Saint Charles Garnier
Martyr
jésuite (+ 1649)
Né à Paris, le missionnaire jésuite Charles Garnier (1606-1649) arrive au Canada à l'âge de 30 ans. De Québec, il gagne le pays des Hurons et fonde une mission sur les rives de la baie Géorgienne. C'est là qu'il est massacré par les Iroquois le 7 décembre 1649, au cours d'un des nombreux assauts qui aboutissent à la destruction de la Huronie.
Charles Garnier fait partie des «saints martyrs canadiens» canonisés par le pape Pie XI le 29 juin 1930.
Voir aussi le site Internet des jésuites.
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)
Dans la région de l'Ontario au Canada, en 1649, la passion de saint Charles
Garnier, prêtre de la Compagnie de Jésus et martyr. Alors qu'il répandait l'eau
du baptême sur des catéchumènes, il fut grièvement blessé par des païens qui
firent irruption, puis mourut, frappé d'un coup de hache. (martyrologe romain -
7 décembre)
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/9991/Saint-Charles-Garnier.html
GARNIER, CHARLES (surnommé Ouracha par
les Amérindiens), prêtre, jésuite, missionnaire, martyr, né en 1606 (al. 1605)
à Paris, décédé en Huronie en 1649.
Baptisé à la paroisse
Saint-Gervais le 25 mai (al. 26), il était le second fils de Jean Garnier,
sous-secrétaire du cabinet de Henri III puis maître des comptes en Normandie,
et d’Anne de Garault, issue d’une famille noble d’Orléans. Après avoir
fréquenté le collège de Clermont, à Paris, dirigé par les Jésuites, il entra au
noviciat de la Compagnie de Jésus en 1624. Ordonné prêtre en 1635, il fut
désigné pour les missions de la Nouvelle-France et débarqua à Québec en même
temps que le gouverneur Huault de
Montmagny, le 11 juin 1636. Dès le mois de juillet, accompagné du père
Pierre Chastellain,
il gagna le pays des Hurons. En 1639 et 1640, il passa l’hiver chez les Pétuns
qu’il tenta vainement de convertir. De 1641 à 1646, Garnier fut employé à la
mission de Saint-Joseph de Téanaostaiaé, auprès du clan de la Corde. Enfin, à
l’automne de 1646, il fut de nouveau envoyé auprès des Pétuns, sur les bords de
la baie Georgienne, et y fonda une mission florissante cette fois ; c’est
là qu’il trouva la mort, lors de la destruction de la Huronie, massacré par les
Iroquois dans l’assaut du village de Saint-Jean, le 7 décembre 1649. On
retrouva son corps meurtri de deux balles et de deux coups de hache, à quelques
pas des ruines de sa chapelle. Il a été canonisé par le pape Pie XI le 29 juin
1930.
ACSM, De la prise et
désolation de la mission de Saint-Jean, par les Iroquois, et de la mort du père
Charles Garnier, qui y était en mission, et Abrégé de la vie du père Charles
Garnier, dans Mémoires touchant la mort et les vertus des pères Isaac Jogues,
etc. (Ragueneau), repr. RAPQ, 1924–25 : 76–85.— JR (Thwaites),
XXXV : 118–144 ; et passim.— Lettres de saint Charles Garnier, RAPQ,
1929–30 : 1–43.— Positio causae.— Florian Larivière, La Vie
ardente de saint Charles Garnier (Montréal, 1957).— Rochemonteix, Les
Jésuites et la N.-F. au XVIIe siècle, I : 97–100, 409–418.
© 1966–2022 Université
Laval/University of Toronto
SOURCE : http://www.biographi.ca/fr/bio/garnier_charles_1F.html
Biographie de Saint Charles Garnier
Charles Garnier naît le
25 mai 1606 à Paris de parents qui avaient une foi solide. Dès 1618, il
fréquente le collège jésuite de Clermont. En tant qu’étudiant, il préfère la
solitude, le silence et la prière. À l’âge de 18 ans, il annonce à son père son
intention de devenir prêtre. En l’accompagnant au noviciat des jésuites, Jean
Garnier eut ces paroles empreintes de tendresse et résumant assez bien ce que
vont finalement être la vie et le sacrifice de son fils : le jeune Charles
Garnier est « (…) un enfant qui depuis sa naissance jusqu’à maintenant n’a
jamais commis la moindre désobéissance et ne m’a donné le moindre déplaisir.»
Il est donc ordonné
prêtre en 1635. C’est le début d’un sacerdoce qui va l’amener à quitter son
pays natal, la France, pour servir comme missionnaire jésuite en
Nouvelle-France. Il a 29 ans quand il arrive à Québec le 11 juin 1636. Le 13
août de cette même année, il est accueilli par le Père Jean de Brébeuf en Huronie,
à la mission Saint-Joseph au village huron d’Ihonatiria. Il fait montre d’une
volonté et d’un enthousiasme exceptionnels. Il apprend la langue des Hurons
dont il veut absolument comprendre les mœurs et les coutumes.
Le 13 avril 1637, le Père
Garnier voyage chez les Pétuns, une tribu amérindienne située à deux journées
de marche au sud-ouest d’Ihonatiria. C’est par l’entremise de ce premier
contact que le Père Garnier mettra en marche la conversion de cette nation.
En 1639, afin de se
protéger contre les menaces des Iroquois, les missionnaires jésuites font
construire une résidence centrale appelée Sainte-Marie sur la rivière Wye. Le
Père Garnier contribue à sa construction et visitera cet endroit à plusieurs
reprises pendant sa mission chez les Pétuns.
Il devient officiellement
le missionnaire responsable des Pétuns lorsque, le 1er novembre 1639, il
retourne établir une résidence permanente dans cette nation, la mission des
Apôtres. Malheureusement, le Père Garnier n’est pas bien accueilli les premières
années. Il doit effectuer à plusieurs reprises le trajet entre Sainte-Marie et
la mission des Apôtres. Et pourtant, en 1646, la mission des Apôtres portera
fruit. Plusieurs jeunes Pétuns se font baptiser et le Père Garnier se révèle un
personnage de très grande influence dans cette région. Cependant, à partir de
1648, les tensions avec la nation iroquoise, ennemie des Hurons et des Pétuns,
s’aggravent.
