his pupil's rapid pro-gress in the language and later remarked to Jerome
Lalemant how seriously and successfully his nephew had applied himself to this
task.
When Gabriel was deemed
ready for more active missionary work he was sent by the superior, Father Paul
Ragueneau, to assist the great veteran Jean de Brebeuf. In February 1649 he
relieved Father Noel Chabanel who then left for the more distant mission of
Saint-Jean among the Tobaccos. It was an eventful change for both of them!
Little did Gabriel know,
but he would have only a month of active apostolic labor at the side of the
admirable Brebeuf. Both were ex-tremely good and zealous priests, so we can
well imagine how content they must have been making the rounds of their mission
that comprised five villages to the east of Sainte-Marie. St. Ignace and St.
Louis are the two we remember best.
As the frontiers of Huronia
had shrunk under the incessant incur-sions by the Iroquois, villages like St.
Ignace and St. Louis suddenly became alarmingly exposed to the attacks of the
enemy. Indeed in March 1649, most of the Huron warriors from the villages were
scour-ing the woods to discover the whereabouts of the enemy - but in vain! The
crafty Iroquois - 1200 strong and well armed - had outwitted the Hurons and had
arrived in the vicinity of St. Ignace completely un-detected.
Early in the morning of
March 16, 1649, as the light of day was breaking, they found the one weak and
unprotected spot in the pali-saded village and swiftly broke in and overran the
place. Five hundred Hurons, mostly older people, women and children, were
quickly sub-dued. Some were killed instantly but most were taken prisoner. Only
three managed to escape to warn St. Louis of this disaster and of what was to
come.
It was like a death blow
to an already staggering Huronia.
CAPTURE
At St. Louis, the old
people, the sick, the women and children im-mediately fled off to other Huron
villages. Only eighty warriors were left and these were resolved to fight the
enemy and gain valuable time for the fleeing villagers. And with these eighty
stayed the two mission-aries Brebeuf and Lalemant. Despite the pleas of the
Hurons that they escape while there was time, the two fathers preferred to
remain in this hour of crisis. As Ragueneau, their friend, would say later:
"the salvation of their flock was dearer to them than life itself."
About an hour later the
Iroquois surrounded St. Louis and pressed their attack. The eighty Hurons
fought desperately to keep them at bay. And all the while Brebeuf and Lalemant,
amid the din and shouting, busied themselves with encouragement, confessions
and baptisms.
When one pagan Huron,
dismayed at the sight of so many Iroquois attackers, wished to run away,
Stephen Annaotaha, a Christian and outstanding warrior, rebuked him sharply
with "What, could we for-sake these two good fathers who have exposed
their lives for us? Their love of our salvation will be the cause of their
death. They cannot escape now over the snow, so let us die with them and we
shall go to heaven with them."
On the third assault the
village fell into the hands of the Iroquois. The few remaining Hurons and the
two blackrobes were seized and led off in triumph. They would provide the
victors with much sport!
HOURS OF AGONY
"As soon as they
were taken captive," wrote Ragueneau, "the Iroquois stripped them of
their clothes and tore off some of their nails. When they reached the village
of St. Ignace, they were welcomed with a hail-storm of blows on the shoulders,
the back, the legs, the stomach, the chest and the face, until there did not
remain a single part of their bodies without pain."
Then the two fathers were
dragged into the centre of the village and fastened to stakes. Now the torture
became deliberate and fiendish. They were burned with firebrands, their flesh
was pierced with sharp awls, collars of red-hot hatchets were strung around
their necks, their flesh was ripped and torn away, and belts of burning pitch
were fasten-ed to their bodies. Cruelty was heaped upon cruelty.
At the height of these
dreadful torments, Father Gabriel, we are told by Huron witnesses, lifted his
eyes to heaven, joined his hands from time to time, and, breathing a sigh to
God, invoked His help.
Later the aroused
executioners gouged out his eyes and put burning coals in the sockets, and
then, in mockery of the baptisms he had per-formed so recently at St. Louis,
they poured scalding hot water over him in order, they jeered, to send him the
more quickly to heaven.
