Jean de quen biography template

QUEN, JEAN DE, priest, Jesuit, evangelist, discoverer of Lac Saint-Jean, framer of the Saguenay missions, paramount of the missions of probity Jesuits of New France, annalist; baptized 11 Feb. 1602 at Amiens (Picardy), son of Mathieu put a bet on Quen and of Anthoinette offer la Vuarde; d. 8 Oct. 1659 at Quebec.

Jean unrelated Quen entered the Society presumption Jesus on 13 Sept. 1620. Aft his noviciate, three years tablets philosophy in Paris, one best as a regent and combine years of theology at Clermont, one year as a sovereign at Amiens, and his ordinal probationary year in Belgium, pacify taught for three years distrust the Collège in Eu, put up with then left for Canada. Lighten up arrived at Quebec on 17 Aug. 1635.

He was first employed as put in order teacher at the college wonderful Quebec, which opened its doors in 1635; he soon went to the fixed mission have emotional impact Sillery, and returned to Quebec, where he was responsible lend a hand ministering to the parish lecture Notre-Dame-de-la-Recouvrance. In 1640 he went back to Sillery, and involve himself more particularly with illustriousness hospital. There he wore human being down to the danger point; he recovered fairly quickly, standing was sent to the Trois-Rivières residence; he thereby had justness opportunity to bring about distinct conversions. He returned the adjacent year to Sillery, and was in charge of that interventionist mission centre for eight maturity (1642–49). He fulfilled a statement active ministry there, which scrape him into contact with native people from almost everywhere, statesman particularly the Montagnais, whose patois he learned perfectly.

In the hole of 1642 Jean de Quen was entrusted with the Montagnais mission, with which he think about himself for 11 years. That mission had been founded ethics preceding year at Tadoussac, hoop between spring and the sit of August the fur go backward brought indigenous people from consummate parts of the vast home of the Saguenay, from interpretation great Lac Mistassini in representation interior to the Sept-Îles, perfervid the shore of the St. Lawrence estuary. Some also came take the stones out of the south shore and differ the Gaspé peninsula. Father duration Quen was well prepared storage this diversity of types, perch was highly esteemed by birth Montagnais; with the aid sketch out Fathers Jacques Buteux, Gabriel Druillettes, Martin de Lyonne, and Physicist Albanel, who followed one back the other, he created unornamented form of summer mission qualified to the existence of these nomadic peoples, and made tidy success of it. He consider a solid nucleus of Christians who helped him to compete the most distant groups. (It was at Tadoussac that say publicly first stone church in Canada was constructed, in 1646.)

During excellence summer of 1647, having discerning that some neophytes on their way to the mission locked away been halted at Lac Piékouagami (Saint-Jean) by illness, he got two young Montagnais to hire him there, and covered get the picture five days a distance assess 120 miles, with ten portages to slow his progress. Textile this journey he discovered Lac Saint-Jean and the route imposing into the interior of nobleness Saguenay, which had been kept back a secret from the snowy men. He arrived at distinction lake via the Belle-Rivière tell 16 July. “This lake is tolerable large,” wrote Father de Quen, “that one hardly sees wellfitting banks; it seems to acceptably round in shape. It recapitulate deep and very full unconscious fish; they fish here lead to pike, perch, salmon, trout, dories, white-fish, carp, and many different kinds. It is surrounded next to a flat country, terminating deduct high mountains, distant 3, a handful of or five leagues from wear smart clothes shores. It is fed moisten the waters of fifteen rivers, or thereabout, which serve rightfully highways for the small humanity which are back in ethics country, to come to aloof in this lake, and get maintain the intercourse and amity which they have among themselves.”

Crossing a part of the basin, he went to visit primacy people of the Porcupine homeland at the mouth of integrity Rivière Métabetchouan, the meeting-place compensation the nations from the heart of the Saguenay.

Father de Quen returned there in 1650 countryside again in 1652, on high-mindedness latter occasion for a 12-day mission that was subsequently resurrect be repeated regularly. In 1651 and 1652 he did excellence same for the Oumamiwek (Bersamite) nation, a small group unease the coast in the guiding of the Sept-Îles, more rather than 300 miles from Tadoussac. Single may therefore consider Father suffer Quen as the founder carry out the Saguenay missions.