Ayant été prévenus que
les Iroquois se préparaient à attaquer St-Jean (la mission principale auprès
des Pétuns, au village d’Etharita), les meilleurs guerriers vont à la rencontre
de leurs ennemis afin de les surprendre. Malheureusement, le plan échoue. Deux
jours plus tard, le 7 décembre 1649, les Iroquois attaquent la mission laissée
sans défense. Plusieurs Pétuns supplient le Père Garnier de s’enfuir avec eux
mais il refuse. Il se sentait prêt à mourir pour ces peuples qu’il a adoptés et
dont il tenait à sauver les âmes. Pendant qu’il prononçait l’absolution aux
Chrétiens et administrait le baptême aux non-Chrétiens, il est atteint d’une
balle dans la poitrine. Une autre balle lui déchire le bas-ventre et vient se
loger dans sa jambe. Les Iroquois s’emparent de sa robe noire comme trophée.
Laissé pour mort, il prie. Voyant qu’à côté de lui, un homme agonisait, il
voulut lui venir en aide. Mais il est épuisé. Il tombe et se relève
péniblement. C’est alors qu’un Iroquois lui asséna deux coups de hache, un à
chaque tempe. C’était son dernier combat et il entre, par cette mort, dans la
joie éternelle. Même devant la mort, le Père Garnier ne trahit jamais sa
mission, ni les fidèles à qui il consacra toute sa courte vie. Son Supérieur,
le Père Paul Ragueneau dira de lui en 1650 : «Son visage, ses yeux, son ris
même, et tous les gestes de son corps ne prêchaient que la sainteté.»
Le Père Garnier a été
canonisé par le Pape Pie XI le 29 juin 1930. Il est un des huit saints martyrs
canadiens. Soyons fiers et dignes du patron de notre école et de son sacrifice.
Soyons fiers de notre Saint Charles Garnier.
Mathieu Dignard, Lucas
Egan, Caroline Nolet, Sinthu Rasalingam et Chantal Wall (2012-2013)
SOURCE : https://esscg.cscmonavenir.ca/a-propos/notre-histoire/
19 October as
one of the Martyrs
of North America
Profile
Son of the wealthy Jean G
and Anne de Garault. A studious lad whose
health was never strong, he early felt a call to religious life. Studied classics, philosophy and theology at
the Jesuit college of Clermont, France.
Joined the Jesuits in 1624. Ordained in 1634. Missionary to Canada in 1636. Missionary to
the Huron for 13 years, one of the famous “black robes” who lived in terrible
conditions to bring the faith to
the far north. Died when
the fort at which he was stationed was attacked by Iroquois. Charles spent his
last hours ministering to the dying before
he was murdered.
One of the Martyrs
of North America.
Born
shot
in the chest and abdomen, and tomahawked in the head on 7 December 1649 at
Fort Saint Jean, Canada
Additional
Information
Address
at the Martyr’s Shrine, Huronia, by Pope John
Paul II
Catholic
Encyclopedia, by Lionel Lindsay
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other
sites in english
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
Martirologio Romano, 2005 edition
MLA
Citation
“Saint Charles
Garnier“. CatholicSaints.Info. 2 September 2022. Web. 7 December 2022. <https://catholicsaints.info/saint-charles-garnier/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-charles-garnier/
Charles Garnier
Jesuit Missionary, born at Paris, 1606, of Jean G. and Anne de Garault; died 7
December, 1649. He studied classics, philosophy, and theology at
the Jesuit college of Clermont, joining the
order in 1624. He begged to be sent to the Canadian mission,
and sailed in 1636 on the same fleet as Governor Montmagny. He
was sent forthwith to the Huron country,
where he was to spend the fourteen years of his heroic apostolate without once
returning to Quebec. In six months he mastered the difficult language, and
began a career of unceasing charity which was to be crowned by martyrdom. His zeal for the
conversion of infidels brooked no hindrance nor delay. Neither distance nor
weather, nor danger of death could prevent him from hastening to the stake
to baptize and
exhort captives of war.
Filth, vermin, fetid and loathsome disease could not deter him from tending and
redeeming dying sinners. His frail frame miraculously resisted
the intense strain. His angelic patience amidst endless trials won him the
title of "lamb" of the mission, whereof Brébeuf was styled the
"lion". Several times — first in 1637, then in 1639 with Jogues, and later with
Pijart — he strove to convert the Tobacco nation. His constancy finally
overcame their obstinacy. They asked for the black robes (1646), and Garnier
went to dwell with them until death. After the martyrdom of
Fathers Daniel (1648), Brébeuf, and Lalemant (March 1649), he calmly awaited
his turn. After decimating the Hurons, the Iroquois attacked
the Tobacco nation. During the massacre of St. John's village, Garnier went
about exhorting his neophytes to
be faithful. Mortally wounded he dragged himself towards a dying Indian to
absolve him, and received the final blow in the very act of charity (1649) on
the eve of the Immaculate Conception, a dogma he had vowed
to defend. His letters to his brother, a carmelite, reveal his sanctity. Ragueneau testifies
to his heroic spirit of sacrifice. Parkman compares his life to that of St. Peter Claver among
the blacks and styles it a voluntary martyrdom.
Lindsay, Lionel. "Charles
Garnier." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York:
Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 7 Dec.
2022 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06388b.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by Joseph P. Thomas. In memory of
Laurence La Bombard.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. September 1, 1909. Remy Lafort,
Censor. Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2021 by Kevin Knight. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06388b.htm
GARNIER, CHARLES (called Ouracha by
the Indians), priest, Jesuit, missionary, martyr; b. 1606 (or 1605) in
Paris; d. 1649 in the Huron country.
