Jean-Baptiste-Zacharie Bolduc (30 November 1818 – 8 May 1889) was a

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

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 ...

. His career started as a missionary in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

, where he resided for eight years. Later he worked in the

Catholic 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 ...

medical efforts in

Québec Quebec is Canada's 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, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

Early life

Jean-Baptiste Bolduc was born in

Saint-Joachim Saint-Joachim (; ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. It is in the centre of the Brière marsh, and comprises a group of "islands" within the marsh. Population See also *Communes of the Loire-Atlantique depar ...

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 ...

and ordained as a priest on 22 August 1841.Allaire, Jean-Baptiste A
''Dictionnaire biographique du clerge canadien-francais.''
Montreal: Impr. de l'Ecole catholique des sourds-muets. 1910, p. 63.

Polynesia

Along with Antoine Langlois, another Catholic priest, Bolduc was sent to aid Catholic conversion efforts in the

, with the two priests sailing from

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

on 14 September 1841. Their vessel visited the port of

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

at the end of December, where they waited for 63 days for another ship to continue ferrying them. A tour of the

Polynesian Triangle The Polynesian Triangle is a region of the Pacific Ocean with three island groups at its corners: Hawaii (''Hawaiʻi''), Easter Island (''Rapa Nui'') and New Zealand (''Aotearoa''). This is often used as a simple way to define Polynesia. Outsi ...

commenced, with the

Gambier Islands The Gambier Islands ( or ) are an archipelago in French Polynesia, located at the southeast terminus of the Tuamotu archipelago. They cover an area of , and are made up of the Mangareva Islands, a group of high islands remnants of a caldera alo ...

visited first. The

Kingdom of Tahiti The Kingdom of Tahiti or the Tahitian Kingdom was a Polynesian monarchy founded by paramount chief Pōmare I, who, with the aid of British missionaries and traders, and European weaponry, unified the islands of Tahiti, Moʻorea, Teti‘aroa, ...

was reached on 5 May 1842. The two priests had a meeting with Queen

Pōmare IV Pōmare IV (28 February 1813 – 17 September 1877), more properly ʻAimata Pōmare IV Vahine-o-Punuateraʻitua (otherwise known as ʻAimata – "eye-eater", after an old custom of the ruler to eat the eye of the defeated foe), was the Queen of ...

to explain their status as British subjects rather than French.Landerholm (1956), pp. 130-134. Next their ship sailed for the

Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ɛ ɐwˈpuni həˈvɐjʔi, was an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaii ...

, the voyage ending on 21 June. The priests were greeted by fellow Catholic

Louis Désiré Maigret Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also * ...

, who informed them that they had to wait several days for the next ship to visit

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, 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 ...

barge ''Cowlitz''. Bolduc occupied his time by teaching at a school for

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...

children. The ''Cowlitz'' entered Honolulu on 1 August and departed for the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

on the 18th.Landerholm (1956), p. 143.

Pacific Northwest

The priests disembarked at Fort George on 19 September, where they met priests from the

Methodist Mission The Methodist Mission was the Methodist Episcopal Church's 19th-century conversion efforts in the Pacific Northwest. Local Indigenous cultures were introduced to western culture and Christianity. Superintendent Jason Lee (missionary), Jason Lee was ...

departing for the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

. Plying the Columbia on a canoe, the priests were greeted by

John McLoughlin John McLoughlin, baptized Jean-Baptiste McLoughlin, (October 19, 1784 – September 3, 1857) was a French-Canadian, later American, Chief Factor and Superintendent of the Columbia District of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver from 1 ...

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 ...

on 15 October. Traveling through 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

Oregon City Oregon City is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, located on the Willamette River near the southern limits of the Portland metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 37,572. Established in 1829 ...

, the two Jesuits reached

St. Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

on 17 October.Landerholm (1956), p. 145. Waiting for them was their superior,

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 ...

