Saint Rene Goupil

Saint Rene Goupil (May 15th 1608 - September 29th 1642) was a missionary French and the first North-American martyr of the Catholic church.

It was born with Saint-Martin-of-Wood, in the diocese of Angers, in France, in 1608. Having studied with Chantilly, close to Paris, it had to leave the noviciate in 1639 because of its deafness. He knew already the Chirurgie. He went voluntary to work like Donné with the Jesuits in the hospitals of the Canada. In 1640, Goupil is with the mission of Saint-Joseph de Sillery.

In 1642, at the time of a voyage by Boat towards the Huron missions with the father Isaac Jogues, it was captured and tortured by Iroquois. After having taught the Sign of the cross to the young Amerindians, it was killed by a blow of tomahawk on the head, and it pronounced the name of Jesus while dying. It was near to the current site of Auriesville in the State of New York. Its death was reported in the Relations of the Jesuits .

It was canonized by Pie XI the June 29th 1930 with the seven others Canadian Martyrs. It is the patron saint anesthetists.

There is a parish Saint Rene-Goupil in the Quartier Saint-Michel with Montreal, as well as a Rene-Goupil park in the same street as the church. Another Rene-Goupil parish is in the Diocèse of Gatineau-Hull, and another in the state of the Minnesota. There is also a named street Rene-Goupil in the town of Saint-Jerome (Lafontaine sector), located in northern suburbs of Montreal. One finds also the Saint-Rene-Goupil church in the municipality of Saint-Rene-of-Matane in the Low-Saint-Laurent.

External bond

Note of the catholic encyclopedia

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