He was baptized on 25 (or
26) May in the parish of Saint-Gervais, and was the second son of Jean Garnier,
an under-secretary in Henri III’s private household and later maître
des comptes in Normandy, and of Anne de Garault, who came from a noble
family of Orléans. After attending the Collège de Clermont in Paris, which was
under the direction of the Jesuits, he entered the noviciate of the Society of
Jesus in 1624. He was ordained priest in 1635, was nominated for the missions
in New France, and landed at Quebec on 11 June 1636, at the same time
as Governor Huault de
Montmagny. In July, together with Father Pierre Chastellain,
he reached the territory of the Hurons. In 1639 and 1640 he wintered in the
land of the Tobacco nation, which he vainly tried to convert. From 1641 to 1646
Garnier was employed at the Saint-Joseph (Teanaostaiaë) mission, among the Cord
clan. Finally, in the autumn of 1646, he was again sent to the Tobacco nation,
on the shores of Georgian Bay, and there he established a mission that this
time flourished; he also met his death there, being slaughtered by the Iroquois
on 7 Dec. 1649 when they attacked the village of Saint-Jean, at the
time of the destruction of the Huron missions. His body, lacerated by two
bullet wounds and two blows from a hatchet, was found a few steps from the
ruins of his chapel. He was canonized by Pope Pius XI on 29 June 1930.
“De la prise et
désolation de la mission de Saint-Jean, par les Iroquois, et de la mort du
P. Charles Garnier, qui y était en mission” and “Abrégé de la vie du Père
Charles Garnier,” in ACSM, “Mémoires touchant la mort et les vertus des pères
Isaac Jogues . . .” (Ragueneau), repr. APQ Rapport, 1924–25,
76–85. APQ Rapport, 1929–30, 1–43, “Lettres de Saint Charles
Garnier.” JR (Thwaites), XXXV, 118–44; et passim. Positio
causae. Florian Larivière, La vie ardente de Saint Charles Garnier (Montréal,
1957). Rochemonteix, Les Jésuites et la Nouvelle-France au XVIIe siècle,
I, 97–100, 409–18.
© 1966–2022 University
of Toronto/Université Laval
SOURCE : http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/garnier_charles_1E.html
Charles Garnier / 1606 -
l649
by JAMES MCGIVERN, S.J.
Over 300 years have come and gone since the fierce and hardy Iroquois attacked
the Pettin Indian nation and destroyed their homes and vil-lages. Father
Charles Garnier fell beneath their musket fire on the 7th of December 1649. His
memory was never completely forgotten. For long years the Petuns kept alive
their remembrance of this brave Priest. In 1666 when the wandering Father
Claude Allouez came amongst them as they roamed the desolate wilderness north
of Lake Superior, they had tears in their eyes as they reminisced about their
beloved pastor who had given his life for them.
Though Garnier has been
canonized and therefore his memory is still green, yet we find few who know
much about him. But what an im-pression he must have created by his character
and his presence that even dim memories are alive today. Scarcely was he dead
than his fellow missionaries Fathers Leonard Garreau, Simon le Moyne and Rene'
Menard are high in their praise of his apostolic work and life. Warmly they
recall to mind this great souled apostle, the very acquaint-ance of whom was an
inspiration to greater things.
In his report of 1650,
Father Paul Ragueneau hastened to outline his life. In fact, he starts in
immediately to gather notes for a process of canonization, and Father Joseph
Marie Chaumonot did not hesitate to call upon Garnier's aid (as one would a
Saint) to gain for himself the grace of a greater facility in speaking the
native tongues. In Que-bec, Mere Marie de l'Incarnation who, though never
meeting him, had written to him and received letters from him, mourned his
passing. She said: "A very large volume would be needed to tell the story
of this reverend Father . . . He was extraordinarily humble, gentle, obedient
and ifiled with many virtues" (Marie de l'Incarnation to her son Claude,
August30, 1650).
The story of Father
Charles Gamier and his tragic death were well known across Europe within
twenty-five years of his martyrdom. Start-ing, of course, with Father Paul
Ragueneau's report, the story would be taken up by various writers of the
Jesuit Order: Alegambe at Rome, Du Creux at Paris, and Tanner at Prague.
Unfortunately, however, the misfortunes of the Jesuits and their suppression in
1773, and the final disappearance of the Order in Canada, with the death of
Father Jean Joseph Casot, cast a shadow over the memory of Charles Garnier. But
it still lived on until he was beatified June 21, 1925, and canonized June29,
1930.
THE EARLY YEARS
Charles Garnier was born on the 25th of May, 1606, in Paris, in the parish of
Saint Gervais which claims to be the parish church of two of the Canadian
Martyrs. Besides Father Charles Garnier the parish is also proud to claim
Father Gabriel Lalemant. Charles Garnier was descended from noble and
distinguished families. His father, Jean Gar-nier, was one of the Under
Secretaries of Henri III and later was placed in charge of the Treasury in
Normandy. Father Charles' grandfather was an officer in the Royal Army and
suffered martyrdom because he refused to give up his Catholic faith. Father
Charles' mother, Anne de Garault, was from a noble family of Orleans.
Unfortunately, she died just a few years after his birth.
The young man studied at
Clermont College, one of the oldest of the Jesuit schools of France, and later
entered the Society of Jesus, on the 26th of September, 1624. After finishing
his novitiate, Charles Garnier returned to his Alma Mater, the College of
Clermont, as Pre-fect over the students. At the same time he carried out his
studies in rhetoric and philosophy. After this course was finished he was sent
to the College of Eu as a teacher in the lower grades of the school. He spent
two years there and was then ordered back to his old school for the study of
theology.
THE CALL OF NEW FRANCE
He was ordained a priest in 1635. It is about this time that the young Father
Garnier expressed a desire to go on the missions and particular-ly the missions
of New France. His zeal for the conversion of the Indians was real and ardent.
His superiors consented but laid down a condition that nearly ruined matters.
The condition was that he should obtain the consent of his father; but the
latter was entirely opposed. Father Charles therefore had to put off his
departure for an entire year. This obstacle only served to increase his ardour
for the foreigu missions.
In an early life, or
sketch rather, of Father Charles Garnier, it is said that his thoughts were so
constant in this matter that night and day he thought only of working for the
salvation of the Indians. He was deter-mined to spend his life, even to his
very last breath, on the missions. It is also said that in his dreams God gave
him the foresight to realize the possibility and the dangers of the death he
was to die. His zeal, how-ever, made light of this foretaste of danger. He had
many an argument with his father until at last, with great regret, his father
consented. Father Charles Gamier finally set out and arrived at Quebec on the
11th of June, 1636.
The Huron name for St.
Charles Garnier has been given as Ouracha. The meaning of this name has, so far
as I know, never been given, but we can probably find the meaning through
Father Pierre Potiem's "Radices Huronicae" published in the 15th
Report of the Bureau of Archives for the Province of Ontario, (p.452).
