St. Charles Garnier: North American missionary and martyr

Through the Jesuit Relations, a chronicle written by missionaries, we learn of the mission that this Catholic religious order carried out in North America between 1632 and 1672 — its aims, successes and failures, and, most importantly, the brutality that the missionaries faced.

Charles Garnier had difficulty convincing his parents to let him join the Jesuits. Why would the son of the King's secretary want to abandon a comfortable Parisian lifestyle and follow the austere practices of the followers of St Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Catholic Jesuit order?

The determined Charles entered the Jesuit Novitiate in Paris, completed his studies, and was ordained as a Catholic Jesuit priest in 1635. He had become a companion of Jesus, committed to living according to the vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience.

Charles became a professor at a college in Normandy, where he met fellow Jesuit Father Jean de Brébeuf. It proved to be a pivotal moment in Charles Garnier’s life.

De Brébeuf fascinated Charles. He had lived closely with the native peoples of Huronia (located in today’s Ontario, Canada) and had real stories to tell.

Father de Brébeuf’s tales of his life as a missionary and his canoe trips from Quebec intrigued the young priest. He wanted to be part of the mission to New France; his vocation became clear. 

By coincidence, Charles Garnier was ordained at the same time as Father Isaac Jogues, who was equally enthusiastic about preaching and serving in North America.

The two priests even traveled together on the same vessel, a long and challenging journey, as Charles described to his father soon after their arrival on June 11, 1636.

“Although I did not experience any great difficulty or danger, and our Captain took every care to make the crossing as pleasant as possible, it is evident that the voyage was not without its crosses. And this is particularly so for a member of a religious order because he has no privacy away from the noise and the crowd in order to pray. I don't mention here those other inconveniences and seasickness which take the heart out of one.”

His first years working with the Tionontati (the Indigenous people called the Petuns by the French because they grew tobacco) required much perseverance. The natives were initially hostile, blaming the “Black Robes” for the epidemic the Huron territory had suffered earlier. They also feared their Iroquois neighbors, who were constantly attacking them.

Once St. Charles mastered the language, he visited the Indian huts, saw the sick, instructed them, and baptized them.

 St. Charles was described as a master of ideals; he set his goals and strived to attain them against all obstacles. He wrote to his brother, “Let us open, open our hearts as much as we can, raise our desires and our hopes as much as we can."

St. Garnier's main work, the founding of a Mission among the Petuns, reflects deeply his strong personality. There had been a few apostolic excursions, including a 14-day journey in 1637, but nothing stable had been founded there. In 1639, the territory was entrusted to Fathers Garnier and Jogues. The two missionaries placed their Mission under the holy Apostles' patronage and named each town they encountered after one of the Twelve.

It was hard work; they often traveled without a guide at the mercy of the cold, wind, and snow. The adventure lasted several months; the entire country of the natives Petun had been visited. Each of the towns had received the visit of the Fathers, and several dying men had been baptized. "The word of the Gospel germinates when the Holy Spirit wants to make it fruitful," wrote Garnier, "It is up to us only to sow it faithfully and await the moments of heaven.”

St. Charles continued his mission until December, when trouble started between the tribes. The unexpected arrival of the Iroquois on November 7 sparked a clamor for war. They aimed to wipe out the Hurons and the Petuns.

Father Paul Ragueneau described the attack:

Father Charles Garnier was the only one of our Fathers on the Mission at the time. When the enemy appeared, he was visiting the cabins and instructing the people, but when the alarm was given, he came out and went straight to the church, where some Christians had gathered. 'We are facing death, my brethren,' he said to them, 'pray to God and take flight by any possible avenue of escape. Cherish your faith for the rest of your life, and may death find you thinking of God.' He gave them his blessing and immediately set out to help other souls.

They begged him to flee also, but as an ordained Catholic Jesuit priest part of his mission was to trace the sign of absolution on the heads of the dying. He was giving this final blessing to a dying Indian when an Iroquois spotted him, took aim, and fired two shots. St, Charles Garnier was struck in the chest and abdomen. He collapsed and died.

He was beatified in 1925 by Pope Pius  XI, who canonized him on June 29, 1930, with his seven fellow martyrs.

In Quebec, Mere Marie de l'Incarnation, who had never met Charles Garnier, but had written to him and received letters from him, mourned his passing. She said: