The earliest missionary work in the Southwest was primarily conducted by the Franciscan order, The Franciscan Order, had literally millions of baptisms coming primarily through the influence of Our Lady of Guadalupe, … so the Franciscans continued their missionary effort further north, extending into what is now the United States. The friars often went on foot. They were anxious and zealous for the Word of God. They went unarmed to many places that even at times, the soldiers would not go to. They went unaccompanied by any kind of military guard and showed tremendous courage in doing that.
Early French Missionary Work
As the Spanish continued their missionary efforts in the southwestern United States, another chapter was unfolding in the north. In the early 17th century, French missionaries, driven by a profound dedication to spread Christianity, ventured into what is now Canada and the northern regions of the United States. These Jesuit priests, known as the "Black Robes" for their distinctive attire, embarked on a mission not only to evangelize but to understand and respect the cultures they encountered.
Jesuits priests, Fr. Pierre Biard and three Jesuit companions founded Saint-Sauveur, the first mission in Maine, in 1613. The mission was established to serve members of the Abenaki tribe.
In 1619, the Recollet Franciscans opened a mission in modern-day Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The Sulpician Father Dollier de Casson celebrated Mass at Fort Ste. Anne on Isle La Motte in Vermont in 1666. 1n 1710, the Jesuit missions at Swanton and Ferrisburg were opened.
In 1640, Jesuits St. Isaac Jogues and Fr. Charles Raymbault visited the area called Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan and planted a cross on the St. Mary’s River. Jesuit Rene Menard established a mission at Keweenaw Bay in 1660. Jesuit Fr. Jacques Marquette established the mission at Sault Ste. Marie in 1668, and Jesuit Fr. Claude Dablon founded St. Ignace Mission in 1669.
A mission was established by the Jesuits in Green Bay, Wisconsin in 1636. By 1670, the Jesuit Fr. Claude Allouez, aided by other Jesuit Fathers, had established 20 missions in the area.
Jesuits established the first mission among the Dakota Sioux near Hastings in Minnesota in 1655. In 1727, Jesuits erected St. Michael the Archangel for the Sioux on Lake Pepin. In 1732, Jesuit Fr. Charles Messaiger founded St. Charles Mission near Lake in the Woods. In the 1800’s, Minnesota’s Catholic missions thrived under the direction of the Jesuits and Benedictines.
St. Kateri Tekakwitha
We know a lot about the life of St. Kateri thanks to the Jesuit Relations, which contain the writings of several Jesuit fathers who observed her life as a Christian and of others who recorded the events of their own missionary efforts.
During the time that St. Kateri lived, several groups of people collided and shifted with one another: the Iroquois, the Dutch, the British, the French, and the Kingdom of God. Their interactions resulted in many changes in their cultures, religions, politics and territorial possessions. In the 1600’s, prior to Kateri's birth, the Jesuits had made many converts among the Algonquins and the Hurons and were beginning to try to reach out to the Mohawks.
St. Kateri was born in 1656 in the Mohawk village of Ossernenon to a Mohawk chief and Christian Algonquin mother. When she was four years old, her parents and infant brother died of smallpox, and that she survived the disease left with permanent scarring, very poor vision and a weakened body. She was adopted by her father’s brother. He was also a chief. In 1666, the French attacked and destroyed several Mohawk villages, including the village where St. Kateri lived. Afterwards, the Mohawks made peace with the French and agreed to allow the Jesuits to establish missions in their communities. St. Kateri's first encounter with Jesuit missionaries took place in 1667. During her middle to later teen years, her family wanted her to marry, but St. Kateri wanted to become Catholic and dedicate herself to Christ. A Jesuit priest, Fr. Lamberville, arrived in her community in 1674, and he baptized her on Easter Sunday in 1676. He gave her the baptismal name of Catherine, after St. Catherine of Siena. Her family and community members harassed her because she had become a Catholic, so she left her home in the fall of 1676 to go to the Mohawk community of Kahnawake—across the river from Montreal. During the remaining four years of her life, Kateri lived a life of heroic virtue in the Catholic Mohawk community of Kahnawake. She made a profession of perpetual virginity on the feast of the Assumption: March 25, 1679. St. Kateri died during Holy Week on April 17, 1680.
St. Kateri was known for having an unwavering faith in Jesus—an active and lively faith that impacted every aspect of her life from the moment when she first heard the Gospel until the day of her death. Her faith was expressed through her many acts of devotion to Christ and her many acts of kindness to others.
