Joseph-Norbert Provencher (February 12, 1787 – June 7, 1853) was a Canadian
clergyman
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
and
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 one of the founders of the modern province of
Manitoba
, image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg
, map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada
, Label_map = yes
, coordinates =
, capital = Win ...
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
in 1811. For several years he served as curate in various parishes. In 1818 he and two other priests were sent by
Joseph-Octave Plessis
Joseph-Octave Plessis (March 3, 1763 – December 4, 1825) was a Canadian Roman Catholic clergyman from Quebec. He was the first archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec after the diocese was elevated to the status of an archdiocese. ...
Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas th ...
, a main share-holder in 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 ...
gave the missionaries land on the east bank of the Red River. They immediately set to work to build a house before winter. Part of the building served as a chapel, which Provencher dedicated to famous missionary,
Saint Boniface
Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations o ...
. The mission at
Saint Boniface
Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations o ...
was highly successful; he baptized many of the local First Nations and
Métis
The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which deri ...
residents as well as many European settlers. In 1819, Provencher was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Quebec with the titular title of Bishop of Juliopolis, and vicar general for the northwest. He was consecrated at Trois-Rivières in 1822.
He returned to St. Boniface and built the school which is now known as the Université de Saint-Boniface, and in 1832
Saint-Boniface Cathedral
Saint Boniface Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Saint-Boniface) is a Roman Catholic cathedral of Saint Boniface, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is an important building in Winnipeg, and is the principal church in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sai ...
. In 1838, he founded a school to teach the weaving of wool provided by sheep brought into the colony. The Canadian settlers resisted his efforts to regularize concubinage with Indian and Metis women as they preferred the "“this liberty of being able to get rid of their wives.”
In 1844, Provencher was appointed head of the newly formed Vicariate Apostolic of James Bay; the Vicariate was elevated to the Diocese of Northwest in 1847 and he was appointed its first bishop. It was renamed the Diocese of Saint Boniface in 1851.
In 1843 Provencher went to Europe to recruit some religious men and women. In 1846, Despite the misgivings of the superior in Canada, Eugène de Mazenod,
Bishop of Marseille
The Archdiocese of Marseille (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Massiliensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Marseille'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France.Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate dispatched two priests to the vicariate. In 1850, Alexandre-Antonin Taché O.M.I. was named coadjutor bishop to Bishop Provencher. He established Indian missions at
Lac Sainte-Anne
Lac is the resinous secretion of a number of species of lac insects, of which the most commonly cultivated is ''Kerria lacca''.
Cultivation begins when a farmer gets a stick that contains eggs ready to hatch and ties it to the tree to be infes ...
Jean-Baptiste Thibault
Jean-Baptiste Thibault (14 December 1810 – 4 April 1879) was a Roman Catholic priest and missionary noted for his role in negotiating on behalf of the Government of Canada during the Red River Rebellion of 1869–1870. He also established the fir ...