Wednesday 24th April 2024

Home » saints » Currently Reading:

Catholic Heroes… St. Francis De Laval

May 2, 2019 saints No Comments

By CAROLE BRESLIN

The Jesuit North American martyrs who left France in the early seventeenth century to convert the native peoples of America were a great inspiration to the next generation of faithful Catholics, who were eager to serve in the work of evangelization. On April 30 the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Marie of the Incarnation, who founded the first convent of the Ursuline Sisters in New France around 1645.
Those Jesuits also motivated St. Francis Xavier de Montmorency Laval to seek his vocation in the New World, becoming the first bishop of Quebec in the late seventeenth century.
Laval was born on April 30, 1623 in Montigny-sur-Avre, around 100 miles west of Paris. Hughes de Laval, the Lord of Montigny, Montbaudry, Alaincourt, and Revercourt, was his father. Michelle de Péricard, descended from the heredity officers of the Crown of Normandy was his mother.
With such a noble lineage, the Laval family, however, was not wealthy. Francis, his five brothers, and two sisters received a fine Catholic upbringing — Henri, Francis’ youngest brother, became the prior of a Benedictine abbey, while his sister, Anne Charlotte, became the superior of the congregation of Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.
Michelle Péricard provided a pious model for the children of being generous to those less fortunate. Francis’ parents destined him for a religious vocation, having him take the tonsure when he was only eight years old. Then the Jesuits accepted him into their school from 1631 to 1641.
During this time several things happened to further his ecclesiastical career. Sadly, his father died on September 11, 1936, leaving the family near poverty. Then, in 1637, Bishop Francis de Péricard of Evreux, who was an uncle of Francis, appointed him canon of the cathedral. This appointment provided just enough income to enable Francis to continue his studies for the priesthood.
Thus Francis soon moved to Paris where he studied philosophy and theology at the College of Clermont. He was forced to take leave when his two oldest brothers died in battle. Because he was the next in line as the heir, he returned home to organize the family’s patrimony. Both his mother and the bishop urged Francis to abandon his vocational aspirations, but he refused.
Having transferred all rights of inheritance to his brother, Jean-Louis, Francis returned to Clermont to continue his formation. He was ordained subdeacon in 1646, and on May 1, 1647, he was ordained a priest.
In December 1647 the bishop of Evreux gave Fr. Laval the responsibility of overseeing 155 parishes and four chapels. Enthusiastically he took on this challenge as he brought order to parish administration. He also promoted the corporal works of mercy by caring for the sick, assisting the poor, and establishing other charitable endeavors.
In 1649 Francis earned his licentiate in canon law from the University of Paris, where he learned even more about the Jesuits and their work in New France. The fervor of these Frenchmen stimulated his desire to serve the people of the New World.
Then Alexandre de Rhodes influenced him to go to Rome to prepare for missionary work in Tonkin and Indochina. Although he resigned his position and spent fifteen months preparing for the work, the project was abandoned in 1654.
Fr. Laval then went to Caen where he stayed for three years in prayer, discernment, and charitable works. The bishop of Bayeux, impressed with his work, wrote of Laval: “great piety, prudent, and of unusually great competence in business matters.” His reputation as a man of holiness and ability spread through France and beyond.
There was a good deal of conflict and political maneuvering to find a vicar for Quebec. Difficulties prevailed — did France or Rome have ecclesiastical jurisdiction over Quebec?
Some feared the Jesuits would control the operation of the colony if the right man was not selected. These problems were solved when Rome finally issued the papal bull on June 3, 1658 selecting Francis as the ecclesiastical head of Quebec.
Fr. Laval’s consecration as “bishop in Partibus” took place at the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris on December 8, 1658. On June 19, 1659, Bishop Laval arrived in Quebec; that very day he baptized a Huron youth and administered the last sacraments to a dying man.
The man who had been acting as vicar general in France challenged Laval’s authority, causing unrest in the colony for over two years. For the next fifteen years, Francis also faced struggles with the secular authority, Governor d’Argenson, especially over the practice of selling alcohol to the Native Americans. In August 1662 Laval went to France to consult with King Louis XIV on the problem of selling alcohol with the successor governor, Governor d’Avaugour, who was then recalled.
With increased powers and influence, his nominees for governor and the nomination of Chevalier de Mézy for the new Sovereign Council were approved. However, the same conflict of selling alcohol arose again. When Jean Talon became head of the Sovereign Council upon Mézy’s death, peace returned and Laval focused more on Church matters.
The sale of alcohol continued to be a problem, but was finally settled when a royal decree banning the sale was issued on May 24, 1679.
Francis also had to deal with many other difficulties arising between the state and ecclesiastical authorities. Even within the Church community conflicts of authority and jurisdiction arose. All parties involved did agree that Laval was a man of uncommon holiness and ability. He gave his meager income to the sick and poor. When epidemics spread from the incoming ships to the people of Quebec, Laval ministered to the suffering for long hours, regardless of the risk he was taking.
His clothes were worn out, his food simple, and his housing basic. His heart was overflowing with love for the children of God. To better save the people and increase the supply of priests, he planned to establish the first seminary in New France. On March 26, 1663 the King of France approved the project.
The Quebec Seminary needed funding, to which Laval pledged his livelihood, gathered donations from other people, and finally reached an agreement with the parishes to contribute a certain percentage of their collections to the cause.
This institution was meant to provide much more than classes of formation. It would provide priests to serve the people of New France, a home base from which priests would graduate, and a place to which they were welcome to return when in need of respite, health care, or retirement.
Laval also set up permanent curacies and established parish boundaries. He regularly visited each parish to solidify the Church’s position, but his health began to fail in 1707 with an incurable ulcer. He died on May 6, 1708 and his body was interred at the cathedral.
His feast is celebrated on May 6.
Dear St. Francis de Laval, you helped establish and strengthen the Church in a pagan world with your perseverance and charity. Obtain for us today the grace with which we, too, will persevere in the New Evangelization and the care of our neighbors in need. Amen.