It is tempting to think,
considering the accusation that was so often made against the missionaries of
bringing a drought down upon the Indian and the country, that Gamniem may have
been, in the minds of the Humons, associated with the ending of such a drought,
and in that case we would almost say that his name meant "rain
bringer" or "rain-cloud." As such, and we know this is true, he
would nearly always be welcomed in an Indian village. Certainly the words as
given in Father Potier's work would help us to think this way.
THE OCEAN CROSSING
The difficulty of the crossing and the apostolic zeal and effort of the new
missionary are well described in a letter written to his father imme-diately
after the crossing." . . . Although I did not experience any great
difficulty or danger and our Captain took every came to make the cros-sing as
pleasant as possible, it is evident that the voyage is not without its crosses.
And this is particularly so for a member of a religious order because he has no
privacy away from the noise and the crowd in order to pray. I don't mention
here those other inconveniences and sea sick-ness which takes the heart out of
one.
"What particularly
pleased me was the sight of my flock coming to the Sacraments. Over and above
special feast days some received Holy Communion on Sundays and ordinary days.
Almost all also went to Holy Communion on the two greatest feasts, that is on
Pentecost and Corpus Christi. In this they followed the examples of our leader and
of Monsieur de Montmagny. These last have given us good examples in many other
things but particularly in the came they have taken of the sick, particularly
of one poor family on board, giving them the best of what they had, even giving
up something themselves.
"Lest I be too long,
I will say nothing of the christian regulations enacted and put up aboard the
vessel against swearing, theft, and quar relsomeness. .
"We gave Viaticum to
a sailor who had fallen from the top of the mizzenmast to the deck. He was
well-disposed to die. However, as I saw him in great discomfort, unable to
sleep, I gave him my cabin and went in with Father Chastelain in his, but the
sick man found this cabin too stuffy so the next day I occupied it again but
left him my mattress so he could sleep even in the midst of the cannons.
Hearing this, the Captain made me take one of his....
"That is something
of what has taken place on our voyage. If any good comes out of it may the
glory be given only to God. On my part at least I am certain that I was lacking
a good deal in humility and that I offered many a hindrance to the plan of God
by my laziness. Through His goodness he conducted us without incident to Quebec
the 11th day of June, the eve of St. Barnabas Day, the one surnamed Joseph, in
the ship named after this great Saint.
"We embarked on the
octave of the Feast of Our Lady's Annunciation, so much so that I can well say
that under the safeguard of the Holy Virgin and hem Glorious Spouse, we
finished this crossing without incident."
THE PULL OF HURONIA
Father Charles had no desire to stay in Quebec. His heart burned - as a letter
to his brother shows - to go on to the Mission of the Hurons. "If for me
Canada is a holy and sacred temple, which God made for me in this world, the
Huron country is its holy of holies . . . let us, there-fore, leap for joy in
this land of blessing." In this same letter he says he cannot give greater
details. "I really do not have the time, because any moment now, I am
waiting for the means to take Father Chastelain and myself to meet the Hurons .
. . God willing in six or seven hours, that is at dawn, I will be leaving to go
to the Hurons" (July 20,1636). Of the long and usually painful journey - a
trip of some 800 or 900 miles - Father Garnier says little, though he did send
a short note to Father Paul le Jeune telling of the trip (August 8, 1636).
"May God be forever
blessed! Since yesterday we have been here among the Nipissings. So happy and
in such good health that I am ashamed of it. . . . He has treated the child as
a child: I did not paddle; I carried only my own baggage, except for three days
during the portages when I carried a little package that someone offered me
because one of our Indians fell ill. Is that not being treated like a child? .
. . We arrived at the island on the eve of the Feast of St. Ignatius. We bought
some Indian corn because our peas gave out. This corn lasted us until we
reached here. Our Indians did not have any - at least they found only one cache
of it. Up to the present we have found but little fish. We are expecting Father
Davost here today."
On August 12,1636, after
a relatively short and favorable journey, the new missionary was welcomed with
open arms. Of course, he must start slowly, even though he had the consolation
of baptizing a little Indian boy and naming him Joseph in honor of St. Joseph.
One of his first
experiences was to haunt him for his whole life, for in it he saw what could be
his own fate. He never got over the horror of his first sight of the torture of
an Iroquois captive. The missionaries did, however, baptize the victim.
A DIFFICULT YEAR
That first year was also one of a terrible crisis among the Indians and it
threatened to bring martyrdom to all the missionaries. Both the natives and the
missionaries, among whom was Garnier, fell victims to the ravages of small pox.
But, worse still perhaps, the Indians looked on the blackrobes as causing it.
"Because, you should know, Father, that Jesus Christ has honored us with
some of His sufferings. In this country, we have been cried out against like
pests - everybody was looking at us as if we were going to make them die. . .
we were urged to take that pest out of the country" (Letter of 1638).
As a matter of record, it
may be noted that all the Fathers present wrote and signed a letter. "We
are perhaps on the point of shedding our blood and giving our lives to serve
our good Lord Jesus Christ." However, God did not then exact the sacrifice
of their lives. In the letter (1638) already quoted, he gives a summary of a
year's work. With varying degrees of success this would be a description of all
he ever did in Huronia.
APOSTOLIC EFFORTS
"My daily work, so far, has consisted of visiting Indian huts and seeing
the sick, so as to instruct and baptize them when they are in danger; and most
of the sick were in serious danger of death, and even several of them died. You
know how much money you spent to have me learn the profession of surgeon. This
is the type of work I do in this country. I don't operate, but tend a multitude
of small wounds and burns. But, to come back to baptism, in this one village
alone, thank God, we have baptized approximately 100 since I came. Up to this
day, of these 100 Indians baptized, 44 died shortly thereafter, that is 24
adults and 20 children, most of whom were infants.. .
"Again you wonder
whether I am progressing with the language, and if I can make myself
understood. Yes, thank God, I can do it pretty well. . . . In France they think
we have lots of free time (here) to devote to our friends, and that is where
they are wrong. Quite often I cannot find 15 minutes to study during the day
because of the frequent visits I have to make and the many interruptions by the
Indians when we are in our cabin....
