Transcript The church in New France

Roman Catholic Religion
THE CHURCH IN NEW FRANCE
CENTRAL QUESTIONS
What were the three main functions of the
church in New France?
 What were the contributions of the church to
the colony?

The Catholic church was a powerful partner in
the development of the colony of New France.
 The church worked in three main areas…

 1)
converting the Aboriginal people
 2) ministering to the spiritual needs of the
settlements;
 3) providing leadership in social welfare in the
colony--- including education, heatlh care, caring for
the orphaned and the poor.

Francois Laval, the first bishop of New France
from 1659 to 1688, founded a seminary to
train priests in Quebec which later became
Laval University.
MISSIONARIES
In our previous unit, we briefly looked
at the impact of missionaries on the
Aboriginal People.
 Although it is generally acknowledged
that the priests were sincere in their
belief that conversion was in the best
interests of the Aboriginals, the
changes were not always positive.

HURONIA- MISSION SETTLEMENT
The aggressive work of
religious order like the
Jesuits and Recollets
played their part in the
exploration and opening up
of Aboriginal territory to fur
traders.
 Priests established
missions such as the one in
Huronia (1634) and
encouraged the Aboriginals
to settle so that it would be
easier to convert them.

Because Aboriginal groups wanted to
retain the French as trading partners
and allies, they tolerated the
missionaries who themselves got
caught up in Aboriginal warfare.
 Many priests died and their
martyrdom encouraged conversions.
The publication of the Jesuit
Relations, encouraged interest in the
colony back home in France

Thus, since the beginning of the history of New
France the church has always been present
and its work has always been entwined with the
economic, political and social development of
the colony.
 It was not until the “Quiet Revolution” of the
1960’s in Quebec that people began to
question the Church’s authority in other than
spiritual affairs
