St. Jean de Brébeuf, St. Isaac Jogues & Companions: Our Canadian Martyrs

September 26 – Secondary Patrons of Canada

When we think about the history of Canada, we often think about explorers, pioneers, fur traders, and people travelling through forests and across rivers with very questionable maps. But among the earliest people to travel into the heart of what is now Canada were men carrying something even more important than a map: the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

On September 26, the Church in Canada celebrates St. Jean de Brébeuf, St. Isaac Jogues, priests, and their companions, martyrs—the Canadian Martyrs and secondary patrons of our country. They were proclaimed secondary patrons of Canada by Pope Pius XII in 1940, with St. Joseph remaining our principal patron.

There were eight martyrs: six Jesuits—Jean de Brébeuf, Isaac Jogues, Antoine Daniel, Gabriel Lalemant, Charles Garnier and Noël Chabanel—and two lay missionary companions, René Goupil and Jean de La Lande. They served among Indigenous peoples in the missions of New France during the 17th century.

They Didn't Come for an Easy Assignment

These priests did not exactly receive what we would call a comfortable parish assignment.

No rectory.
No heated church.
No parish office.
No Wi-Fi.
And definitely no coffee machine.

They lived among the people they served, learned their languages and customs, travelled through difficult country, endured hunger, cold, illness, isolation and danger. Their mission was not simply to build churches. They wanted to introduce people to Jesus Christ and to live the Gospel among them.

St. Jean de Brébeuf spent years among the Wendat (Huron), learning their language and culture. He even composed a grammar, dictionary and catechism in the Huron language. His famous Christmas hymn, traditionally associated with the Huron people, is remembered today as the Huron Carol.

St. Isaac Jogues experienced terrible suffering after being captured and tortured. Yet after escaping and returning to France, he eventually chose to return to the missions.

Imagine that conversation:

"Father, you escaped! You are safe!"

"Yes."

"Wonderful! So where are you going now?"

"Back."

That is missionary courage.

“I Go, and I Shall Not Return”

St. Isaac Jogues understood something that is difficult for us to understand today: following Christ does not always mean choosing the easiest road.

His famous words were:

“I go, and I shall not return.”

He knew that returning to the mission might cost him his life. And it eventually did. Jogues and Jean de La Lande were killed in 1646. Other companions suffered martyrdom over the following years. St. Jean de Brébeuf and St. Gabriel Lalemant were killed in 1649, followed later that year by St. Charles Garnier and St. Noël Chabanel.

They were beatified in 1925 and canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1930.

What Do They Have to Say to Us Today?

We might think: “Father, that was 400 years ago. What does this have to do with me?”

Quite a lot.

The Canadian Martyrs remind us that faith is not something we are meant to keep safely inside the church building.Faith is something we carry into our homes, workplaces, schools, friendships and communities.

They also remind us that evangelization requires patience. They spent years learning how to communicate the Gospel across languages and cultures. They did not simply arrive, preach for ten minutes and ask everyone to fill out a registration form!

They had to listen, learn, build relationships and persevere.

And perhaps most importantly, they remind us that Jesus must remain at the centre of our lives. The Priests of Canada today continue to point to the martyrs' self-giving love as an important part of their spiritual legacy. 

A Mission Still Unfinished

Canada has changed dramatically since the time of Brébeuf and Jogues. But the mission of sharing Christ has not ended.

Our country needs saints today just as much as it did in the 1600s.

We need parents who teach their children to pray.
We need young people who are not afraid to live their faith.
We need grandparents who pass on the faith they received.
We need priests and religious who serve generously.
And we need ordinary Catholics who are willing to say, “Lord, here I am. Send me.”

The Canadian Martyrs remind us that holiness is not about having an easy life. It is about giving our lives to Christ wherever He has placed us.

So on September 26, let us ask St. Jean de Brébeuf, St. Isaac Jogues and their companions to pray for Canada, for our families, for our Church, and for all of us.

And perhaps we can make one small missionary decision ourselves.

Invite someone to Mass.
Return to Confession.
Pray with your family.
Speak about your faith.
Forgive someone.
Help someone who is struggling.

You don't have to cross the wilderness of Canada like they did.

Sometimes the mission field is simply the person sitting beside us at the dinner table.

St. Jean de Brébeuf, St. Isaac Jogues and companions, pray for us!

It is with great sadness we are letting you know that one of our long time parishioners from St. Francis de Sales Parish, Edith (Edy) Izyk has passed away.
Funeral Mass will be at SFDS, however, details have not been announced yet. Please check the Snodgrass Funeral Home website.

On September 14, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. At first, it may seem like a strange thing to celebrate. Why would we celebrate an instrument of suffering and death?

Because for Christians, the Cross is no longer simply a symbol of suffering. The Cross is the place where God revealed the depth of His love for us.

Jesus did not save us by avoiding suffering. He saved us by entering into it and transforming it through His love. What appeared to be defeat became victory. What looked like death became the doorway to Resurrection.

The feast also reminds us of the importance of the Cross in the history of our faith. The Cross of Christ was recovered in Jerusalem in the fourth century and became a treasured sign of the Christian faith. But the feast is not really about a piece of wood. It is about the Person who was nailed to it.

Every time we make the Sign of the Cross, we proclaim something beautiful: we belong to Christ. We place our lives under the sign of His saving love.

And perhaps this feast gives us an important question to consider: What do we do with the crosses in our own lives?

We all carry them—illness, disappointment, loneliness, family struggles, grief, uncertainty, or simply the daily sacrifices that love requires. The Christian answer is not that suffering is good in itself. Rather, we are invited to unite our suffering with Christ and allow His love to transform it.

The Cross reminds us that God can bring new life even out of the things we would never have chosen for ourselves.

So when you see a crucifix this week, don't see only suffering. See love, mercy, forgiveness, sacrifice, hope—and the promise of Resurrection.

As Jesus tells us in the Gospel:
“When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” (John 12:32)

May the Cross of Christ always be at the centre of our homes, our families, our parish, and our lives.

The day after we celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the Church remembers Our Lady of Sorrows. It is a beautiful and deeply human memorial that invites us to look at the Cross through the heart of Mary.

Mary knew what it meant to love someone deeply and to suffer because of that love. From the beginning of Jesus' life, she remained faithful to God, even when she did not understand everything that was happening. And at the foot of the Cross, she stood there as a mother watching her Son suffer and die.

Mary could not take Jesus' suffering away. She could not change what was happening. But she stayed. She remained beside Him when almost everyone else had disappeared.

That is one of the most powerful things Mary teaches us.

Sometimes we cannot fix another person's suffering. We cannot take away their illness, grief, loneliness, or pain. But we can stay. We can listen. We can pray. We can hold someone's hand. We can simply let them know, “You are not alone.”

Mary understands the pain of a mother's heart, the pain of loss, and the pain of watching someone she loves suffer. That is why we can turn to her with confidence in our own moments of sorrow.

The title “Our Lady of Sorrows” does not mean that Mary is a woman defined by sadness. Rather, her sorrow became an expression of her faith and love. She remained faithful even when the road became painful.

And there is hope at the heart of this memorial. Mary's story does not end at Calvary. The Cross leads to the Resurrection. Her sorrow is transformed by the joy of Christ's victory.

As we remember Our Lady of Sorrows, may we ask her to help us carry our own crosses with faith and to remain close to those who are suffering.

Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us.