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

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

missionary and French

explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

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

Biography

Allouez was born in Saint-Didier-en-Velay in the

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

Haute-Loire Haute-Loire (; 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, Lozère, Canta ...

in south-central

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

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

Toulouse, France Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

. In 1655, he was ordained a priest of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. 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 Algon ...

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

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

.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 or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

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 Catholic prelate who served as Apostolic Vicar of New France from 1658 to 1674 and as Bishop of Quebec from its creat ...

, the first

bishop of New France The Archdiocese of Québec (; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Quebec, Canada. It is the oldest episcopal see in the New World north of Mexico and the primatial see of Canada. The Archdioc ...

.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 ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

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 and county seat of Oconto County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 4,609 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Green Bay metropolitan area. The city is located partially within the town of Oconto. History Oconto ...

. He served as a missionary to the

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

. The Menominee began participating in the fur trade network and converting to Christianity. The next year he was with the

Meskwaki The Meskwaki (sometimes spelled Mesquaki), also known by the European exonyms Fox Indians or the Fox, are a Native American people. They have been closely linked to the Sauk people of the same language family. In the Meskwaki language, th ...

, establishing St. Mark's Mission, and founding the mission of St. James among the

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

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 ...

peoples, 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 a city in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Chippewa County, Michigan, Chippewa County and is the only city within the county. With a population of ...

, 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 in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 25,410 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is part of the Green Bay metropolitan area. History When the first European, Jean Nicolet, visited the p ...

. This became his base until word arrived of the death of

Jacques Marquette Jacques Marquette, Society of Jesus, S.J. (; June 1, 1637 – May 18, 1675), sometimes known as Père Marquette or James Marquette, was a French Society of Jesus, Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Ste. M ...

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

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. 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 ...

and reached

Kaskaskia The Kaskaskia were a historical Indigenous people 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 County, Michigan, Berrien and Cass County, Michigan, Cass counties in the U.S. state of Michigan, near the Indiana state line city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. The population was 11,988 according to the 2020 Unit ...

just north of

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

. 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 ( , ; ; ; ) 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 and "Mitchimakinak" in Ojibwemowin, meaning "Great Turtle". It is located in ...

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 Superior (; ) is a city in Douglas County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 26,751 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located at the western end of Lake Superior in northwestern Wisconsin, the city l ...

, situated on Allouez Bay * Allouez Township in

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

* 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 17th-century French explorers People from pre-statehood Michigan People from pre-statehood Wisconsin