Modeste Demers (11 October 1809 – 28 July 1871) was a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

Bishop and missionary in the

Oregon Country Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been created by the Treaty of 1818, c ...

. A native of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

, he traveled overland to the Pacific Northwest and preached in the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long 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 ...

and later in what would become

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

Early life

Modeste Demers was born 11 October 1809, in Saint-Nicolas, Quebec, in

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec ...

.Corning, Howard M. ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956. Of French descent, he studied at the seminary of Quebec and was ordained on February 7, 1836 by Archbishop Joseph Signay. After becoming a priest in 1836, he left the following year to be a missionary at the

Red River Colony The Red River Colony (or Selkirk Settlement), also known as Assinboia, was a colonization project set up in 1811 by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, on of land in British North America. This land was granted to Douglas by the Hudson's Ba ...

. There he worked under the direction of Bishop Joseph-Norbert Provencher. His stay there was short and he traveled to the

with

François Norbert Blanchet François Norbert Blanchet (September 30, 1795 – June 18, 1883) was a French Canadian-born missionary priest and prelate of the Catholic Church who was instrumental in establishing the Catholic Church presence in the Pacific Northwest. He was ...

to perform his duties as a priest and missionary. (See St. Paul's Mission.)

Oregon Country

In 1838, Demers arrived with Blanchet in the Willamette Valley of what would become the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

. Demers quickly became immersed in the work with the local trading post staff and the

Chinookan The Chinookan languages were a small family of languages spoken in Oregon and Washington along the Columbia River by Chinook peoples. Although the last known native speaker of any Chinookan language died in 2012, the 2009-2013 American Community ...

nation. For the Chinooks, he quickly learned the language and worked on a dictionary, a catechism, a prayer book, and hymns in that language. In 1844, he became the first priest at Oregon City.

British Columbia

Demers’ work carried him north to present day British Columbia where his knowledge of the French and English languages, and his affinity for native languages allowed him to continue his mission. In 1847, Demers was consecrated Bishop of

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 by ...

by Bishop

of Oregon City and also appointed

apostolic administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of the Queen Charlotte Islands and

New Caledonia (Canada) New Caledonia was a fur-trading district of the Hudson's Bay Company that comprised the territory of the north-central portions of present-day British Columbia, Canada. Though not a British colony, New Caledonia was part of the British claim to ...

. It was a diocese which lacked funds and priests and was largely unexposed to Christianity. He worked tirelessly, traveling to raise funds and acquire new priests. As well, he struggled with health problems during his last years. One of his friends was Sir James Douglas who was governor of Vancouver Island and British Columbia and the head of the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trade, fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake b ...

operations in the Columbia District. Demers and Douglas had met when Demers had first arrived at

Fort Vancouver Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading post that 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 located on the northern bank of the ...

. They had interacted in this small colony which was replaced by a much larger and modern society during Demers tenure. He died on 28 July 1871. Modeste Demers, the first Bishop of Victoria, is interred in the crypt of that city's St. Andrew's Cathedral.

References

External links

Biography at ''the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Demers, Modeste Roman Catholic missionaries in Canada Canadian Roman Catholic missionaries 1809 births 1871 deaths 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Canada Oregon clergy Pre-Confederation British Columbia people Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Franco-Columbian people Roman Catholic missionaries in the United States Pre-Confederation Canadian expatriates in the United States Roman Catholic bishops of Victoria in Canada 19th-century American clergy