Zenobius Membre was a French Franciscan

Franciscan

Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....

 missionary in North America.

Life

He was a member of the Franciscan province of St. Antony. He arrived in Canada in 1675, and in 1679 he accompanied Robert de La Salle to the country of the Illinois, of which he wrote a description. His missionary work there had little success.

In 1681 he descended the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

 with La Salle to the Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

, returned with the leader of the expedition to Europe by way of Canada. He became superior of the Franciscan monastery in his native city.

In 1684 Membre, with two Franciscans and three Sulpicians, sailed with La Salle intending to found a colony at the mouth of the Mississippi River, but inaccurate maps and navigational errors caused them to instead anchor 400 miles (644 km) west, off the coast of Texas near Matagorda Bay

Matagorda Bay

Matagorda Bay is a large estuary bay on the Texas coast, lying in Calhoun and Matagorda counties and located approximately northeast of Corpus Christi, southeast of San Antonio, southwest of Houston, and southeast of Austin. It is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by Matagorda Peninsula and...

. La Salle erected Fort St. Louis, a 50-mile (80 km) overland trek from Matagorda Bay in 1685. Membre endeavoured to establish a mission among the Cenis nation (Hasinai). In this he failed. After about two years he was killed, along with Fr. Maximus Le Cerq, Rev. Chefdeville, and the small garrison which La Salle had left at the settlement.