Father Nicolas Viel, O.M.R. | |
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| Born | |
| Died | June 25, 1625 Sault-au-Récollet, Quebec, Canada |
| Cause of death | Drowning |
| Body discovered | June 28, 1625 |
| Resting place | Quebec City, Quebec, Canada |
| Nationality | French |
| Citizenship | French |
| Occupation(s) | Franciscan friar and missionary |
Father Nicolas Viel, O.M.R. , (died 25 June 1625) was a French Recollect missionary to the Hurons from 1623 to 1625.
Among the first missionaries sent by France to its colony, Viel traveled to Huron territory, arriving there with fellow Recollect Father Joseph Le Caron in 1623. He was studying the language and collecting material to add to Le Caron's dictionary.
After almost two years, in May 1625, Viel decided to return to Quebec in the company of a band of Hurons, with the intention of making a few days' retreat and then returning to his missions. It is known that he never reached Quebec, but was drowned in the last chute of the Riviere des Prairies, which from that time bears the name of Sault-au-Récollet. The neophyte Auhaitsique, whom he had instructed and baptized, met with the same fate. [1]
Sagard and Le Clercq give accounts of Father Viel's missionary work, and of his death. Their information regarding his death was obtained after the fact and through interpreters. The canoe(s) apparently attempted to shoot a rapid that would usually have been portaged. Suspicions that the drowning was intentional appear to be weakly based on the survival of the accompanying Hurons, and tensions between the Hurons, the Iroquois, and the French. [1] [2] They have, nonetheless, led to repeated assertions that Viel and his companion were murdered. [3] [4] French Jesuit priest Charlevoix could only conclude "Whether there was some miscalculation in the measures they took or whether it was brought about by design the canoe capsized." [1] : 285 The rapids were certainly dangerous enough to explain the outcome: Sagard wrote that "Time and again we ran the risk of losing our lives and of being swallowed up in the falls and whirlpools as were, since then, good Father Nicholas and a young boy Francis, our disciple." [1] : 284
Viel is sometimes referred to as the first Canadian martyr, which can be seen as technically correct given that the Catechism of the Catholic Church states "Martyrdom is the supreme witness given to the truth of the faith: it means bearing witness even unto death." [5] A painting by Georges Delfosse in Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde, Montreal, Quebec, shows Viel holding aloft a cross as the canoe is about to capsize. The scene, in which one person holds a broken paddle and another has one arm around Viel, can be ambiguously interpreted. [6] The designation of martyr has been strongly opposed by those who see it as supporting the belief that Viel and Auhaitsique were murdered by the Hurons. [7]
According to the records of the Recollets, Father Viel was buried in St. Charles's Chapel, Quebec City, 25 June 1625. [1] : 286
Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral or in full Mary, Queen of the World and St. James the Great Cathedral is a minor basilica in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Montreal. It is the third largest church in Quebec after Saint Joseph's Oratory and the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré east of Quebec City. The building is 101 m (333 ft) in length, 46 m (150 ft) in width, and a maximum height of 77 m (252 ft) at the cupola, the diameter of which is 23 m (75 ft).
Jean de Brébeuf was a French Jesuit missionary who travelled to New France (Canada) in 1625. There he worked primarily with the Huron for the rest of his life, except for a few years in France from 1629 to 1633. He learned their language and culture, writing extensively about each to aid other missionaries.
The Canadian Martyrs, also known as the North American Martyrs, were eight Jesuit missionaries from Sainte-Marie among the Hurons. They were ritually tortured and killed on various dates in the mid-17th century in Canada, in what is now southern Ontario, and in upstate New York, during the warfare between the Iroquioan tribes the Mohawk and the Huron. They have subsequently been canonized and venerated as martyrs by the Catholic Church.
Georgian Bay is a large bay of Lake Huron, in the Laurentia bioregion. It is located entirely within the borders of Ontario, Canada. The main body of the bay lies east of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island. To its northwest is the North Channel.
This section of the Timeline of Quebec history concerns the events between the foundation of Quebec and establishment of the Sovereign Council.
Auoindaon was the native chief of the Wyandot (Huron) at Quieunonascaranas, a settlement in Wendake near modern-day Midland, Ontario, Canada. He made alliances with and became quite fond of French priests serving as missionaries in the area, one of the most notable being Gabriel Sagard. Upon first encountering Sagard, the Huron community at Quieunonascaranas all came out to greet him. Quieunonascaranas was a village settled by the Huron community and led by chief Auoindaon, in 1623 the settlement consisted of about 300 households and almost 40 lodges.
Sainte-Marie among the Hurons was a French Jesuit settlement in Huronia or Wendake, the land of the Wendat, near modern Midland, Ontario, from 1639 to 1649. It was the first European settlement in what is now the province of Ontario. Eight missionaries from Sainte-Marie were martyred, and were canonized by the Catholic Church in 1930. Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1920. A reconstruction of the mission now operates as a living museum.
Gabriel Sagard, O.M.R., was a French lay brother and Recollect friar, belonging to a reform branch of the Order of Friars Minor known for their strict poverty. He was among the first Christian missionaries to New France, and is notable for his writings on the colony and on the Hurons.
Antoine Daniel was a French Jesuit missionary in North America, at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, and one of the eight Canadian Martyrs.
The Recollects were a French reform branch of the Friars Minor, a Franciscan order. Denoted by their gray habits and pointed hoods, the Recollects took vows of poverty and devoted their lives to prayer, penance, and spiritual reflection. Today, they are best known for their presence as missionaries in various parts of the world, most notably in early Canada.
Charles Lallemant, was a French Jesuit. He was born in Paris in 1587 and later became the first Superior of the Jesuit Missions amongst the Huron in Canada. His letter to his brother, dated 1 August 1626, inaugurated the series Relations des Jésuites de la Nouvelle-France about the missionary work in the North American colonies of New France.
Armand de La Richardie was a French Roman Catholic missionary in New France.
Joseph de La Roche Daillon was a French Catholic missionary to the Huron Indians and a Franciscan Récollet priest. He is best remembered in Canada as an explorer and missionary, and in the United States as the discoverer of oil near the Allegany River.
Magdalene of Nagasaki was a Japanese Christian who served as a translator and catechist for the Augustine Recollect missionaries. She became tertiary of the Order of Augustinian Recollects.
Claude Aveneau was a Jesuit missionary in New France.
The historic site Carhagouha is the Huron/Wendat name for the site of the first Catholic Mass celebrated in Ontario, Canada, on August 12, 1615, by Fr. Joseph Le Caron in the presence of French explorer, Samuel de Champlain, and the Wendat.
Joseph Le Caron, O.M.R., was one of the four pioneer missionaries of Canada, and was the first missionary to the Hurons.
Denis Jamet, O.M.R., was a French Recollect friar and Catholic priest and the first superior of the Canadian mission (1615).
Ahuntsic was a possibly Huron man who was an understudy and associate of the French Recollet missionary to the Hurons, Nicolas Viel, in the 1620s in the colony of Quebec.
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