François Blanchet, who, after having the men join him in performing religious services, gave them their appointments. Bolduc was to winter at the St. Francis Xavier Mission while Langlois was to remain at St. Paul. On 30 October Bolduc reached St. Francis Xavier, the church still under construction. He found many Cowlitz "still infidels, who do not want to give up their superstitions at all to submit to the yoke of the gospel." Despite this a former slave freed by

Modeste Demers Modeste Demers (11 October 1809 – 28 July 1871) was a Roman Catholic Bishop and missionary in the Oregon Country. A native of Quebec, he traveled overland to the Pacific Northwest and preached in the Willamette Valley and later in what would bec ...

gave valuable service as a translator, and many Cowlitzes requested baptisms when near death. He witnessed an eruption of Mount St. Helens on 5 December.Landerholm (1956), pp. 148-149. Bolduc was eager to explore the northern

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

, along with

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 ...

, to locate the site of a permanent missionary station. He joined James Douglas and a detachment of HBC employees at

Fort Nisqually Fort Nisqually was an important fur trade, fur trading and farming post of the Hudson's Bay Company in the Puget Sound area, part of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department. It was located in what is now DuPont, Washington. Today it is a ...

on 10 March 1843. Douglas was leading the party to Vancouver Island to establish Fort Victoria. Departing on the ''Beaver'' on the 13th, the party reached

Whidbey Island Whidbey Island (historical spellings Whidby, Whitbey, or Whitby) is the largest of the islands composing Island County, Washington, Island County, Washington (state), Washington, in the United States, and the largest island in Washington stat ...

the next day. A temporary chapel was constructed out of sailing canvas and pine by several HBC employees. Bolduc estimated that a gathering of 1,200

Klallam The Klallam (; also known as the S'Klallam or Clallam) are a Coast Salish people Indigenous to the northern Olympic Peninsula. The language of the Klallam is the Klallam language (), a language closely related to the North Straits Salish lang ...

s, Cowichans and

Songhees The Lekwungen peoples (natively lək̓ʷəŋən) are a Coast Salish people who reside on southeastern Vancouver Island, British Columbia in the Greater Victoria area. They are represented by the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations. Their trad ...

was convened on the 19th, a Sunday, to hear his sermon.Landerholm (1956), pp. 194-195. After the sermon he prepared to visit islands within the Puget Sound. As his expected vessel was delayed, Bolduc hired the services of several new converts to escort him to Whidbey Island. Manned by a Cowichan noble and ten of his servants, Bolduc's rented canoe sailed south on 24 March and reached the island the next day. Bolduc spent several days waiting for Netlam, a prominent nobleman among the Lower Skagit tribe. Netlam had sailed north to Vancouver prior to Bolduc's arrival, expecting to accompany the priest to his village.Landerholm (1956), pp. 196-198. After returning to his residency, Netlam promised to order the construction of a house for Bolduc. Over 200 men created a dwelling with the dimensions of 28 by 25 feet in two days. Bolduc was pleased with the gesture, reporting that "Certainly the timbers were round; but the roof was covered with cedar bark and interior covered in rush matting." He went on to perform baptisms, hold prayer sessions and teach canticles to Skagit and Klallam inhabitants. While there was rapt interest in canticles, the language barriers prevented an effective explanation of Catholic theology. He additionally stated that "During my stay among them I had experienced only comforts from them." Bolduc departed on 3 April for Fort Nisqually and thence on to St. Francis Xavier Mission. He left the Mission in October 1844 for a school in the Willamette Valley for primarily the children of American and French-Canadian farmers, where he remained throughout 1845.Landerholm (1956), p. 240.

Quebec

Departing from the Pacific Northwest in 1850, Bolduc attended the

Séminaire de Québec The Seminary of Quebec (French: , ) is a Catholic Church, Catholic community of Secular clergy, diocesan priests in Quebec City founded by Bishop François de Laval, the first bishop of New France in 1663. History The Séminaire de Québec is ...

for a year. He acted as

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

of Saint-Roch, along with serving as chaplain of the naval hospital in

Québec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a population of 839,311. It is the twelfth -lar ...

from 1851 to 1867. From 1851 to his death, Bolduc was chaplain of an asylum. Additional he served as

Prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec 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 Primate (bishop), primatial see of Can ...

from 1867 until 1899.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolduc, Jean-Baptiste-Zacharie 1818 births 1889 deaths Canadian Roman Catholic missionaries Oregon Country Clergy from Oregon 19th-century Canadian Jesuits Jesuit missionaries Roman Catholic missionaries in Canada Roman Catholic missionaries in the United States Pre-Confederation Canadian expatriates in the United States Roman Catholic medical missionaries 19th-century American clergy