+ + +

(Carole Breslin home-schooled her four daughters and served as treasurer of the Michigan Catholic Home Educators for eight years. For over ten years, she was national coordinator for the Marian Catechists, founded by Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ.)

Share Button

2019 The Wanderer Printing Co.

Vatican and USCCB leave transgender policy texts unpublished

While U.S. bishops have made headlines for releasing policies addressing gender identity and pastoral ministry, guidelines on the subject have been drafted but not published by both the U.S. bishops’ conference and the Vatican’s doctrinal office, leaving diocesan bishops to…Continue Reading

Biden says Pope Francis told him to continue receiving communion, amid scrutiny over pro-abortion policies

President Biden said that Pope Francis, during their meeting Friday in Vatican City, told him that he should continue to receive communion, amid heightened scrutiny of the Catholic president’s pro-abortion policies.  The president, following the approximately 90-minute-long meeting, a key…Continue Reading

Federal judge rules in favor of Gov. DeSantis’ mask mandate ban

MIAMI (LifeSiteNews) – A federal judge this week handed Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis another legal victory on his mask mandate ban for schools. On Wednesday, Judge K. Michael Moore of the Southern District of Florida denied a petition from…Continue Reading

The Eucharist should not be received unworthily, says Nigerian cardinal

Priests have a duty to remind Catholics not to receive the Eucharist in a state of serious sin and to make confession easily available, a Nigerian cardinal said at the International Eucharistic Congress on Thursday. “It is still the doctrine…Continue Reading

Donald Trump takes a swipe at Catholics and Jews who did not vote for him

Donald Trump complained about Catholics and Jews who did not vote for him in 2020. The former president made the comments in a conference call featuring religious leaders. The move could be seen to shore up his religious conservative base…Continue Reading

Y Gov. Kathy Hochul Admits Andrew Cuomo Covered Up COVID Deaths, 12,000 More Died Than Reported

When it comes to protecting people from COVID, Andrew Cuomo is already the worst governor in America. New York has the second highest death rate per capita, in part because he signed an executive order putting COVID patients in nursing…Continue Reading

Prayers For Cardinal Burke . . . U.S. Cardinal Burke says he has tested positive for COVID-19

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — U.S. Cardinal Raymond L. Burke said he has tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19. In an Aug. 10 tweet, he wrote: “Praised be Jesus Christ! I wish to inform you that I have recently…Continue Reading

Democrats Block Amendment Banning Late-Term Abortions, Stopping Abortions Up to Birth

Senate Democrats have blocked an amendment that would ban abortions on babies older than 20 weeks. During consideration of the multi-trillion spending package, pro-life Louisiana Senator John Kennedy filed an amendment to ban late-term abortions, but Democrats steadfastly support killing…Continue Reading

Transgender student wins as U.S. Supreme Court rebuffs bathroom appeal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday handed a victory to a transgender former public high school student who waged a six-year legal battle against a Virginia county school board that had barred him from using the bathroom corresponding…Continue Reading

