Claude Jean Allouez (June 6, 1622 – August 28, 1689) was a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

and French

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

. He established a number of missions among the indigenous people living near Lake Superior.

Biography

Allouez was born in

Saint-Didier-en-Velay Saint-Didier-en-Velay (, literally ''Saint-Didier in Velay''; oc, Sant Desdèir de La Seuva) is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France. Population Sights In the church of Saint Didier, there is an impressive Spanis ...

in the

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

Haute-Loire Haute-Loire (; oc, Naut Léger or ''Naut Leir''; English: Upper Loire) is a landlocked department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. Named after the Loire River, it is surrounded by the departments of Loire, Ardèche, ...

in south-central

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. In 1639, he graduated from the College of Le Puy, and became a Jesuit novice in

Toulouse, France Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

. In 1655, he was ordained a priest of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Allouez arrived in Quebec in 1658 and immediately began a study of the Wyandot and

Anishinaabe language Ojibwe , also known as Ojibwa , Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an indigenous language of North America of the Algonquian lan ...

s to prepare himself for work as a missionary among the American Indian tribes along the St. Lawrence River.Léon Pouliot, “Allouez, Claude", ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'', vol. 1, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–
/ref> In 1660 he became the superior of the mission at Trois-Rivières, Quebec. His stay there lasted until 1663 when he was named

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop ...

of a part of the diocese of Quebec that is now the central region of the United States. This appointment was made by Bishop François de Laval, the first

bishop of New France The Archdiocese of Québec ( la, Archidiœcesis Quebecensis; french: Archidiocèse de Québec) is a Catholic archdiocese in Quebec, Canada. Being the first see in the New World north of Mexico, the Archdiocese of Québec is also the primatial se ...

.Campbell, Thomas. "Claude Allouez." ''The Catholic Encyclopedia''
Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. February 15, 2019 From 1665 through 1669 Allouez made a missionary tour of the western missions. In 1667 he visited the village of the Nipissing Indians who had fled there during the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Indigenous confederations in North America, confederacy of First Nations in Canada, First Natio ...

onslaught of 1649-50 and celebrated the first mass beside the Nipigon River May 29, 1667. He went back to Quebec in search of assistants, and immediately returned to the missions. On December 3, 1669 Allouez said the first Mass in Oconto, Wisconsin. He served as a missionary to the

Potawatomi The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a m ...

. The Menominee began participating in the fur trade network and converting to Christianity. The next year he was with the Mesquakie, establishing St. Mark's Mission, and founding the mission of St. James among the

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

and Mascouten Indians, finally returning to Green Bay later that year. Because of his fluency in native languages and the prestige in which he was held by the Indian nations, in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, he was a principal speaker at the ceremony that formally declared the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River valley as territory of the King of France. In 1671 he founded the

St. Francis Xavier Mission The mission of St. Francis Xavier was a seventeenth-century Jesuit mission located on the rapids of the Fox River near De Pere, Wisconsin. It was founded in 1671 by Claude Allouez to proselytize the native peoples of the western Great Lakes. In ...

at the last set of rapids on the Fox River before entering Green Bay. The site was known as Rapides Des Pères (rapids of the fathers) which became modern day De Pere, Wisconsin. This became his base until word arrived of the death of

Jacques Marquette Jacques Marquette S.J. (June 1, 1637 – May 18, 1675), sometimes known as Père Marquette or James Marquette, was a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Sainte Marie, and later founded Saint Ign ...

, and Allouez was assigned to continue Marquette's work among the

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

. In February 1676, on his way to Lake Michigan, his companions rigged a sail on the canoe to sail over the ice. By March he was at Whitefish Bay and reached

Kaskaskia The Kaskaskia were one of the indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands. They were one of about a dozen cognate tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation, also called the Illinois Confederation. Their longstanding homeland was in ...

by the end of the month. He continued Marquette's evangelizing of the Indians until his death in 1689, near what is today

Niles, Michigan Niles is a city in Berrien and Cass counties in the U.S. state of Michigan, near the Indiana border city of South Bend. In 2010, the population was 11,600 according to the 2010 census. It is the larger, by population, of the two principal cit ...

just north of

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

. He is buried in Niles. A good portion of Father Allouez's written work from the time has been preserved. It provides insight into the missions of the time and provides a record that is extensive and important of the Catholic Church in mid-America. It also contains the first documented accounts of the Illinois Indians. He is reputed to have baptized around 10,000 neophytes.

Legacy

* The village of Allouez, Wisconsin, near Green Bay * Allouez Trail on

Mackinac Island Mackinac Island ( ; french: Île Mackinac; oj, Mishimikinaak ᒥᔑᒥᑭᓈᒃ; otw, Michilimackinac) is an island and resort area, covering in land area, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the island in Odawa is Michilimackinac ...

in Northern Michigan * Claude Allouez Bridge over the Fox River in De Pere, Wisconsin * Allouez Bay near the mouth of the

St. Louis River The Saint Louis River (abbreviated St. Louis River) is a river in the U.S. states of Minnesota and Wisconsin that flows into Lake Superior. The largest U.S. river to flow into the lake, it is in lengthU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography ...

in Superior, Wisconsin * Allouez neighborhood of

Superior, Wisconsin , native_name_lang = oj , nickname = , total_type = , motto = , image_skyline = Tower Avenue.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = Downtown Superior , ima ...

, situated on Allouez Bay *

Allouez Township Allouez Township ( ) is a civil township of Keweenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,340 at the 2020 census. Communities * Ahmeek is a village within the township at . It is the only incorporated municipality in Kewe ...

Keweenaw County, Michigan Keweenaw County (, ; , ) is a county in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, the state's northernmost county. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 2,046, making it Michigan's least populous county. It is also the ...

* The unincorporated community of Allouez in Allouez Township, Michigan * Allouez Amber Ale by Earth Rider Brewery in Superior, WI * Father Allouez School in Allouez, WI

Notes

References

*''Who Was Who in America: Historical Volume, 1607-1896''. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1967.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allouez, Claude-Jean 1622 births 1689 deaths People from Haute-Loire 17th-century French Jesuits Jesuit missionaries in New France Roman Catholic missionaries in Canada French Roman Catholic missionaries French explorers People of pre-statehood Michigan People of pre-statehood Wisconsin Burials in Quebec