Jean de Brébeuf
Norman Jesuit who spent some fifteen years among the Huron, whose grammar he wrote, and died tortured by the Iroquois.
- Early modern era
- North America
- Feast day October 19
- 1593 – 1649
- Priest
- Missionary
- Martyr
Listen to the life 0:47
Tall and powerfully built — the Huron called him Échon — Jean de Brébeuf learned their language well enough to write its first grammar and a catechism; tradition also credits him with the Huron Carol, though no witness attests it before 1899. Arriving in New France in 1625, he shared Huron life for some fifteen years, broken by a forced return to France after the fall of Quebec and a spell as procurator. In March 1649 the Iroquois took the mission of Saint-Louis; he refused to flee with the women and children. Captured on the morning of 16 March, he died the same day around four in the afternoon, after a torture his executioners meant to match his courage.
