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

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 ...

of North America. 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 Spa ...

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 regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. 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 Pa ...

. 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 Wyandot may refer to: Native American ethnography * Wyandot people, also known as the Huron * Wyandot language * Wyandot religion Places * Wyandot, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Wyandot County, Ohio * Camp Wyandot, a Camp Fire Boys and ...

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 la ...

s to prepare himself for work as a missionary among the American Indian tribes along the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

.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's ...

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 Francis-Xavier de Montmorency-Laval, commonly referred to as François de Laval (30 April 1623 – 6 May 1708), was a French prelate of the Catholic Church. Consecrated a bishop in 1658, he led the Apostolic Vicariate of New France from 1658 to ...

, 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 Nipissing may refer to the following places in Ontario, Canada: * Lake Nipissing * The Nipissing First Nation ** Nipissing 10, reserve of Nipissing First Nation * Nipissing District, a census division ** West Nipissing, an incorporated municipalit ...

Indians who had fled there during the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

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 Oconto is a city in Oconto County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 4,609 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Green Bay Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is located partially within the town of Oconto. History Oconto is h ...

. 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 th ...

and

Mascouten The Mascouten (also ''Mascoutin'', ''Mathkoutench'', ''Muscoden,'' or ''Musketoon'') were a tribe of Algonquian-speaking Native Americans located in the Midwest. They are believed to have dwelt on both sides of the Mississippi River, adjacent to ...

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 Sault Ste. Marie ( ') is the only city in, and county seat of, Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. With a population of 13,337 at the 2020 census, it is the second-most populated city in the Upper Peninsula after Marquette. It i ...

, 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 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 De Pere ( ) is a city located in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 25,410 according to the 2020 Census. De Pere is part of the Green Bay Metropolitan Statistical Area. History At the arrival of the first European, J ...

. 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 Igna ...

, 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 Roc ...

. 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 Whitefish Bay is a large bay on the eastern end of Lake Superior between Michigan, United States, and Ontario, Canada. It is located between Whitefish Point in Michigan and Whiskey Point along the more rugged, largely wilderness Canadian Shield o ...

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 th ...

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 cities ...

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 The Illinois Confederation, also referred to as the Illiniwek or Illini, were made up of 12 to 13 tribes who lived in the Mississippi River Valley. Eventually member tribes occupied an area reaching from Lake Michicigao (Michigan) to Iowa, Illi ...

. He is reputed to have baptized around 10,000 neophytes.

Legacy

* The village of

Allouez, Wisconsin Allouez is a village in Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 13,975 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Green Bay Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Allouez is located between Green Bay to the north, and De ...

, 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 an ...

in Northern Michigan * Claude Allouez Bridge over the Fox River in

* Allouez Bay near the mouth of the St. Louis River 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 Kewee ...

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 t ...

* 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