Gabriel's companion,
Brebeuf, died from his tortures about 4 p.m., that March 16th. Gabriel, frail
though he was, endured his dreadful sufferings all that day and throughout the
night, dying only, after a hatchet blow over his left ear, at 9 a.m. the
following day. As a final gesture the Iroquois tore out his heart and devoured
it in order to imbibe some of his courage!
After the sudden withdrawal
of the Iroquois war party from the area on March 19th, seven Frenchmen went to
St. Ignace to carry the bodies of the two fathers to Sainte-Marie. There, on
Sunday, March 21st, their bodies - "precious relics" - were buried.
Ragueneau, the superior at
Sainte-Marie, recalled the scene: "All who assisted at their obsequies
were filled with such consolation and tender devotion that, far from being
afraid, they hoped for a similar death for themselves."
And thus it was that the
last to enter the lists of Huronia was one of the first to win the crown. He
had spent only six months in the land of martyrs. But for him it had been an
intense period of accomplishing much in a short time.
THE SERVANT OF GOD
For so long he had wished
to give up everything for the salvation of souls. In his diary he spoke of his
readiness to be a holocaust in the service of God and of his desire to make
amends for any offences in his life by extraordinary suffering. And he had prayed
that his missionary work and sufferings would bring blessings upon his beloved
mother and the family to whom he was so indebted.
A Jesuit for nineteen
years, Gabriel showed forth remarkable purity of conscience, unmistakable union
with God, and a sincere love of others. Serious, reserved and gentle he was
much beloved by all who knew him. Even in the few months he lived among the
Hurons he had endeared himself to them by his ministrations. They called him
Ati-ronta, the name of a Huron chief.
Ragneneau, his first
biographer, wrote that Gabriel had died for the cause of God and had found in
Huronia the cross of Christ which he had sought.
His uncle, Jerome
Lalemant, had to break the news of his death to the family in France. He wrote
to his niece - Gabriel's sister - the carmelite nun in typical Lalemant
fashion: "What happiness for our family . . . it seems to me the news
should help you raise your heart and mind to God."
Gabriel Lalemant, the
martyr, was officially recognized and pro-claimed as such by Pope Pius XI on
June 29th, 1930. In popular devo-tion his memory is always linked with that of
Jean de Brebeuf with whom he labored and died.
SOURCE : http://www.wyandot.org/lalemant.htm
ST. GABRIEL LALEMANT
(1610 – 1649)
Gabriel was the nephew of
Charles and Jerome Lalemant, who were brothers, and who worked as Jesuit
priests in the wilderness of Quebec and Ontario, when the Jesuits first came to
New France. Gabriel was born in Paris, on October 31, 1610. In 1630, at the age
of nineteen, he entered the Jesuit novitiate in Paris. Hearing stories from his
own Uncle Charles, about the missionary work in New France, filled him with
desire to go to convert the savage Indians. And even though his own family did
not want him to go to the savage land of New France, Gabriel was not one to
allow his family to stand between himself and doing God's holy will. Still, he
loved his family very much, and wrote the following note: "I am
indebted to my relatives, to my mother and to my brothers, and I must try to
draw down on them the mercy of God. Never permit, O God, that any of my family,
for whom Thou hast shown so much love, perish in Thy sight, or that there be
one amongst them who will blaspheme Thee for all eternity in Hell. Let me be a
victim for them!"
Gabriel completed his
novitiate and took his vows of Chastity, Poverty, and Obedience, in 1632.
Inspired by God, he also added a fourth vow: to consecrate himself to the
foreign missions. At the same time God tested his patience, because he had to
wait sixteen years before he was given permission to go to New France.
Gabriel Lalemant was sent
immediately after his novitiate to teach in the college at Moulins. He worked
there for three years before he went to study theology at Bourges. There he was
ordained in 1638. The following year Fr. Lalemant was appointed prefect of
students in the college of La Fleche, and in 1641, he was sent to teach
philosophy at Moulins. He was prefect in the college at Bourges, in 1646, when
the news reached him that he had been chosen for the missions in New France—his
poor health had been the cause of the long delay.
After three months of
crossing the ocean, Gabriel arrived in Quebec, in September 1646, where he was
welcomed by his Uncle Jerome Lalemant; the Superior of all the missions of New
France. Fr. Lalemant wanted to go at once to some Indian tribe to begin the
study of their language. But his uncle was unwilling to send him to Huronia,
because he already knew from his own experience, how difficult it was to work in
the missions. So for the next two years he had Fr. Lalemant do his ministry in
and around Quebec and at Trois-Rivières among the French colonists.
