Modeste Demers (11 October 1809 – 28 July 1871) was a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Bishop and missionary in the

Oregon Country Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long Oregon boundary dispute, dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been demarcat ...

. A native of

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, he traveled overland to the Pacific Northwest and preached in the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, the ...

and later in what would become

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Early life

Modeste Demers was born 11 October 1809, in Saint-Nicolas, Quebec, in

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

.Corning, Howard M. ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956. Of French descent, he studied at the seminary of Quebec and was ordained on February 7, 1836 by Archbishop Joseph Signay. After becoming a priest in 1836, he left the following year to be a missionary at the

Red River Colony The Red River Colony (or Selkirk Settlement), also known as Assiniboia, was a colonization project set up in 1811 by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, on of land in British North America. This land was granted to Douglas by the Hudson's Bay ...

. There he worked under the direction of Bishop Joseph-Norbert Provencher. His stay there was short and he traveled to the

with François Norbert Blanchet to perform his duties as a priest and missionary. (See St. Paul's Mission.)

Oregon Country

In 1838, Demers arrived with Blanchet in the Willamette Valley of what would become the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. Demers quickly became immersed in the work with the local trading post staff and the Chinookan nation. For the Chinooks, he quickly learned the language and worked on a dictionary, a catechism, a prayer book, and hymns in that language. In 1844, he became the first priest at Oregon City.

British Columbia

Demers’ work carried him north to present day British Columbia where his knowledge of the French and English languages, and his affinity for native languages allowed him to continue his mission. In 1847, Demers was consecrated Bishop of

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

by Bishop François Norbert Blanchet of Oregon City and also appointed

apostolic administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of the

Queen Charlotte Islands Haida Gwaii (; / , literally "Islands of the Haida people"), previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, is an archipelago located between off the northern Pacific coast in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The islands are separ ...

and

New Caledonia (Canada) New Caledonia was a fur-trading district of the Hudson's Bay Company that comprised the territory of the north-central portions of present-day British Columbia, Canada. Though not a British colony, New Caledonia was part of the British claim to N ...

. It was a diocese which lacked funds and priests and was largely unexposed to Christianity. He worked tirelessly, traveling to raise funds and acquire new priests. As well, he struggled with health problems during his last years. One of his friends was Sir James Douglas who was governor of Vancouver Island and British Columbia and the head of the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

operations in the Columbia District. Demers and Douglas had met when Demers had first arrived at

Fort Vancouver Fort Vancouver was a 19th-century fur trading post built in the winter of 1824–1825. It was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was ...

. They had interacted in this small colony which was replaced by a much larger and modern society during Demers tenure. He died on 28 July 1871. Modeste Demers, the first Bishop of Victoria, is interred in the crypt of that city's St. Andrew's Cathedral.

References

External links

Biography at ''the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Demers, Modeste Roman Catholic missionaries in Canada Canadian Roman Catholic missionaries Canadian missionaries in the United States 1809 births 1871 deaths 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Canada Clergy from Oregon Pre-Confederation British Columbia people Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Franco-Columbian people Roman Catholic missionaries in the United States Pre-Confederation Canadian expatriates in the United States Roman Catholic bishops of Victoria in Canada 19th-century American clergy