The Canadian Martyrs

The Canadian Martyrs

The Canadian Martyrs were eight Jesuit missionaries from Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, who were martyred in the 17th century in Canada and Upstate New York.

St. Jean de Brébeuf, St. Isaac Jogues, St. Gabriel Lallemant, St. Anthony Daniel, St. Charles Garnier, St. Noël Chabanel, St. René Goupil, St. John de la Lande
The Martyrs are St. Jean de Brébeuf (1649), St. Noël Chabanel (1649), St. Antoine Daniel (1648), St. Charles Garnier (1649), St. René Goupil (1642), St. Isaac Jogues (1646), St. Jean de Lalande (1646), and St. Gabriel Lallemant (1649).

They were each killed during the wars between the Huron and Iroquois. They had converted many of the Huron, although even among the Huron tribes they were not universally trusted. The Iroquois considered them legitimate targets as the missionaries were nominally allies of the Huron, and they had often helped organize resistance to Iroquois invasions.

They were canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1930. The Martyrs' Shrine church in Midland, Ontario, the site of their missionary work among the Huron, and the North American Martyrs Shrine in Auriesville, New York, along the Mohawk River, are dedicated to them. Their feast day is celebrated on 26 September in Canada (or 19 October in the rest of the universal Church).