Jean-Pierre Aulneau
Encyclopedia
Father Jean-Pierre Aulneau de la Touche, S.J. (21 April 1705 – 8 June 1736) was a Jesuit missionary
priest
who was briefly active in New France
and killed before he could take part in his first major assignment which was to be an expedition to the Mandan. He died near Fort St. Charles
, on Lake of the Woods
in an area now in Ontario
, Canada
and Minnesota
, United States. He was killed while traveling with Jean Baptiste de La Vérendrye
, and is often referred to as "Minnesota
's Forgotten Martyr
."
, Vendée
, France
. He studied at the minor seminary
of Luçon
prior to entering the Jesuit novitiate
at Pau in 1720. He spent a number of years as an instructor in La Rochelle
and Poitiers
. After his ordination
to the priesthood, he sailed for Canada New France
in 1734.
His crossing on Le Ruby was stormy and, as was typical, the ship's passengers and crew shared diseases in the close quarters. Aulneau landed at Quebec City
in Canada on August 12, 1734. After recovering his health, he lodged at the Jesuit College in Quebec, preparing for his final examination, which he passed during Lent
of 1735.
, the missionary (whom the Indians called the "Black Robes") set out for Fort St. Charles
in June 1735. He sailed through the Great Lakes
to Fort St. Charles
along with Pierre Gaultier de La Vérendrye, commander of the western district. At the time, Father Aulneau was posted farther west than any other missionary
in North America
. His letters to his mother in France reveal that he was afraid of being assigned so far away from his confessor
and the support of the Church. He was to join the local Assinboine and travel with them to the Mandan.
The following year Father Aulneau, Jean Baptiste de La Vérendrye and 19 French-Canadian voyageurs were sent from Fort St. Charles to Fort Michilimackinac
. They were to pick up supplies for an expedition to the Mandan people in what is today the North
and South Dakota
. In addition, the trip would allow Father Aulneau a last visit to the confessional
before accompanying the explorers on their long journey. His letters to his family showed a young man filled with excitement about his mission to the Mandans, whom he was eager to convert to the Roman Catholic faith.
" warriors on a nearby island in Lake of the Woods
. The date was June 8, 1736. The massacre was allegedly in retaliation for commander La Vérendrye's practice of supplying guns
to Sioux enemies, especially the Assiniboine and the Cree
. The Catholic Church has considered Aulneau a martyr
in the effort to convert
the Native peoples to Christianity
.
and buried beneath the altar
of the fortress chapel
. The heads of the 19 voyageurs were buried together in a nearby trench.
For a time, the massacre ended the Church's project of a mission to the Mandan. There was no other priest further west than Fort Michilimackinac. It was not until 1741 that Father Claude-Godefroy Coquart
, a replacement for Father Aulneau, began his journey west. He would have spent some time at Fort St. Charles before moving on to join the La Vérendryes at Fort La Reine
(presently Portage la Prairie, Manitoba
) in 1743. Coquart was the first recorded missionary in present-day Manitoba and the first to travel beyond Lake of the Woods
.
in 1893 as The Aulneau Collection Academics at St. Boniface College in Winnipeg
read The Aulneau Collection, which inspired a number of expeditions to discover the old sites. By 1908 they had located the old fort, as well as the probable location of Massacre Island.
By using the letters of Aulneau and the oral tradition
of the Ojibwe, in 1908 a Jesuit team from Saint Boniface College located the site of Fort St. Charles
. It was just inside the territorial waters
of the United States
. They excavated and examined the remains of the martyred priest and his companions. The remains of Father Aulneau were identified by the hook from his cassock
and his rosary
, which had been placed at his feet. The party transferred the human remains and artifacts found at Fort St. Charles across the Canadian Border to Saint Boniface College, where they remain to this day.
To honor its Golden Anniversary in Minnesota, in 1949 the Knights of Columbus
raised funds to buy the property of the former Fort St. Charles and build a replica of the fort there. They also created a shrine
for Fr. Aulneau. The property is now owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese
of Crookston, Minnesota
, and is a site of pilgrimage
.
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
who was briefly active in New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
and killed before he could take part in his first major assignment which was to be an expedition to the Mandan. He died near Fort St. Charles
Fort St. Charles
Fort Saint Charles was a secure trading post constructed in 1732, one of several western forts built under the direction of military commander La Vérendrye...
, on Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods is a lake occupying parts of the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba and the U.S. state of Minnesota. It separates a small land area of Minnesota from the rest of the United States. The Northwest Angle and the town of Angle Township can only be reached from the rest of...
in an area now in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, United States. He was killed while traveling with Jean Baptiste de La Vérendrye
Jean Baptiste de La Vérendrye
Jean-Baptiste Gaultier de la Vérendrye was the eldest son of Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye and Marie-Anne Dandonneau Du Sablé...