Before coming to New
France, Gabriel had consecrated himself to Our Lord for the purpose of
receiving from His hand a violent death, either in exposing himself among the
plague-stricken in France, or in seeking to save the souls of savages in New
France. And he esteemed it a favour if he were allowed to die for God's glory
in the flower of his age. The favour that Fr. Lalemant so greatly desired was
to be granted to him in all its fullness. On July 24, 1648, he was allowed to
leave Quebec City for Trois-Rivières, to join the Hurons on their return
homewards.
Carrying their goods was
one the hardest tasks that the missionaries had to endure on their tiresome
journeys westward, and after one of those tiring spells both Indian and white
men rested for a few hours, often for the night. At last in the beginning of
September 1648, after the tiring journey up the Ottawa River, across Lake
Nipissing and down the French River, Fr. Lalemant reached Fort St. Marie, the
headquarters of the Jesuits in Huronia. This was also a place where the
Christians found a hospital when sick, a refuge when panic-stricken, and a
shelter when they went to visit the priests and Frenchmen.
Fr. Lalemant, who was now
thirty-eight years old, studied the difficult Huron language at the village of
Ossossané under the direction of Fr. Chaumonot.
By 1649, the Iroquois had
grown angrier. The massacre of Fr. Antoine Daniel and his people at
Teanaostaye, in July 1648, served as a warning to the recent converts and
catechumens of the various Huron villages, to prepare for the worst. It also
acted as an encouragement for them to lead better lives, and as a result, a
wave of fervour swept over the land. Between July 1648 and March 1649, the
missionary priests baptised more than 1400 Hurons. Missionaries as well as
Indians believed that they were on the eve of a catastrophe, and no one was
penetrated with this feeling more than Fr. Gabriel Lalemant who had long before
desired to sacrifice his life. He wrote: "My Jesus and my Love, Thy
blood shed for barbarians as well as for us, must be efficaciously applied for
their salvation. Aided by Thy grace, I offer myself to co-operate in this work
and to sacrifice myself for them."
Early in the morning on
March 16, 1649, 1200 Iroquois ran into the poorly protected village of St.
Ignace. Five hundred Hurons; mostly older people, women and children, were
taken as prisoners and some were even killed. Three Hurons managed to escape to
warn the people at the St. Louis settlement that the Iroquois were coming to
attack their village. At St. Louis, the women and children, the sick and old
people, quickly hurried away to other Huron villages. Only eighty Huron
warriors were left to fight off the Iroquois and with them stayed Fr. Brébeuf
and Fr. Lalemant. The Christians begged the two priests to flee and save
themselves, but these two good priests refused to leave their flock, which was
dearer to them than their own lives. While the Iroquois were killing and
scalping the Hurons, the two saints stood in the midst of them, baptising,
giving them absolution and encouraging them to die for the Catholic Faith.
The Iroquois set fire to
St. Louis and hurried back to St. Ignace with the two priests. The priests were
stripped naked, had some of their nails torn out and were beaten with clubs
until there did not remain a single part of their bodies that was not in pain.
Like Fr. Brébeuf, Fr.
Lalemant received the same terrible treatment: his flesh was pierced with sharp
awls, red hot hatchets were applied to his loins and under his armpits, and a
necklace of red hot hatchets was hung around his neck! Boiling water too, was
poured over him until his entire body was bathed in it. The wretches also
applied burning torches to Fr. Lalemant’s body, gouged out his eyes and put
burning coals in the empty holes! The more the two priests were tortured, the
more they begged God to pardon their evil enemies. Fr. Brébeuf died from his
tortures about 4:00 p.m. on March 16th.
Fr. Lalemant, who was of
a more delicate nature than Fr. Brébeuf, raised his eyes to Heaven and with
sighs, begged God to come to his aid. The Iroquois split his jaws, drew his
mouth wide open and drove burning brands down his throat. The torturers left
Fr. Lalemant's charred body entire so that his sufferings might cause him more
pain during the coming night!
