5. St. Noel Chabanel
17th century

A Jesuit priest and North American martyr, Noel worked among the Hurons with Saint Charles Garnier. In general, the missionaries developed great empathy for those whom they were evangelizing; however, that was not the case for Fr. Noel: he felt revulsion towards the Native Americans and their customs, in addition to the great difficulty he experienced in trying to learn their language, which was completely different from any European language—not to mention the brutal challenges involved in their life in that nearly savage environment. All of these trials put together caused in him a lasting sentiment of spiritual suffocation. How did he respond? By making a solemn vow never to desist nor abandon his mission. He kept that vow until his martyrdom.