The Church of Saint John the Baptist was a historic Roman Catholic church located in Port Royal, Acadia, part of New France (present-day Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia). Although its exact construction date is unknown, it is generally believed to have been built between 1673 and 1678, replacing an earlier church in the settlement. The church was destroyed in 1690 during military conflict. The site where it once stood later became known as the Garrison Cemetery, which served successively as the British Garrison Cemetery and, subsequently, as the Parish Cemetery for Saint Luke's Anglican Church.
Before 1710, Acadian parishes included not only Saint John the Baptist in Port-Royal, but also Saint-Charles-des-Mines in Grand Pré, Sainte-Famille in Pisiguit, and Saint-Joseph at Rivière-aux-Canards, though only some parish registers survive. By 1750, additional parishes emerged, such as Notre-Dame de l’Assomption in Pisiguit and Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul in Cobeguit. This doesn't include known missionary churches.[1]
Pre-establishment history
A representation of the Church of Saint John the Baptist in Port Royal created around 1686.
In 1611, the first Jesuits arrived in Port Royal, Father Pierre Biard (1567–1622) and Father Énemond Massé (1575–1646), who were sent by the authorities in France to spread Christianity.
The earliest surviving church record from Port Royal is the baptism of Marie de Menou, daughter of Governor Charles de Menou d'Aulnay and Jeanne Motin de Reux, on September 21, 1639.[4] This event followed the relocation of settlers from La Hève to Port Royal under d'Aulnay's leadership. While the exact location of the baptism is undocumented, historian André-Carl Vachon suggests it likely occurred in a church within the settlement.[4] The Capuchins were active in Acadia during the 1640s, with the main monastery at Port Royal.[5] They were expelled when the settlement fell to the English in 1654.[5]
Parish establishment
Bishop Laval of Quebec visited the church in 1686.
Soon after Port Royal was returned to the French after 14 years of English rule from 165 to 1670, parishioners gathered on June 18, 1673 to plan the financing of a church.[4] The parish of Saint John the Baptist was officially established on October 30, 1678, by François de Laval, Bishop of Quebec.[4] The Diocese of Quebec had only been created a few years before in 1674, and Laval was its first Bishop.
The first recorded parish priest was Father Moulins, a Franciscan friar, who, by one account, was appointed around 1664.[2] Another account states that the inhabitants of Port Royal were without a parish priest during the period of English rule from 1654 to 1670, indicating he arrived around 1670.[4] He was succeeded by Father Louis Petit (1629–1709) in 1676.[2] In the 1680s, Father Claude Trouvé (1644–1704) joined as an assistant to Petit. In a letter dated October 2, 1685, Trouvé described Port Royal as a community of "at least 600 souls," noting that despite being spread over five leagues along the river, residents attended church in large numbers on Sundays and holidays.[2]
In the summer of 1686, Bishop Laval visited Port Royal as part of a broader tour of the settlement, accompanying Jacques de Meulles, Intendant of New France. During the visit, Laval participated in sacraments for the Feast of Sainte Anne on July 26 and praised the congregation's sincere piety.[2]
Church destruction in 1690
The original Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours in Montreal, founded in 1675, dates to the same period as the Church of Saint John the Baptist in Port Royal, Acadia. Though no images of the 1675 chapel exist, the replacement chapel in the image above, was built after a 1754 fire, supposedly to the original 1675 design and offers a glimpse of the era's ecclesiastical architecture.
In May 1690, the settlement came under the threat of attack by forces led by William Phips from Boston. Father Petit assisted in the negotiations for the surrender of Port Royal to the New Englanders under favourable terms for the French garrison. However, upon the arrival of Phips in the town, the terms were reneged and the French garrison of 58 soldiers was imprisoned in the church. The church was later looted by the New Englanders. They took the tabernacle, the sacred vessels and everything else, including the clerical gowns. Before his departure, Phips imprisoned the residents of Port Royal and Minas in the church and administered an Oath of Allegiance to King William and Queen Mary.[5]
Father Petit, Father Trouvé, Governor Meneval, and the 58 soldiers were taken to Boston as prisoners. Later that year, Petit joined Phips in a failed expedition against Quebec but was exchanged for English prisoners before leaving in the fall.[6]
Later in the summer of 1690, two ships set sail from Boston to ensure that the inhabitants of Port Royal were maintaining their loyalty to England. They learned this was not the case and returned to loot and burn the town, including the church.[5]
Post-destruction Catholic worship
The Acadian Memorial Church in Grand Pré, Nova Scotia shares many design characteristics of the 1686 image of Saint John the Baptist.