"We are about ready
to move our residence of St. Joseph from the small village, called Ihonatiria,
to the largest village of the country, called Teanaostaiae~. Louis de Ste. Foy
was born there; you must have seen him in France 9 or 10 years ago. I don't
know yet if I will be going to this village or stay here. May God's will be
done. .
"We are beginning to
catch our breath, and they are mistaken, those who think that all we have to do
to convert the Indians is to show them a Crucifix. It is more difficult than
they think.
"Father Pierre
Pijart and I were sent to the mission of the Apostles. This is in the Petun
nation, where I had already spent the previous winter. We received a very poor
welcome the first year. The second, they looked upon us with less jaundiced
eyes. We found some persons, thank God, who listened to us. With the help of
God, patience and perseverance will win out. It is true that these missions are
full of crosses. There is the difficulty of the trails during the winter, there
is the food, the clothing, the lodging, the smoke, etc., but the principal
obstacle is the difficulty in which we find ourselves of praying and get-ting a
little rest away from the noise. There is also the deprivation of Mass, which
we either cannot say at all, or only very seldom. We thought that on two occasions
we were about to lose our lives on the trail. One time it was on a frozen lake
where the evening that we crossed it two Indians died of the cold, etc.
"My dear brother,
pray for us that God may keep us and make strong the courage that He gives us.
We sorely need it" (June 23, 1641).
AMONG THE PETUNS
"Let us say a word
about our Huron missions. You know well that, in years past, we spent the
winter in the mission of the Apostles or the Tobacco nation, while others
worked among the Neutrals, or mission of the Angels. As you know, we had
undertaken to bring the Gospel to these nations as well as to the Hurons. But
this year we made only a few trips to the mission of the Apostles, scarcely
stopping there, and have given up our mission among the Neutrals; firstly,
because Father John de Brebeuf, who was with them last year, remained this
winter in Quebec, and secondly, because we have learnt from experience that
these people are converted only after long and solid instruction. The result
has been that this winter we have reduced our commitments con-centrating on the
apostolate of the principal Huron villages.
"Fathers Mercier and
Ragueneau spent the winter giving instruction in the village of the Immaculate
Conception, Reverend Father Lale-mant and Father Chaumonot at St. Michael and
St. John the Baptist, Father Chastelain and Father Pijart devoted themselves to
visiting from time to time several villages nearest to this house and Father Le
Moyne and I were assigned to the village of St. Joseph as our share. In all
these places we have higher hopes than ever before. .
"To come down to the
particulars of my task, we were used to going every day to instruct some Christians
of St. Joseph, but both they and we were deprived of the consolation of Holy
Mass, there being no chapel in this village. . . . But Our Lord inspired one of
our Christians to offer one end of his cabin for this purpose. . . . We turned
the end of the cabin offered us into a chapel to St. Joseph, which was ready in
time for his feast. From that time on we experienced great consolation in
assembling our Christians there, and the devotions we held were of great help
to them. The greater number came to hear Mass in this chapel every day and came
regularly to confession here on Saturdays" (May22, 1642).
A few years later he
would write:
"I am still in this
village of St. Joseph with Father Rene' Menard. We have a little congregation
that we are trying to preserve and increase, with the grace of God, which
appears quite visibly to us; not that there is a movement towards the Faith on
the part of very many persons, as the village is greatly diminished in
population, and its people are slow and lagging in embracing the Faith....
"Hardly have we time
in the morning to make our meditation, when the Christians come to Mass. During
Mass we are occupied in making them pray, and in saying a few words to them, to
maintain them in devotion. After our Masses . . . we take the opportunity to
instruct them in the Catechism or in pious practices, or we even teach them
some prayers.
"The rest of the day
is spent in similar exercises. . . . In brief, sunset time has come, when we
say the prayers again, at which they attend. At last, we are quite surprised
that the day is over" (June 7,1645).
WITH FATHER GARREAU
A letter written in 1648 speaks of his labors among the Petuns.
"I told you that my
Superior sent me along with Father Garreau, to a new mission called the Petun
nation. We gave it the name of the mission of the Apostles. I call it a new
mission because, although the late Father Jogues and I were there in 1639, and
Father Pierre Pijart in 1640, still we did hardly anything but baptize a few
sick and a few adults. . . . But finally, when these Petuns asked for some of
our missionaries, partly to instruct them and partly to frighten their ene-mies
- by reports that the French lived in their territory - Father Garreau and I
were sent. He was to instruct the Algonkins who lived among the Petuns.. . and
I was to instruct the Hurons. We stayed in a town inhabited by Hurons and
Algonkins.
"There the Father
worked hard all the winter of 1646 learning the Algonkian language. He made
such progress that by spring the Algon-kins listened to him as he spoke of the
mysteries of our Faith. But the devil, all too scared that these people would
escape from the captivity in which he had held them for so many centuries,
found means to dis-perse them and sep arate them from this Father who had begun
to work their deliverance. He caused a quarrel between the Hurons and
Algon-kins by a murder. An Algonkin was massacred one night and the murderer
could not be found. The Algonkins accused the Hurons, left the village of
Ekarenniondi where they had been staying and went to join another Algonkian
tribe, a two days' trip away.
". . . we have
worked together since last summer principally in two Huron villages that are
four leagues apart. One is called Ekarenniondi, dedicated to St. Matthias, the
other Etharita, dedicated to St. John the Evangelist. We have a small chapel in
each. In both villages there are a few Christians and a large number of
catechumens. The latter are kept in that status much longer than in our other
older missions. . .
"Father Garreau and
I are almost always separated from each other. He might spend ten days or two
weeks at one village and I the same time at another, then he and I would get
together for two or three days. So that is how we live, without companionship
except that of our good Angels and the poor Indians whom we instruct. We have
to admit, though, that because we are alone God gives us more grace and
con-solation" (April 28,1648).
But we are now coming to
the end. The martyrdoms of Fathers Daniel, Bre'beuf and Lalemant had a
tremendous effect on him. In a letter (April 25, 1649) he would say: "How
happy I should be to die with this little flock of the Master, just as three of
our Fathers died for Him in the past year; I refer to Fathers Anthony Daniel,
Jean de Brebeuf and Gabriel Lalemant. Father Daniel was killed on July 4th
while ministering to his little flock in the village of St. Joseph. You already
know that I was changed from there two years ago. May God be praised for having
seen fit to punish me for my sins by denying me the crown that He has given to
Father Daniel. This holy father begged his people to escape but he himself
preferred to remain behind to save as many souls as possible. You will read an
account of his holy death in the Relations as well as the account of Fathers
Brebeuf and Lalemant. I recall the latter at college as a student and boarder.