New York priest accused by security guard of assault confirms charges have now been dropped

NEW YORK, June 17, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — A New York priest has made his first public statement regarding the dismissal of charges against him.  Today Father George W. Rutler reached out to LifeSiteNews and other media today with the following…Continue Reading

21,000 sign petition protesting US Catholic bishops vote on Biden, abortion

More than 21,000 people have signed a letter calling for U.S. Catholic bishops to cancel a planned vote on whether President Biden should receive communion.  Biden, a Catholic, supports abortion rights and has long come under attack from some Catholics over that…Continue Reading

Bishop Gorman seeks candidates to fill two full time AP level teaching positions for the 2021-2022 school year in the subject areas of Calculus/Statistics and Physics

Bishop Thomas K. Gorman Regional Catholic School is a college preparatory school located in Tyler, Texas. It is an educational ministry of the Catholic Diocese of Tyler led by Bishop Joseph Strickland. The sixth through twelfth grade school provides a…Continue Reading

Untitled 5 Untitled 2

Attention Readers:

  Welcome to our website. Readers who are familiar with The Wanderer know we have been providing Catholic news and orthodox commentary for 150 years in our weekly print edition.


  Our daily version offers only some of what we publish weekly in print. To take advantage of everything The Wanderer publishes, we encourage you to su
bscribe to our flagship weekly print edition, which is mailed every Friday or, if you want to view it in its entirety online, you can subscribe to the E-edition, which is a replica of the print edition.
 
  Our daily edition includes: a selection of material from recent issues of our print edition, news stories updated daily from renowned news sources, access to archives from The Wanderer from the past 10 years, available at a minimum charge (this will be expanded as time goes on). Also: regularly updated features where we go back in time and highlight various columns and news items covered in The Wanderer over the past 150 years. And: a comments section in which your remarks are encouraged, both good and bad, including suggestions.
 
  We encourage you to become a daily visitor to our site. If you appreciate our site, tell your friends. As Catholics we must band together to rediscover our faith and share it with the world if we are to effectively counter a society whose moral culture seems to have no boundaries and a government whose rapidly extending reach threatens to extinguish the rights of people of faith to practice their religion (witness the HHS mandate). Now more than ever, vehicles like The Wanderer are needed for clarification and guidance on the issues of the day.

Catholic, conservative, orthodox, and loyal to the Magisterium have been this journal’s hallmarks for five generations. God willing, our message will continue well into this century and beyond.

Joseph Matt
President, The Wanderer Printing Co.

Untitled 1

Catechism

Today . . .

Kamala Harris Heads to Arizona to Promote Abortions Up to Birth

Kamala Harris is visiting Arizona today to showcase the Biden-Harris Administration’s radical support of unlimited abortion. “Kamala Harris has become the abortion czar of the Biden Administration,” said Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee. “Instead of joining with the pro-life movement to build programs and safety nets to help promote real solutions for women and their preborn children, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have engaged in fearmongering and propaganda,” Tobias continue

May Everyone Have a Blessed and Joyful Easter

Is Easter being replaced with the ‘Transgender Day of Visibility’?

Two observances — Easter and the recently contrived “International Transgender Day of Visibility” — fall on Sunday, March 31 this year, causing some to wonder “Is Easter being replaced with the ‘Transgender Day of Visibility?’” It’s a valid question. For more than a few, it certainly will. Others might dismiss this as nothing more than a coincidence. That would be a mistake. On the last day of this month, we will witness a clash of religions as…Continue Reading

Abortion Advocates No Longer Consider It “A Necessary Evil,” They Celebrate Killing Babies

Last week, Kamala Harris became the first vice president in U.S. history to make a public visit to an abortion clinic. Though the Democratic party’s support for abortion is nothing new, Harris’ Planned Parenthood appearance does illustrate how that support has become a flagrant celebration of abortion as a public and personal good, essential to both “freedom” and to “healthcare.” At the appearance, Harris proclaimed,  It is only right and fair that people have access…Continue Reading

Wisconsin Supreme Court says Catholic charity group cannot claim religious tax exemption

The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a major Catholic charity group’s activities were not “primarily” religious under state law, stripping the group of a key tax break and ordering it to pay into the state unemployment system. Catholic Charities Bureau (CCB) last year argued that the state had improperly removed its designation as a religious organization.  The charity filed a lawsuit after the state said it did not qualify to be considered as an organization…Continue Reading

