Gabriel Lalemant

Who was Gabriel Lalemant?

Saint Gabriel Lalemant was a Jesuit missionary and one of the eight Canadian Martyrs.

In 1630 Lalemant joined the Jesuits and in 1632 took the vow to devote himself to foreign missions. Despite the vow, he spent 14 years in France before going to Canada. He taught at the Collège in Moulins from 1632 to 1635. He was at Bourges from 1635 to 1639 studying theology and then taught at three different schools before arriving in Quebec in September, 1646.

Little is known about Lalemant's stay in Quebec. In September 1648 he was sent to Wendake, the land of the Wendat, as an assistant to Father Jean de Brébeuf. He was first posted to the mission at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons. In February 1649 he replaced Noël Chabanel at the mission of Saint Louis. In March Lalemant and Brébeuf were captured there by the Iroquois and taken to the nearby mission at Saint Ignace. There he was tortured before being killed on March 17, 1649.

Lalemant was the nephew of former Sainte-Marie superior Jérôme Lalemant. At the time of Gabriel's death, his uncle was the superior of Jesuits in Canada. In 1650, he venerated the remains of Jean de Brébeuf and Gabriel Lalemant in Quebec.