St. Isaac Jogues was born in 1607 in Orleans, France. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1624. As a Jesuit missionary, he went to Quebec, Canada. There he worked among the Hurons, explaining to them the Gospel of Jesus Christ and baptizing those who asked to become Christians. In 1642, some Iroquois warriors captured him, five other French Jesuits, and two French laymen.
For a year, St. Isaac Jogues suffered terrible torture with his companions. But the Dutch helped him to escape, and he went back to France. In 1644, he asked to return to Quebec. While he was on his way to the Iroquois, after a peace treaty had been signed with that tribe, he was captured by Mohawks and killed.
St. John de Brebeuf became a Jesuit after a battle with tuberculosis. He and St. Gabriel Lallemont were among the group of valiant Jesuits tortured and put to death by the Iroquois.
Father Anthony Daniel had just finished celebrating Mass for his Huron converts when the Iroquois attacked the village. The Christian Indians begged him to try to escape, but Father Daniel stayed to baptize all those who were crying to him for Baptism before they would be killed. The Iroquois burned him to death in his little chapel.
St. Charles Garnier was shot by an Iroquois musket during a surprise attack, but he still tried to crawl to help a dying man. He was killed by a hatchet blow.
Father Noel Chabanel had found missionary life in the New World very hard, but had made a vow to stay in North America. He was killed by a Huron traitor.
The two lay helpers, Rene Goupil and John Lalande, were both killed with tomahawks. So it was that these heroes of Christ gave their lives for the native people of North America.
These brave men, often called the North American Martyrs, were proclaimed saints in 1931 by Pope Pius XI.
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Many sins committed today offend the dignity of human beings. We can ask these martyrs to share with us their great love and respect for all people. We can ask them to give us their great "missionary hearts."