By 1693, there was a new parish priest, Abel Madoux. He was noted in 1701 as being upset by the fact that the stones from the ruined church were being used for the new fort being constructed by Governor Brouillan.[5]
The congregation had no means to build another church and gathered in a dwelling house until they obtained a building sold by a Claude-Sébastien De Villieu for 4,000 écus and converted it into a church.[4] A visitor in 1699, Dierville, noted that it was more like a barn than a church.[2]
In 1701, a nun noted the condition of the impromptu church - that the roof was covered with straw, the walls were made out of logs, and the windows were made of paper. There was no bell and the people were called to mass with the beating of a drum.[2]
At Port Royal, children were often baptised at birth by laypeople and later formalised by a priest, as seen in Charles Amiraut’s baptism by the seigneur, Monsieur de Pobomcoup, and solemnized five years later by Father Felix Pain.[1]
In 1704, Father Justinien Durand became the parish priest. Adjacent to the former church was a monastery that also functioned as a church rectory. The monastery was destroyed during an attack on the town in 1708.
Compensation was provided by the French government to rebuild the monastery, but a dispute lasting two years ensued as to whether to rebuild the monastery or the church. The dispute ended with the capture of the town by the British in 1710.[2] After the occupation, local parishioners were allowed to participate in mass at the nearby Mohawk fort, as the British had permitted a parish priest to reside there.[2]
A new church was built on the other side of the river in Granville Ferry at an undetermined location that served the local population until the expulsions started in 1755.[2] It was initially overseen by Father Justinien Durand who went to Isle Royale in 1720 to seek advice regarding the oath of loyalty being required of the Acadian population, but he never returned.[5] Jean-Baptiste de Gay Desenclaves served as one of the final parish priests before the Acadian Expulsion of 1755. In contrast to his predecessors since the British took control of the town in 1710, he earned the respect of British authorities for his genuine efforts to foster peace.[7]
The first priests to visit the town after the expulsion were Father Bailey and Father Jones, the Vicar General from Halifax, in about 1780. At that time were 68 Catholics, of whom 67 were of Acadian descent.[2] The first recorded return of a French priest was that of Father Jean-Mandé Sigongne who was based at Church Point, but often visited Annapolis Royal.[2] The first recorded visit of a Catholic bishop to the town since that of Laval in 1686 was that of Bishop Joseph-Octave Plessis who visited in July 1815.[2]
A Catholic church would not return to the town until May 1832 when land, which now consists of Saint Louis Cemetery was purchased to build a chapel.[2] There were no Acadians that were part of the committee to finance the building of the chapel, but rather Irish families. A larger church, named Saint Thomas', was built in 1910 on Upper Saint George Street. When the old chapel was demolished in 1931, the name was changed to Saint Louis.
The church in Port Royal life
The Catholic Church profoundly shaped Port Royal society, with priests providing spiritual guidance and mediating community disputes. Its influence was reflected in low premarital conception rates and the absence of marriages during Lent and Advent. Heads of household participated in assemblies to address parish concerns and appoint a syndic to represent interests to the seigneur and state. A vestry (fabrique) managed church property and the sacristy, with an elected churchwarden (marguillier) overseeing accounts, a practice documented since d’Aulnay’s era in the 1630s.[1]
The church reinforced social hierarchies, supporting deference to seigneurs. Mathieu Goutin reported an incident from around 1690 where a man, Allein, disrespected Seigneuresse Marie de La Tour by walking ahead of her after mass. Her son, the young Sieur de Belleisle, defended her honour but was slapped by Allein, prompting intervention by Father Petit who had Allein removed from the church.[1] The Seigneur also ensured tithe collection, and were often named as godparents for baptisms, underscoring their role in parish life.
The cemetery in the former church's grounds is a draw for visitors to Annapolis Royal.
Legacy
Although the first known church on the site of Saint John the Baptist dates from the 1670s, the history of the land which is known today as the Garrison Cemetery is not fully understood. Ground penetrating radar has been used in recent years to understand the full extent and nature of the cemetery.[8] The cemetery and former church site are a focal point of visitors to the town, particularly those of Acadian heritage.
↑ Jones, Elizabeth (2002). Gentlemen and Jesuits. Nimbus Publishing Ltd. p.144. ISBN1551093677.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Vachon, André-Carl. Port-Royal: Développement territorial et démographique 1670-1710 (in French). La Grande Marée. pp.19, 29, 32, 41. ISBN9782925262404.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Dunn, Brenda (2004). A History of Port Royal Annapolis Royal 1605-1800. Nimbus Publishing Ltd. pp.18, 24, 38–40, 45, 47, 119. ISBN9781551097404.
↑ Johnston, AA (1971). A history of the Catholic Church in eastern Nova Scotia: Volume 1. St. Francis Xavier University. p.27.
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