In all, our saint had to
endure his sufferings for fifteen hours before he died. His soul sped to Heaven
on the following morning, March 17th, when the Iroquois smashed his skull with
a hatchet and left his brain exposed. Fr. Lalemant also had his heart torn out
and eaten by the Iroquois, who hoped to gain some of his courage by doing so.
Fr. Lalemant’s precious
remains were carried to Fort St. Marie, and he and Fr. Brébeuf were buried on
Sunday March 21st. Barely seven months had passed, and Gabriel Lalemant had
received the crown of martyrdom. The baptisms of more than 2,700 savages after
his death proved that the blood he shed had helped to convert the pagan
Indians.
St. Gabriel Lalemant:
pray for us
SOURCE : http://fsspx.com/EucharisticCrusade/2008_April/The_Canadian_Martyrs.htm
LALEMANT, GABRIEL,
priest, Jesuit, missionary and martyr; canonized by Pope Pius XI,
29 June 1930; b. 3 Oct. 1610 in Paris; killed by the
Iroquois 17 March 1649.
Gabriel Lalemant was the
son of a lawyer in the judicial court (Parlement) of Paris. The 1649 Relation implies
that he belonged to the nobility: “Although, in leaving the world, he had left
the share which his birth gave him in honorable offices. . . .” He
was 20 when he entered the noviciate in Paris on 24 March 1630. Two
years later he was granted permission by his superiors to add to the three
usual religious vows that of devoting himself to foreign missions; 14 years
were to elapse between the taking of this vow and Gabriel’s arrival in Canada.
In the interval he was a teacher at the Collège in Moulins (1632-35), studied
theology at Bourges (1635–39), was minister to the boarding-school pupils at
the Collège in La Flèche (1639–41), was philosophy teacher at the Collège
in Moulins (1641–44), and prefect of the Collège in Bourges (1644–46).
The Journal des Jésuites records his arrival under the date
20 Sept. 1646. We know little about his stay in Quebec (1646–48).
Early in September 1648 he arrived at Sainte-Marie-des-Hurons and he was
diligent in the study of the language. His success was so prompt that in
February 1649 he replaced at the Saint-Louis mission Father Noël Chabanel,
who had been called away.
On
16 March 1649, a war-party of 1,000 Iroquois overran the little town
of Saint-Ignace and captured it before sunrise, almost without striking a blow.
From there they went on to the Saint-Louis mission, about a league away. Here
the Hurons defended themselves stoutly, and drove back two separate attacks.
But by weight of numbers the Iroquois were victorious here as well.
Jean de Brébeuf and
Gabriel Lalemant were at that time at the Saint-Louis mission. They were urged
to flee; they refused, “and, during the heat of the combat, their hearts were
only fire for the salvation of souls.” As soon as they were captured they were
stripped of their clothes, their nails were torn out, and they were taken to
the little town of Saint-Ignace (half-way between Coldwater and Vasey, in the
county of Simcoe, Ontario).
Brébeuf died
16 March, at four in the afternoon. Was Lalemant aware of his fellow
missionary’s suffering? We do not know. As for him, his martyrdom began
16 March at six in the evening and lasted until the following morning.
Here is the account of it given in the Relation: “At the height of these
torments, Father Gabriel Lallemant lifted his eyes to Heaven, clasping his
hands from time to time and uttering sighs to God, whom he invoked to his aid.”
He “had received a hatchet blow on the left ear, which they had driven into his
brain, which appeared exposed: we saw no part of his body, from the feet even
to the head, which had not been broiled, and in which he had not been burned
alive, – even the eyes, into which those impious ones had thrust burning
coals.”
His body, buried with
Brébeuf’s beneath the chapel of the Sainte-Marie residence, was taken up and
moved to Quebec in the spring of 1650.
Almost all that we know
about Gabriel Lalemant we owe to the Relation of 1649 (JR (Thwaites),
XXXIV, 24–36). JJ (Laverdière et Casgrain), passim. See
also ACSM, “Mémoires touchant la mort et les vertus des pères Isaac Jogues
. . .” (Ragueneau), repr. APQ Rapport, 1924–25, 3–93, passim. Positio
causae. Christophe Regnaut, “Récit veritable du martyre et de la bien heureuse
mort, du Père Jean de Breboeuf et du Père Gabriel l’Alemant en la Nouvelle
France, dans le pays des hurons par les Iroquois, ennemis de la foy,” 1678, in
PAC Report, 1884, Note E. 1xiii. Léon Pouliot, “Notice sur Gabriel
Lalemant,” dans Les saints martyrs canadiens (Montréal, 1949), 25–28;
115–21. Rochemonteix, Les Jésuites et la Nouvelle-France au XVIIe siècle,
II.