, and is often referred to as "Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
's Forgotten Martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
."
Early life
Jean-Pierre Aulneau was born at his father's chateau at Moutiers-sur-le-LayMoutiers-sur-le-Lay
Moutiers-sur-le-Lay is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France.-Geography:The village lies on the left bank of the river Lay, which flows southwestward through the southern part of the commune.-References:*...
, Vendée
Vendée
The Vendée is a department in the Pays-de-la-Loire region in west central France, on the Atlantic Ocean. The name Vendée is taken from the Vendée river which runs through the south-eastern part of the department.-History:...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He studied at the minor seminary
Minor seminary
A minor seminary is a secondary boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming priests. They are generally Roman Catholic institutions, and designed to prepare boys both academically and spiritually for vocations to the priesthood...
of Luçon
Luçon
Luçon is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France.It is the seat of the Diocese of Luçon and Luçon Cathedral.-References:*...
prior to entering the Jesuit novitiate
Novitiate
Novitiate, alt. noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a novice monastic or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether they are called to the religious life....
at Pau in 1720. He spent a number of years as an instructor in La Rochelle
La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...
and Poitiers
Poitiers
Poitiers is a city on the Clain river in west central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and of the Poitou-Charentes region. The centre is picturesque and its streets are interesting for predominant remains of historical architecture, especially from the Romanesque...
. After his ordination
Ordination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
to the priesthood, he sailed for Canada New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
in 1734.
His crossing on Le Ruby was stormy and, as was typical, the ship's passengers and crew shared diseases in the close quarters. Aulneau landed at Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
in Canada on August 12, 1734. After recovering his health, he lodged at the Jesuit College in Quebec, preparing for his final examination, which he passed during Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
of 1735.
Black robe in the Northwest
After receiving an assignment as chaplainChaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
, the missionary (whom the Indians called the "Black Robes") set out for Fort St. Charles
Fort St. Charles
Fort Saint Charles was a secure trading post constructed in 1732, one of several western forts built under the direction of military commander La Vérendrye...
in June 1735. He sailed through the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
to Fort St. Charles
Fort St. Charles
Fort Saint Charles was a secure trading post constructed in 1732, one of several western forts built under the direction of military commander La Vérendrye...
along with Pierre Gaultier de La Vérendrye, commander of the western district. At the time, Father Aulneau was posted farther west than any other missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. His letters to his mother in France reveal that he was afraid of being assigned so far away from his confessor
Confessor
-Confessor of the Faith:Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith, but not to the point of death. The term is still used in this way in the East. In Latin Christianity it has come to signify any saint, as well as those who have been declared...
and the support of the Church. He was to join the local Assinboine and travel with them to the Mandan.
The following year Father Aulneau, Jean Baptiste de La Vérendrye and 19 French-Canadian voyageurs were sent from Fort St. Charles to Fort Michilimackinac
Fort Michilimackinac
Fort Michilimackinac was an 18th century French, and later British, fort and trading post in the Great Lakes of North America. Built around 1715, it was located along the southern shore of the strategic Straits of Mackinac connecting Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, at the northern tip of the lower...
. They were to pick up supplies for an expedition to the Mandan people in what is today the North
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
and South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
. In addition, the trip would allow Father Aulneau a last visit to the confessional
Confessional
A confessional is a small, enclosed booth used for the Sacrament of Penance, often called confession, or Reconciliation. It is the usual venue for the sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church, but similar structures are also used in Anglican churches of an Anglo-Catholic orientation, and also in the...
before accompanying the explorers on their long journey. His letters to his family showed a young man filled with excitement about his mission to the Mandans, whom he was eager to convert to the Roman Catholic faith.
Martyrdom
On their first night out and within several kilometres of the fort, all members of the expedition were killed by "Prairie SiouxSioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
" warriors on a nearby island in Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods is a lake occupying parts of the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba and the U.S. state of Minnesota. It separates a small land area of Minnesota from the rest of the United States. The Northwest Angle and the town of Angle Township can only be reached from the rest of...
. The date was June 8, 1736. The massacre was allegedly in retaliation for commander La Vérendrye's practice of supplying guns
Güns
Güns or Guens may refer to:* Kőszeg, Hungary * Kőszeg Mountains, Hungary * Akiva Güns , birth name of Akiva Eger, a Hungarian-Polish rabbi- See also :* Guns * Gün, a surname...
to Sioux enemies, especially the Assiniboine and the Cree
Cree
The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...
. The Catholic Church has considered Aulneau a martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
in the effort to convert
Convert
The convert or try, in American football known as "point after", and Canadian football "Point after touchdown", is a one-scrimmage down played immediately after a touchdown during which the scoring team is allowed to attempt to score an extra one point by kicking the ball through the uprights , or...
the Native peoples to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
.