He came here only last summer and was given the martyr's crown at the end of
this winter with Father Brebeuf."
RAGUENEAU'S ACCOUNT
Father Paul Ragueneau gives us the first authentic account of Father Garnier's
death.
"For many years we
had two missions with two Fathers in each of them in the hills which we called
the nation of the Petuns. The one nearest the enemy (Iroquois) was that of St.
John, which contained the village of the same name with about five or six
hundred families. It was a mission field watered by the sweat of one of the
finest missionaries of the whole country. It was also to be watered with his
blood, because he died with his flock and brought them to heaven with him. The
day was at hand when God wished to turn it into a church triumphant, though up
to that time it was always militant and might well go under the name of church
suffering.
"We received news
about the end of the month of November from two christian Hurons who had
escaped from a band of about three hundred Iroquois that the Iroquois were
still undecided whether to turn towards the Petun nation or attack the island
where we were stationed. Thereupon, we tightened our defences and held back our
Hurons who had plans of starting out on a campaign against the advancing enemy.
At the same time we immediately sent word to the Petun nation, who were
overjoyed. They looked upon the enemy as even then conquered and upon
themselves as already victors. They stood firm for some days but soon tired of
waiting for victory to come and seek them out. . . They set out in short order,
fearing lest the Iroquois would slip through their hands when they wanted to
surprise them still on the march. They left on the fifth of December (1649) and
moved towards the place wheme they expected to find the Iroquois, but they (the
Iroquois) had made a detour and were not anywhere to be found. To add to our
mis-fortunes, as the Iroquois were approaching the village, they captured a man
and a woman who were just leaving the place. They learned from the two captives
the state of the place and knew it was stripped of the greater part of its
people, so they seized the favorable opportunity and immediately proceeded to
plunge the town into a torrent of fire and blood.
"It was on the
seventh of December last year, 1649, that this group of Iroquois arrived at the
gates of the village and cast unrestrained dis-may and terror among the poor
people, just when they thought that they were the conquerors....
"The cruelty was
inconceivable. Children were snatched from their mothers' arms and thrown into
the fire; other children saw their mothers laid prostrate at their feet or
writhing in the flames without either side showing the slightest sign of
compassion. It was a crime even to shed a tear. Those barbarians forced their
victims to march in their captivity as they themselves marched in their
triumph. .
MARTYRDOM
"Father Charles Garniem was the only one of our Fathers at the mission at the
time. When the enemy appeared he was visiting the cabins and instructing the
people, but when the alarm was given he came out and went straight to the
church, where some Christians had gathered. 'We are facing death, my brethren,'
he said to them, 'pray to God and take flight by any possible avenue of escape.
Cherish your faith for the rest of your life and may death find you thinking of
God.' He gave them his blessing and immediately set out to help other souls. No
one thought of putting up a defence and everyone gave up entirely.. . In his
zeal he was everywhere at once, now giving absolution to the Christians he met,
now running from one blazing cabin to another to baptize, in the very midst of
flames, the children, the sick, and the catechumens. His own heart burned with
no other fire than that of the love of God.
"It was in these
holy duties that he met his death, which he neither feared nor avoided by a
single step. One bullet from a gun pierced the upper part of his chest and at
the same time another bullet went through the lower part of his abdomen and
lodged in his thigh. . .
"The good Father was
seen very shortly afterwards joining his hands and saying some prayers. Then
turning his head here and there, he saw a poor creature about ten or twelve feet
from him who, like himself, had just received his death blow but had still some
life left in him. His love of God and zeal for souls were again stronger than
death. He rose to his knees and, after a prayer, stood painfully and moved as
best he could towards the agonizing man to help him die well. . . . Some time
later the Father received two blows from a hatchet, one on each temple, that
went right to the brain. That was the richest reward that he had hoped to
receive from the goodness of God for all his past ser-vices. His body was
stripped and left naked on the ground.
THOSE THAT MOURN...
"Two of our Fathers, who were in the nearest mission to him took in a few
surviving christian fugitives, who arrived out of breath, several of them being
covered with their own blood. All night long theme was a series of alarms as
everyone was tense with the fear that they would be visited with the same
disaster. At daybreak they learned from some spies that the Iroquois had
departed. The two Fathers left at once to see the sad spectacle with their own
eyes. It was a sight worthy in God's sight. There were corpses everywhere, one
on top of another, of some poor Christians half burned in the remains of the
fire-swept village, of others drenched in their own blood. . . . At last, in
the middle of the ghost town, they came across the body they had come to find,
but it was hardly recognizable, all covered with blood and ashes from the fire
that had swept over it. But some christian Indians recognized their Father who
had died for love of them. They buried him on the spot where the church had
been, though there was no trace left of the church. It had been swallowed up in
the flames. .
"Two days after the
burning of the village, the Indians who had set out to meet the enemy returned
home. They had come across the turn in the road which the enemy had taken and
suspected the calamity that had happened. Now they saw it with their own eyes.
At the sight of the ashes and the dead bodies of their parents, their wives and
their chil-dren, they spent half a day in deep silence, seated on the ground
Indian style, without raising their eyes or even uttering a sigh. They were
like marble statues, not a word, not a look, not a move. That is the Indian way
of mourning, at least for men and warriors. Teams, moans and lamentations, they
say, are for women.
"Our loss of the
pastor and of his flock was painful, but in both we must adore and love the
Will of God in our behalf and that of His churches, since, to the very end, we
must be disposed to accept what-ever He wishes" (Thwaites, vol.35,
107-119).
SOURCE : http://www.wyandot.org/garnier.htm
Saint of the Day – 7
December – St Charles Garnier SJ (1606-1649)
Posted on December
7, 2021
Saint of the Day – 7
December – St Charles Garnier SJ (1606-1649) Priest Martyr, Missionary. Born in
1606 in Paris, France and died by being shot in the chest and abdomen and then
tomahawked in the head on 7 December 1649 at Fort Saint Jean, Canada, he was
just 43 years old. Additional Memorials – 19 October as one of the Martyrs of
North America, 26 September in Canada.