© 1966–2015 University
of Toronto/Université Laval
SOURCE : http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/lalemant_gabriel_1E.html
Statue
of Saint Gabriel Lalemant at Martyrs Shrine Midland, Ontario, Canada
San Gabriele
Lalemant Gesuita, martire in Canada
Festa: 17 marzo
>>> Visualizza la
Scheda del Gruppo cui appartiene
Parigi, 10 ottobre 1610 –
Canada, 17 marzo 1649
In un contesto di
colonizzazione europea del Nuovo Mondo, caratterizzato da interessi politici,
economici e di sfruttamento, emerge l'opera di missionari come i Gesuiti e i
Francescani, che in Canada diffusero il Vangelo e i principi cristiani tra le
popolazioni locali. Tra questi, un gruppo di otto sacerdoti e fratelli
coadiutori gesuiti, tra cui Gabriele Lalemant, si spinse nelle terre americane,
incontrando difficoltà e ostilità. La loro opera di evangelizzazione, condotta
con il metodo di "farsi selvaggi fra i selvaggi", si rivolse
principalmente alla tribù degli Uroni. Tuttavia, la guerra tra Uroni e Irochesi
portò al martirio di questi missionari, che con il loro sacrificio diedero
nuovo vigore alla colonia cattolica. La loro beatificazione e canonizzazione
avvenne nel 1925 e 1930. La storia di Gabriele Lalemant, in particolare,
esemplifica la dedizione e il coraggio di questi missionari di fronte alle
avversità. La sua "passione", avvenuta il 17 marzo 1649, rimane una
testimonianza di fede e speranza.
Martirologio
Romano: Nel territorio degli Uroni in Canada, passione di san Gabriele
Lalemant, sacerdote della Compagnia di Gesù, che con strenua dedizione diffuse
l’anuncio della gloria di Dio nella lingua delle popolazioni del luogo, prima
di essere tratto da alcuni ostili idolatri a crudelissimi supplizi. La sua
memoria si celebra unitamente a quella dei suoi compagni il 19 ottobre.
Se nel colonizzare il Nuovo Mondo, come veniva chiamato il Continente Americano, si attivarono più o meno con interessi politici, economici e di sfruttamento coloniale, Inglesi, Francesi, Spagnoli, cioè le grandi Potenze dell’epoca, vi furono di pari passo, altri uomini appartenenti a Congregazioni religiose di antica fondazione, oppure che si costituirono negli anni successivi, che portarono la luce del Vangelo ed i principi cristiani, alle popolazioni locali.
Quindi essi costituirono l’altra faccia della colonizzazione, non portarono guerra, violenza, sfruttamento, ma solidarietà umana e spirituale, aiuti sanitari, istruzione, accoglienza per i più disagiati e deboli, che non mancano mai in ogni angolo della Terra.
E nell’America Settentrionale e precisamente in Canada, al confine con gli Stati Uniti, arrivarono come seconda generazione di Missionari, i padri Gesuiti ed i Francescani. Fra i Gesuiti vi fu un gruppo di otto sacerdoti e fratelli coadiutori, che a gruppetti o singolarmente, si spinsero nelle inesplorate e vastissime terre americane, tra immense foreste e laghi grandi come mari.
Il loro apostolato si svolse primariamente fra i “pellerossa” della zona; compito non facile, visto il loro carattere sospettoso e mutevole; i primi successi relativi, si ebbero con la tribù più vicina degli Uroni; i Gesuiti usarono il metodo di farsi “selvaggi fra i selvaggi”, cioè adottare e adattarsi agli usi e costumi locali, avvicinandosi alla mentalità degli Indiani, cercando di comprendere le loro debolezze, riti, superstizioni.
