Feast Day: Oct. 19
Born in Normandy in 1593, John entered the Jesuits in 1617 and was ordained in 1622. Despite having tuberculosis, he went as a missionary to New France (Canada) in 1625. He had little success among the Huron Indians, and returned briefly to France when Canada became English. But in 1633, he undertook a second mission and lived with the Hurons for 15 years, producing the first Huron dictionary. In 1649, he and Jesuit Father Gabriel Lalemant were captured in a raid by Iroquois warriors. After indescribable tortures, John died March 16 and Gabriel March 17. They are among the eight Jesuit North American martyrs, the patron saints of Canada and North America whose joint U.S. feast is October 19.