Charles was the son of a
secretary to King Henri III of France. He attended the Collège de Clermont in
Paris and joined the Jesuit Seminary in Clermont in September 1624
After his novitiate, he
returned to the College of Clermont as Prefect. When he finished his studies in
rhetoric and philosophy, he spent two years teaching at the College of Eu.
Completing years of studies in language, culture and theology, he was Ordained
in 1635.
Charles had to be
persistent in asking to become a missionary because his father, a wealthy
Parisian gentleman, opposed his desires and obstructed his first request. That
same persistence proved invaluable as he worked with the Petun people who
initially were hostile to the Black Robes, as they called the Jesuits.
Garnier spent his first
three years in New France learning the Huron language and ministering at the
mission in Ossossané. In November 1639 he and Father Isaac Jogues were sent to
the Petuns who would not accept them because they remembered the accusation
that the Black Robes had caused the epidemic that swept through the Huron lands
in 1636. The two Jesuits spent the winter months among the Petun, then returned
to Ossossané because they thought they had failed. Father Garnier returned the
following autumn and then left again. Finally he returned during the winter of
1647 and founded two missions. For now, the people were more responsive than on
his previous visits.
For several years the
Iroquois had been increasing their attacks on the Huron world; they had already
killed Father Anthony Daniel in 1648, so Garnier took the report very
seriously, which he received in November 1649, that the Iroquois were on the
warpath against the Petun and threatened to burn their villages. He sent his
newly-arrived assistant, Father Noel Chabanel back to the mission headquarters
because he did not want to leave him at risk but Charles himself was firm in
wanting to stay with his people. On 7 November at mid-afternoon, the Iroquois
attacked, killing anyone they found. Garnier was shot twice, once in the chest
and once in the abdomen. He was stripped of his cassock and left to die in the
cold but he regained consciousness and tried to move towards a Petun man who
had been wounded. An attacker scalped him and then killed him with a blow to
the head. Another Jesuit came to the village the next day and buried the
gentleman’s son, our Saint, in a shallow grave among the people he so wanted to
bring to Christ.
Charles Garnier was
Canonised on 29 June 1930 by Pope Pius XI with the seven other Canadian Martyrs
(also known as the North American Martyrs).
Author: AnaStpaul
Passionate Catholic.
Being a Catholic is a way of life - a love affair "Religion must be like
the air we breathe..."- St John Bosco Prayer is what the world needs
combined with the example of our lives which testify to the Light of Christ.
This site, which is now using the Traditional Calendar, will mainly concentrate
on Daily Prayers, Novenas and the Memorials and Feast Days of our friends in
Heaven, the Saints who went before us and the great blessings the Church
provides in our Catholic Monthly Devotions. "For the saints are sent to us
by God as so many sermons. We do not use them, it is they who move us and lead
us, to where we had not expected to go.” Charles Cardinal Journet (1891-1975)
This site adheres to the Catholic Church and all her teachings. PLEASE ADVISE
ME OF ANY GLARING TYPOS etc - In June 2021 I lost 95% sight in my left eye and
sometimes miss errors. Thank you and bless you
SOURCE : https://anastpaul.com/2021/12/07/saint-of-the-day-7-december-st-charles-garnier-sj-1606-1649/
Saint Charles Garnier,
Martyr
Childhood:
Charles Garnier was born
on May 25, 1605, and “from his earliest years, his mother inspired in him a
tender devotion to the Blessed Virgin. Still very young, the child devoted
himself to her and loved her as a mother who always watched over her protégé”
(c.f. Histoires canadiennes).
“Charles Garnier
understood early on that the best way for a young man to preserve his innocence
is through the Eucharist, the love of the Virgin. Those who place themselves
under the protection of Mary are sure never to be abandoned.
Student:
At the age of twelve,
Charles entered the College of Clermont, in Paris, a college run by the Jesuit
Fathers. His candor, simplicity and great devotion to the Queen of Heaven
immediately attracted the attention of his teachers and fellow students.
The new student, thanks
to his exemplary conduct, was soon admitted to the Congregation of the Blessed
Virgin. “Charles understood his oath of honor; he kept it until death, until
martyrdom. His fervor and his conduct never wavered. As a young man he trained
himself in acts of courage and charity which revealed his love for the
Immaculate Virgin and prepared him for martyrdom” (c.f. Histoires
canadiennes).
Charles’ father had the
habit of giving his children a few coins each month for their little
amusements. Charles, a boarder at the college in Paris, went out on his days
off. But instead of spending his money on sweets, gambling or entertainment, he
would put it in the trunk of the prisoners of the Petit Châtelet (to help feed
the prisoners). “Passing one day on the Pont Neuf, he saw an immoral and
impious book. He bought it and tore it to pieces in order to prevent others
from having an opportunity for scandal and sin. His concern for the souls of
his fellow students and his great purity brought him out of his natural shyness”
(c.f. Histoires canadiennes).
Charles Garnier
successfully completed his rhetoric in June 1634. Soon after, he announced to
his parents his desire to enter the Jesuits. His father, surprised, objected:
“You are too young,” he said, “don’t even think about that project. “Charles,
with tears in his eyes, went to confide his sorrow to the Virgin: “O my Mother
I put all my trust in you and I abandon my vocation to you” (c.f. Histoires
canadiennes).
Religious :
With Mary’s help, his
courage triumphed over all obstacles. On September 5 of the same year, he
entered the Jesuit novitiate in Paris. Charles’ father said to the Father
Master of Novices: “Father, if I did not love your Society above all else, I
would not give you a child who, since his birth, has never committed any
disobedience and has never caused me the slightest displeasure” (c.f. Histoires
canadiennes).
When he finished his
studies, Charles became a professor at the College of Eu. It was there that he
met Father de Brébeuf who communicated to him his ineradicable heart for his
beloved savages of New France. Jean de Brébeuf told him about his missionary
adventures, his long canoe trips from Quebec to the Huron country, his winters
spent in the woods in the middle of the snow, and his hunts with the Hurons.
All these stories, the young teacher told them to his students, with an
enthusiasm that was to transport them.
In 1632, Charles Garnier
began his theological studies at the college of Clermont. It was during these
studies that he vowed to defend everywhere and always, until the shedding of
his blood, the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mother. It
was also there that he asked to be sent to the missions of New France,
especially to the mission that Father de Brebeuf had dedicated to the
Immaculate Conception.