The King of Kings

Cindy Paslawski We are at the end of the Church year. We began with Advent a year ago, commemorating the time awaiting the coming of the Christ and we are ending these weeks later with a vision of the future, a vision of Christ the King of the Universe on His throne before us all.…Continue Reading

7,000 Pro-Lifers March In London

By STEVEN ERTELT LONDON (LifeNews) — Over the weekend, some seven thousand pro-life people in the UK participated in the March for Life in London to protest abortion.They marched to Parliament Square on Saturday, September 2 under the banner of “Freedom to Live” and had to deal with a handful of radical abortion activists.During the…Continue Reading

An Appeal For Prayer For The Armenian People

By RAYMOND LEO CARDINAL BURKE (Editor’s Note: His Eminence Raymond Cardinal Burke on August 29, 2023, issued this prayer for the Armenian people, noting their unceasing love for Christ, even in the face of persecution.) + + On the Feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist, having a few days ago celebrated the…Continue Reading

Robert Hickson, Founding Member Of Christendom College, Dies At 80

By MAIKE HICKSON FRONT ROYAL, Va. (LifeSiteNews) — Robert David Hickson, Jr., of Front Royal, Va., died at his home on September 2, 2023, at 21:29 p.m. after several months of suffering and after having received the Last Rites of the Catholic Church. He was surrounded by friends and family.Robert is survived by me —…Continue Reading

The Real Hero Of “Sound of Freedom”… Says The Film Has Strengthened The Fight Against Child Trafficking

By ANA PAULA MORALES (CNA) —Tim Ballard, a former U.S. Homeland Security agent who risked his life to fight child trafficking, discussed the impact of the movie Sound of Freedom, which is based on his work, in an August 29 interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. “I’ve spent more than 20 years helping…Continue Reading

Advertisement

Our Catholic Faith (Section B of print edition)

Catholic Replies

Editor’s Note: This lesson on medical-moral issues is taken from the book Catholicism & Ethics. Please feel free to use the series for high schoolers or adults. We will continue to welcome your questions for the column as well. The email and postal addresses are given at the end of this column. Special Course On Catholicism And Ethics (Pages 53-59)…Continue Reading

Color Politics An Impediment To Faith

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK The USCCB is rightly concerned about racism, as they should be about any sin. In the 2018 statement Open Wide Our Hearts, they affirm the dignity of every human person: “But racism still profoundly affects our culture, and it has no place in the Christian heart. This evil causes great harm to its victims, and…Continue Reading

Trademarks Of The True Messiah

By MSGR. CHARLES POPE (Editor’s Note: Msgr. Charles Pope posted this essay on September 2, and it is reprinted here with permission.) + + In Sunday’s Gospel the Lord firmly sets before us the need for the cross, not as an end in itself, but as the way to glory. Let’s consider the Gospel in three stages.First: The Pattern That…Continue Reading

A Beacon Of Light… The Holy Cross And Jesus’ Unconditional Love

By FR. RICHARD D. BRETON Each year on September 14 the Church celebrates the Feast Day of the Exultation of the Holy Cross. The Feast Day of the Triumph of the Holy Cross commemorates the day St. Helen found the True Cross. It is fitting then, that today we should focus on the final moments of Jesus’ life on the…Continue Reading

Our Ways Must Become More Like God’s Ways

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Twenty-Fifth Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR A) Readings: Isaiah 55:6-9Phil. 1:20c-24, 27aMatt. 20:1-16a In the first reading today, God tells us through the Prophet Isaiah that His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways. This should not come as a surprise to anyone, especially when we look at what the Lord…Continue Reading

The Devil And The Democrats

By FR. DENIS WILDE, OSA States such as Minnesota, California, Maryland, and others, in all cases with Democrat-controlled legislatures, are on a fast track to not only allow unborn babies to be murdered on demand as a woman’s “constitutional right” but also to allow infanticide.Our nation has gotten so used to the moral evil of killing in the womb that…Continue Reading

Crushed But Unbroken . . . The Martyrdom Of St. Margaret Clitherow

By RAY CAVANAUGH The late-1500s were a tough time for Catholics in England, where the Reformation was in full gear. A 1581 law prohibited Catholic religious ceremonies. And a 1584 Act of Parliament mandated that all Catholic priests leave the country or else face execution. Some chose to remain, however, so they could continue serving the faithful.Also taking huge risks…Continue Reading

Advertisement(2)