Aftermath
When members of the friendly Cree tribe reported the massacre to La Verendrye, he gave orders for the heads of the 19 voyageurs and the decapitated remains of his son and Father Aulneau to be returned to Fort St. Charles. The bodies of Father Aulneau and young La Verendrye were encased in a rough hewn coffinCoffin
A coffin is a funerary box used in the display and containment of dead people – either for burial or cremation.Contemporary North American English makes a distinction between "coffin", which is generally understood to denote a funerary box having six sides in plan view, and "casket", which...
and buried beneath the altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
of the fortress chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
. The heads of the 19 voyageurs were buried together in a nearby trench.
For a time, the massacre ended the Church's project of a mission to the Mandan. There was no other priest further west than Fort Michilimackinac. It was not until 1741 that Father Claude-Godefroy Coquart
Claude-Godefroy Coquart
Claude-Godefroy Coquart was a Jesuit priest who probably arrived in Quebec in 1739. He was almost immediately assigned to accompany La Vérendrye to the western forts...
, a replacement for Father Aulneau, began his journey west. He would have spent some time at Fort St. Charles before moving on to join the La Vérendryes at Fort La Reine
Fort La Reine
Fort La Reine was built in 1738, one of the forts of the western expansion directed by Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye, first military commander in the west of what is now known as Canada. Located on the Assiniboine River where present day Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, stands, the...
(presently Portage la Prairie, Manitoba
Portage la Prairie, Manitoba
-Transportation:Portage la Prairie railway station is served by Via Rail with both The Canadian and Winnipeg – Churchill trains calling at the station....
) in 1743. Coquart was the first recorded missionary in present-day Manitoba and the first to travel beyond Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods is a lake occupying parts of the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba and the U.S. state of Minnesota. It separates a small land area of Minnesota from the rest of the United States. The Northwest Angle and the town of Angle Township can only be reached from the rest of...
.
Legacy
The letters of Father Aulneau to his family were discovered with Aulneau descendants in Vendée, France in 1889. They were published in an English translationTranslation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
in 1893 as The Aulneau Collection Academics at St. Boniface College in Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
read The Aulneau Collection, which inspired a number of expeditions to discover the old sites. By 1908 they had located the old fort, as well as the probable location of Massacre Island.
By using the letters of Aulneau and the oral tradition
Oral tradition
Oral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants...
of the Ojibwe, in 1908 a Jesuit team from Saint Boniface College located the site of Fort St. Charles
Fort St. Charles
Fort Saint Charles was a secure trading post constructed in 1732, one of several western forts built under the direction of military commander La Vérendrye...
. It was just inside the territorial waters
Territorial waters
Territorial waters, or a territorial sea, as defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is a belt of coastal waters extending at most from the baseline of a coastal state...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. They excavated and examined the remains of the martyred priest and his companions. The remains of Father Aulneau were identified by the hook from his cassock
Cassock
The cassock, an item of clerical clothing, is an ankle-length robe worn by clerics of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Church, Lutheran Church and some ministers and ordained officers of Presbyterian and Reformed churches. Ankle-length garment is the meaning of the...
and his rosary
Rosary
The rosary or "garland of roses" is a traditional Catholic devotion. The term denotes the prayer beads used to count the series of prayers that make up the rosary...
, which had been placed at his feet. The party transferred the human remains and artifacts found at Fort St. Charles across the Canadian Border to Saint Boniface College, where they remain to this day.
To honor its Golden Anniversary in Minnesota, in 1949 the Knights of Columbus
Knights of Columbus
The Knights of Columbus is the world's largest Catholic fraternal service organization. Founded in the United States in 1882, it is named in honor of Christopher Columbus....
raised funds to buy the property of the former Fort St. Charles and build a replica of the fort there. They also created a shrine
Shrine
A shrine is a holy or sacred place, which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are venerated or worshipped. Shrines often contain idols, relics, or other such objects associated with the figure being venerated....
for Fr. Aulneau. The property is now owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
of Crookston, Minnesota
Crookston, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 8,192 people, 3,078 households, and 1,819 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,658.8 people per square mile . There were 3,382 housing units at an average density of 684.8 per square mile...
, and is a site of pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
.
Additional reading
- “Lettres du père Aulneau,” APQ Rapport, 1926–27, 259–330.
- Le Jeune, Dictionnaire, I, 98f.; II, 112–16.
- Rochemonteix, Les Jésuites et la N.-F. au XVIIIe siècle, I, 212–25.
- Paul Desjardins, “Le projet de mission du Père Aulneau chez les Mandanes,” SCHEC Rapport, 1948–49, 55–69.
External links
- The Aulneau Collection, Available for download on "The Internet Archive"
- "The Vérendryes and Their Successors", Manitoba Historical Society Transactions