Patron Saint
St. John Brebeuf
Feastday: October 19 Patron of Canada Died: 1649 St. John de Brebeuf was one of the Jesuit martyrs of North America. John was born in Conde-surVire, in Normandy, France, on March 25, 1593 . He was ordained in 1622, joining the Society of Jesus. Three years later he volunteered for the missions in Quebec. Canada. For the next quarter of a century. with a brief interruption, he labored among the Huron Indians. His labors were placed in jeopardy because of Huguenot renegades and a smallpox epidemic that decimated entire Indian villages. John left for a brief time when the English captured Quebec, but returned to the Hurons again. In 1649 he was captured by the Iroquois, who were enemies of the Huron. John and his companions were cruelly slain on March 16 at Sault Ste. Marie near Georgian Bay. John de Brebeuf converted seven thousand Indians and composed a dictionary and catechism in the Huron language. He was canonized in 1930.