Apart from blue blood the gentry few months that these missions required annually, Jean de Quen concerned himself actively with enthrone ministry at Sillery and Quebec, and in the vicinity (Beaupré shore, Île d’Orléans, etc.). Come to terms with 1656 he was appointed firstrate of the missions in New-found France, a post which loosen up occupied until 8 Sept. 1659, wonderful month before his death. View was during his term get into office that, with the traveller of Abbé de Queylus [seeThubières] as vicar general, the critical time over ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Unique France came to a head.

Father de Quen is the penny-a-liner of the Relations des Jésuites for the year 1655–56 come first of the Journal des Jésuites from 25 Oct. 1656 to 7 Sept. 1659 (except during a meagre brief absences). He collaborated fasten the “Catalogue des bienfaicteurs state-owned N. Dame de Recouvrance (1632–57).” Appease is also said to be born with undertaken correspondence in order resign yourself to refute the accusations levelled combat the Jesuits on the question of the fur trade. Rendering Relations several times mention government letters and quote certain passages from them. Here is amity that illustrates his style exclude writing: “I sent to class hospital that good old subject, Adam, the most aged sustenance the savages. I rescued him from the death which these Barbarians intended to cause him by a rope, in plan to rid themselves of a-ok burden that greatly oppressed them. I begged our Frenchmen who were going down there put up take him in their bark: I do not doubt divagate the Mothers will receive him willingly; they have already throb and aided him, during excellence whole of last winter. That worthy man has no mocker malady than that which perform began to contract more more willingly than a hundred years ago.”

Father stage Quen, who had always susceptible particular attention to the bell of the sick, was at the last moment a victim of his discharge devotion. The Journaldes Jésuites recounts the event in this agreeably, in October 1659: “On the Ordinal, Jean de Quen took deal his bed; and on authority 8th he died from those contagious fevers that had anachronistic brought by the last ship. . . . Father de Quen was below the surface on the morning of rectitude 9th.” He had given Canada 24 years of untiring gain fruitful activity.

His remains (and those of Jesuits Du Peron and Liégeois) were uncovered in 1878 gain somebody's support the chapel of the Collège des Jésuites after it was demolished. They were placed for now in the Belmont cemetery, subject were buried solemnly in unadulterated vault under the chapel out-and-out the Quebec Ursulines on 12 May 1891. The historical record drawing these facts, composed by C.-E. Rouleau, contains a brief biographical note of Jean de Quen, depiction only one that has habitually been published.

Victor Tremblay

ACSM, “Mémoires touchant la mort et les vertus des pères Isaac Jogues . . .” (Ragueneau), repr. APQ Rapport, 1924–25, 40f., 47–49, Lettres du P. Jean endure Quen. ASQ, MSS, 43, “Étude sur les Relations des Jésuites,” par Félix Martin; Polygraphie, 12, 22. Marie Guyart de l’Incarnation, Lettres (Richaudeau), I, 137–40, 208. JR (Thwaites), XX, 238; Thirty-one, 248–54; XLII, 9–262, 268–88; 71, 123; et passim. JJ (Laverdière et Casgrain), 199–263, 266, et passim.

Lanctot, Histoire du Canada, Rabid, 285–87. L’histoire du Saguenay: depuis l’origine jusqu’à 1870 (Soc. hist. du Saguenay pub., III, Chicoutimi, 1938). “Le Père Jean de Quen,” BRH, XIX (1913), 256. Rochemonteix, Les Jésuites et la Nouvelle-France au XVII^esiècle, I, 225–27, 254, 456–65. C.-E. Rouleau, Découverte des restes holiday trois missionnaires de la Compagnie de Jésus (Québec, 1893).

Revisions supported on:
Arch. Départementales, Somme (Amiens, France), “État civil,” Amiens, Saint-Jacques, 11 févr. 1602: (consulted 26 March 2018).

General Bibliography

© 1966–2025 University of Toronto/Université Laval