De la Croix de Chevrieres de Saint-Vallier, Jean-Baptiste (second bishop of Quebec)

De la Croix de Chevrieres de Saint-Vallier, Jean-Baptiste (second bishop of Quebec)

Jean-Baptiste was a Catholic priest stationed in Quebec and did missions in Louisiana, Illinois, Acadia, as well as multiple other parts of Canada. He also founded the Quebec Hopital and donated most of his fortune to the less fortunate.

Quebec, 1685 - 1727

Person

Quebec City; Laval

Alfred Rambaud, “LA CROIX DE CHEVRIÈRES DE SAINT-VALLIER, JEAN-BAPTISTE DE,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 2, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed October 3, 2021, https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/la_croix_de_chevrieres_de_saint_vallier_jean_baptiste_de_2E.html.

1653

Grenoble, France

1727

Quebec City, Quebec

Second bishop; writer

French

Jean-Baptiste de la Croix's family was top-ranking in Dauphiné France. He spent some of his childhood in the Chateau of Saint-Vallier which was previously owned by King Henry II's mistress Diane de Poitiers. When he was 19, Jean-Baptiste entered seminary of Saint-Sulpice in Paris and got his licentiate in theology in 1672. Later on his life, in 1681, he was named a priest. King Louis XIV appointed De la Croix to succeed Bishop Laval in January 1685 to the see of Quebec. He went with a small group to Acadia by boat in 1686 while staying in Canada for 18 months. Through the ice, minimal food, and when spring arrived, the scorching heat and mosquito bites, the group of priests were shocked by his resilience to preach and pray to whoever Frenchmen and Indians they saw. However, he spent his and other people's money so much that by the time he left Quebec the seminary was 10 000 (livres) in debt.

in 1704, Jean made another trip for Canada, but his ship was attacked by the English an he remained their prisoner in the outskirts of London for 5 years. When he was released in 1709, he rushed to Canada after getting word that the number of clergy in Canada had been reduced and the rise of hostility to the church and decline in morality.

in 1713, he went to live at the Hôpital Général, which he was also the founder of. He lived on the poorer side and sold almost everything he owned. Though, he often visited the sick at the hospital and planned a mass for the community every day. The bishop turned weaker every day and died December 26 1727. He was 74.

“Jean-Baptiste De La Croix De Chevrières De Saint-Vallier.” The Canadian Encyclopedia. Accessed October 3, 2021. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/jean-baptiste-de-la-croix-de-chevrieres-de-saint-vallier.
Mgr. de Saint-Vallier et l'Hôpital-Général de Québec (Quebec 1882). h. tÊtu, Les Évêques de Québec (Quebec 1889). a. h. gosselin, L'Église du Canada depuis Mgr. de Laval jusqu'à la conquête, 3 v. (Quebec 1911–14) v.1; Mgr. de Saint-Vallier et son temps (Évreux 1899). a. rambaud, "La Vie orageuse et douloureuse de Mgr. de Saint-Vallier," Revue de l'Université Laval 9 (Oct. 1959) 90–108. f. porter, L'Institution catéchistique au Canada français 1633–1833 (CUA Washington 1949)

“Peinture (Portrait De Mgr Jean-Baptiste De La Croix De Chevrières De Saint-Vallier).” Peinture (Portrait de Mgr Jean-Baptiste de La Croix de Chevrières de Saint-Vallier) - Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec. Accessed October 3, 2021. https://www.patrimoine-culturel.gouv.qc.ca/rpcq/detail.do?methode=consulter&id=201088&type=bien.

Conflict and Change in Early Canadian History (Carleton HIST 1301)

Lynda Yonkeu