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Jean de Quen (May in
Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...
,
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 ...
– 8 October 1659, in
Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, 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 populati ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
) was a
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
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, priest and
historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...
. As head of Jesuit missions of
New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...
, he founded the mission to Saguenay. In 1647, Jean de Quen was the first European to reach the shores of Piékouagami (
Lac Saint-Jean Lac Saint-Jean (, ) is a large, relatively shallow lake in south-central Quebec, Canada, in the Laurentian Highlands. It is situated north of the Saint Lawrence River, into which it drains via the Saguenay River. It covers an area of , and is ...
).


Early life

Born , in Amiens,
Picardie Picardy (; Picard and , , ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained its first official recognition in the ...
, Jean de Quen was about 17-years-old when he joined the Jesuits on 13 September 1620. He taught for three years at the Collège in Eu, and then left for New France. He arrived at Quebec on 17 August 1635,Tremblay, Victor. "Quen, Jean de", ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'', vol. 1, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed July 11, 2013
/ref> where he taught at the College of Quebec, which opened that same year for French and
First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...
boys. He taught there for two years before joining the Sillery mission, an initiative aimed at educating the native peoples. He later left the mission and went back to Quebec to minister to the parish of Notre-Dame-de-la-Recouvrance. After a fire destroyed the school, chapel and, Jesuits’ residence in 1640, he resumed his service in Sillery before moving on to a
Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...
post, where he was involved in the establishing another mission. In 1640, he went back to Sillery, and concerned himself with the hospital,
Hôtel-Dieu In French-speaking countries, a hôtel-Dieu () was originally a hospital for the poor and needy, run by the Catholic Church. Nowadays these buildings or institutions have either kept their function as a hospital, the one in Paris being the oldest an ...
. There he wore himself down; he recovered quickly, and was sent to the Trois-Rivières residence. He returned the following year to Sillery, and was in charge of that mission centre for eight years (1642–49). He fulfilled a very active ministry there, which brought him into contact with First Nations individuals from multiple locations, more particularly
Montagnais The Innu/Ilnu ('man, person'), formerly called Montagnais (French for 'mountain people'; ), are the Indigenous Canadians who inhabit northeastern Labrador in present-day Newfoundland and Labrador and some portions of Quebec. They refer to t ...
people, whose language he learned with proficiency.


Tadoussac

In the spring of 1642, Jean de Quen was entrusted with the Montagnais mission, with which he concerned himself for 11 years. This mission had been founded the preceding year at
Tadoussac Tadoussac () is a village municipality in La Haute-Côte-Nord RCM (Regional County Municipality), on the north shore of the maritime section of the estuary of St. Lawrence river, in Côte-Nord region, Quebec, Canada. Geography Tadoussac is ...
, where between spring and the end of August the fur trade brought First Nations people from all parts of the vast territory of the Saguenay. Father de Quen was respected by the Montagnais; with the aid of Fathers Jacques Buteux, Gabriel Druillettes, Martin de Lyonne, and Charles Albanel, he created a form of summer mission suited to the existence of these nomadic peoples, and made it successful. He formed a nucleus of
Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...
whom helped him to reach the most distant groups. It was at Tadoussac that the first stone church in Quebec was constructed, in 1646.


Lac Saint-Jean

No European had as yet officially explored the entire length of the Saguenay and the large lake which appeared on a map produced in 1544, by geographer Jean Alfonse. Previous explorers' attempts at getting to the lake proved futile, because the native peoples “avoided letting the white men know about ..Lake Saint-Jean and the inland route to the Saguenay.” Jean de Quen expressed a desire to visit the members of the Porcupine nation who were prevented from coming to Tadoussac because of disease. He left the Tadoussac mission on 11 July 1647, in a small bark canoe. Bringing two
Montagnais The Innu/Ilnu ('man, person'), formerly called Montagnais (French for 'mountain people'; ), are the Indigenous Canadians who inhabit northeastern Labrador in present-day Newfoundland and Labrador and some portions of Quebec. They refer to t ...
with him as guides, Jean de Quen travelled up the Saguenay to
Chicoutimi Chicoutimi ( , ) is the most populous borough (arrondissement) of the city of Saguenay in Quebec, Canada. It is situated at the confluence of the Saguenay and Chicoutimi rivers. During the 20th century, it became the main administrative and ...
, and took the river of the same name as far as lakes Kenogami and Kénogamishish. The group then entered Lake Saint-Jean via Belle-Rivière. Upon seeing Lac St-Jean, Quen wrote in his journal: :"This lake is so large, that one hardly sees its banks; it seems to be round in shape. It is deep and very full of fish; they fish here for pike, perch, salmon, trout, dories, white-fish, carp, and many other kinds. It is surrounded by a flat country, terminating in high mountains, distant 3, four or five leagues from its shores. It is fed by the waters of fifteen rivers, or thereabout, which serve as highways for the small nations which are back in the country, to come to fish in this lake, and to maintain the intercourse and friendship which they have among themselves." In 1651, Father Jean de Quen founded the Ange-Gardien mission, the first permanent European settlement at Sept-Îles. Quen died of
fever Fever or pyrexia in humans is a symptom of an anti-infection defense mechanism that appears with Human body temperature, body temperature exceeding the normal range caused by an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, s ...
on October 8, 1659, and was buried at Quebec City. His remains were discovered in 1878, and were transferred to the Ursuline chapel in 1891.


Legacy

The Centre d'histoire et d'archéologie de la Métabetchouane contains an exhibition discussing the life and works of Father Jean de Quen, as well as a memorial for the explorer.Métabetchouane Historical and Archaeological Center
The AV Jean de Quen in Quebec is named for him.


References


Sources


Virtual Museum Of New FranceDictionary of Canadian Biography Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quen, Jean de 1600s births 1659 deaths 17th-century French Jesuits French Roman Catholic missionaries 17th-century French historians French explorers of North America Explorers of Canada French male non-fiction writers Roman Catholic missionaries in Canada Jesuit missionaries in New France