Missionary in Canada:
“By a happy coincidence,
Father Charles Garnier was ordained a priest at the same time as Father Isaac
Jogues. Three months later, the two new priests boarded the same ship that was
taking them to New France” (c.f. Histoires canadiennes). Once he became a
missionary, Garnier gave the name of Marie to the first savage girl he
baptized. He had made the vow before his departure from France.
Brébeuf and Garnier found
themselves no longer in the garden of the College of Eu, but in the Huron
forests, working to conquer souls, under the gaze of the Immaculate Virgin, to
whom Brébeuf had dedicated the Huron mission. The Relation of 1636 reports.
“Father de Brebeuf, in order to save his beloved residences from a bad situation,
consecrated the Mission to the Immaculate Conception on December 8, 1635. The
danger disappeared at once. “
On August 5, 1637, the
Huron chiefs met at Ossossané, under the pretext of deliberating on the
interests of the nation. Father de Brebeuf was invited to take part in the
meeting. He went. He and the other missionaries were accused of being the cause
of the epidemic. Father de Brebeuf defended his companions and showed the
absurdity of the accusations. The leaders withdrew without deciding anything.
The Black Robes entrusted themselves to Mary. The great devotion of our
missionaries to the Immaculate Virgin was visibly rewarded.
Martyrdom :
Charles Garnier will
continue to minister to the Huron and Petun until December 1649, when the
Iroquois attempt to exterminate the Huron and Petun. Charles was killed by
Iroquois on December 7, 1649 while Huronia was being destroyed. Shot in the
chest and abdomen, his last act was to absolve an Indian who was dying next to
him, after which he received a tomahawk blow on the head. He had a great
devotion to the Virgin Mary and his martyrdom took place the day before the
feast of the Immaculate Conception (December 8).
Sources:
Brother
Ernest-Béatrix, Histoires canadiennes, La Vierge Marie, pages 33 to 40
SOURCE : http://histoiresainteducanada.ca/en/saint-charles-garnier-martyr/
Les saints martyrs canadiens.
San Carlo Garnier Sacerdote
gesuita, martire
>>> Visualizza la
Scheda del Gruppo cui appartiene
Parigi, Francia, 25
maggio 1605 – Etbarita, Canada, 7 dicembre 1649
viene ordinato sacerdote
nel 1635. L'anno seguente, l'8 aprile 1636, a 31 anni si imbarca per Quebec, in
Canada e da qui poi raggiunge, a bordo di una canoa, il territorio degli
indiani Uroni. Vince la loro diffidenza prodigandosi nel curare i malati di peste.
Viene poi mandato ad evangelizzare la regione a sud della baia Georgiana e qui,
nel 1646, fonda due missioni. Ma il 7 dicembre dello stesso anno la missione di
San Giovanni, dove padre Carlo si trova, viene attaccata dagli indiani Irochesi
e il missionario viene ucciso. (Avvenire)
Martirologio
Romano: Nello Stato dell’Ontario in Canada, passione di san Carlo Garnier,
sacerdote della Compagnia di Gesù e martire, che, gravemente ferito durante una
incursione da alcuni pagani mentre versava l’acqua del battesimo sui
catecumeni, morì con un colpo di scure. La sua memoria si celebra il 19 ottobre
insieme a quella dei suoi compagni.
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 Carlo 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.
Carlo Garnier nacque a Parigi il 25 maggio 1605 e studiò nel Collegio dei
Gesuiti di Clermont; a 19 anni entrò nella Compagnia di Gesù, fondata da s.
Ignazio de Loyola e ordinato sacerdote nel 1635.
Dopo appena un anno, l’8 aprile 1636 a 31 anni, si imbarcò per il Canada giungendo il 10 giugno a Québec, allora colonia francese come tutto il vasto territorio, che sarà poi motivo di contrasto e guerre con gli Inglesi, altri colonizzatori.
Il 13 agosto 1636, raggiunse con una canoa di pellerossa, il territorio degli Indiani Uroni. Si stabilì prima ad Ihonitiria e poi ad Ossossané apprendendo con rapidità la loro lingua e usanze e impegnandosi alacremente alla loro evangelizzazione, pur se contrastato dai locali stregoni, che attribuivano ai suoi malefici, lo scoppio di una mortale pestilenza.
Ma padre Carlo Garnier, proprio nell’occasione dell’epidemia, dimostrò tutto il suo coraggio e la sua sollecitudine verso gli ammalati, che curò con passione, trasportandoli anche a spalle per lunghe distanze; sopportando la sporcizia e il puzzo delle piaghe; consolando i moribondi e quelli che avevano subito torture, nelle guerre tribali.
Si meritò il titolo di ‘Agnello’ e di ‘Angelo delle Missioni’. Nonostante ciò, nel 1637, gli stregoni convinsero gli Uroni di quei villaggi di distruggere la Missione, al punto che padre Carlo Garnier scrisse il 28 ottobre 1637, una lettera-testamento al superiore di Québec.
Tranquillizzatosi alquanto la pericolosa situazione, egli fu richiamato nella sede di S. Maria e nel 1639 incaricato di evangelizzare la nazione del “Tabacco” posta a sud della Baia Georgiana. Vari tentativi fatti dal 1640 al 1646 ebbero esiti negativi, finché nel 1646 riuscì a fondare due Missioni ad Etbarita nel “clan del lupo” e ad Ekarreniondi nel “clan del cervo”, che chiamò rispettivamente di S. Giovanni e di S. Mattia.
Ma nel 1649 il 7 dicembre, la Missione di S. Giovanni a Etbarita, fu attaccata dai feroci Irochesi che ne sterminarono gli abitanti; lo stesso padre Garnier fu colpito da due colpi di moschetto al petto e alla coscia e finito con due colpi di scure al capo; gli Irochesi alleati degli Inglesi, erano riforniti di armi da fuoco da quest’ultimi.
Il suo corpo fu recuperato da altri missionari due giorni dopo e seppellito in mezzo alle rovine della cappella.
Singolarmente è ricordato il 7 dicembre, giorno del martirio.
Autore: Antonio Borrelli
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/92011
Voir aussi : Les saints
martyrs canadiens.
