Camille Lefebvre, C.S.C. (14 February 1831 – 28 January 1895) was a

Holy Cross Holy Cross or Saint Cross may refer to: * the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus * Christian cross, a frequently used religious symbol of Christianity * True Cross, supposed remnants of the actual cross upon which Jesus was crucified * Feast o ...

father and vicar general for the

Acadian The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern American region of Acadia, ...

population of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island (Maritime Canada). Born in Saint Philippe-de-Laprairie,

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 ...

, he was an itinerant primary school teacher before beginning religious studies in 1852, at the Congregation of Holy Cross at Saint-Laurent near Montreal. He was ordained a priest on 29 July 1855 at age 24. First appointed as assistant priest in the rural parish of Saint-Eustache, he afterwards taught at a business college in Saint-Aimé (Massueville) in the diocese of Saint-Hyacinthe. In 1863, Bishop John Sweeny of New Brunswick recognized a need to provide education to the French speaking Catholic population the Maritime colonies, as well as English-speaking Catholics of Irish and Scottish descent. Under Sweeny's mandate, in the fall of 1864 Father Lefebvre founded St. Joseph's College in

Memramcook, New Brunswick Memramcook, sometimes also spelled Memramcouke or Memramkouke, is a village in Westmorland County, New Brunswick, Canada. Located in south-eastern New Brunswick, the community is predominantly people of Acadian descent who speak the Chiac de ...

as a post-secondary centre of learning. It received a provincial charter in 1868 and became eligible for financial support from the government. However the funding only lasted until 1871 when New Brunswick passed its controversial Common Schools Act which attempted to secularize education in the province. In refusing to accept the requirements of the Act, Father Lefebvre forfeited future funding and as a result, the college remained in financial difficulties for the rest of its existence. Nonetheless, the college would make a significant impact within Acadian and English Catholic society by creating a necessary educated class. Father Lefebvre died on 28 January 1895. Three years later, the College was granted university status in 1898. The College remained open until the 1960s when it was absorbed into the

University of Moncton A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

. His life and work are commemorated at Monument Lefebvre where the college was founded, and where he died. His biographer was

Pascal Poirier Pascal Poirier (February 15, 1852 – September 25, 1933) was a Canadian author, lawyer, and the all-time longest-serving Senator. Born in Shediac, New Brunswick, in a big family, he attended College Saint Joseph in Memramcook, New Brunswick ...

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* Canadian Roman Catholic missionaries 1831 births Congregation of Holy Cross 1895 deaths Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) 19th-century Canadian Roman Catholic priests {{RC-clergy-stub