Ma dopo il 1640, la tribù degli Uroni fu attaccata ferocemente da quella degli Irochesi, per natura più combattivi e crudeli, più intelligenti e perspicaci e dotati di veloci cavalli; la guerra tribale fu violenta, portando allo sterminio quasi totale degli Uroni e annullando così l’opera dei missionari.
E nel contesto di questa guerra fra Uroni ed Irochesi, persero la vita gli otto martiri gesuiti, che in varie date testimoniarono con il loro sangue la fede in Cristo, suscitando negli stessi Irochesi, una tale ammirazione di fronte al loro coraggio, nell’affrontare le crudeli e raffinate sevizie, che usavano per torturare i loro nemici, da giungere a divorare il cuore di alcuni di loro, per poterne secondo le loro credenze, assimilare la forza d’animo ed il coraggio.
E come si diceva degli antichi martiri cristiani: “Il sangue dei martiri è seme di nuovi cristiani”, così il loro sacrificio non fu inutile, perché nei decenni successivi, la colonia cattolica riprese vigore e si affermò saldamente in quei vasti Paesi.
I martiri furono beatificati il 21 giugno 1925, dal grande ‘Papa delle Missioni’ Pio XI e dallo stesso pontefice canonizzati il 29 giugno 1930. Citiamo i loro nomi:
Sacerdoti Antonio Daniel († 1648), Giovanni De Brébeuf, Gabriele Lalemant,
Carlo Garnier, Natale Chabanel († tutti nel 1649); fratello coadiutore Renato
Goupil († 1642), sacerdote Isacco Jogues e il fratello coadiutore Giovanni de
la Lande († 1647). Ricorrenza liturgica per tutti al 19 ottobre.
Gabriele Lalemant nacque a Parigi il 10 ottobre 1610, da distinta famiglia;
sotto l’aspetto debole e quasi fragile, nascondeva un’anima ardente e generosa.
A 20 anni entrò nella Compagnia di Gesù e mentre studiava per sacerdote, si preparava per diventare missionario, chiedendo di essere inviato nella Nuova Francia, come allora si chiamava il Canada; con il permesso dei Superiori, fece anche il voto di essere sempre al servizio degli indigeni.
Dopo essere stato ordinato sacerdote, fu incaricato dell’insegnamento nel Collegio di Moulins e poi a Bourges; nel 1646 furono accettate le sue insistenti richieste e quindi il 20 settembre 1646 giunse a Québec.
Il Superiore della Comunità gesuitica di tutta la Missione, che era suo zio
Girolamo Lalemant, conoscendo la natura gracile ed impressionabile del nipote,
lo trattenne con compiti da svolgere in città.
Solo nel luglio 1648 lo affiancò al padre Giovanni de Brébeuf, come missionario
nel villaggio di Sant’Ignazio, nel territorio degli Indiani Uroni.
Svolse con tenacia il suo apostolato fra queste popolazioni, restie al cambiamento dei loro riti, per una religione che non comprendevano; per poterli avvicinare imparò egregiamente la loro ostica lingua.
Il 16 marzo 1649, gli Uroni furono assaliti dai feroci Indiani Irochesi, i quali massacrarono quanti potevano e catturando i missionari; padre Giovanni de Brébeuf fu torturato a lungo e poi ammazzato (vedere scheda propria), padre Gabriele Lalemant, fu torturato subito dopo, con ferocia ancora maggiore, prolungando i suoi tormenti dalle diciotto fino alle nove del mattino successivo del 17 marzo; quando visto che alzava gli occhi al cielo per chiedere conforto a Dio, i carnefici glieli strapparono e nelle orbite vuote posero dei carboni ardenti.
Alla fine un selvaggio, stanco di vederlo soffrire così a lungo, con la scure fracassò la testa dell’intrepido martire. Poi apertogli il petto, ne strappò il cuore divorandolo e sorbendone il sangue, perché secondo le loro credenze, avrebbe assimilato in questo modo la forza e il coraggio dimostrati dal missionario.
La sua personale ‘passione’ è ricordata al 17 marzo.
Autore: Antonio Borrelli
SOURCE : https://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/92012
Voir aussi : http://www.unicaen.fr/mrsh/prefen/notices/3681jb.pdf
http://history.ottawaeast.ca/HTML%20Documents/Churches/CanMartyrs/Canmar15.htm
