Sainte-Marie among the Hurons

Sainte -Marie -au- pays- des- Hurons (English Sainte -Marie among the Hurons ) was a mission station of the Jesuits in Wendake, the land of Wyandot, near present-day Midland, Ontario, Canada. The station at the Georgian Bay, a large bay of Lake Huron, was from 1639 to 1649 and is the first non- Indian settlement in the province dar. became known the station. Due to a massacre of the Hurons by the Iroquois, which also eight Jesuits were killed

In place of the burnt mission station, a " living museum " in which lay people try to convey an impression of life in a mission station of the 17th century through clothing and interior decoration as well as respective performances arose.

History

The French in New France were allied almost from the beginning with the Huron or Wyandot, who were at enmity with the Iroquois League for a long time. So the Jesuits saw a golden opportunity to proselytize among the Hurons. To this end, they established the Huronendorf Quieunonascaranas a mission station, which was promoted by chief Auoindaon. In November 1639 erected a makeshift accommodation 18 missionaries from cypress stands with a birch roof. The walls were sealed with clay. Charles Boivin, the carpenter, built a chapel, a smithy and a kitchen as well as other monastic buildings.

In the station, however, lived not only Jesuits, but also lay brothers and Engages, mostly descendants of the French and Indian women, but also often bonded laborers from France, who had to work off the cost of their passage. The Jesuits tried to learn the language of the Hurons, and adapted the legends and performances to local conditions. The hl. Jean de Brébeuf ( 1593-1649, Head of the Mission Station to 1638 ) wrote, for example, the so-called Huron Carol, a Christmas song. It is the oldest Canadian Christmas song and was written in the Iroquois language of the Hurons, in which it Jesous Ahatonhia said, Jesus is born.

Normally, no soldiers or militiamen held on in the station, as the Jesuits were afraid of their bad influence. The Hurons were in turn the role of the Jesuits seem to disagree. Especially after P. de Brébeuf returned from the unsuccessful proselytizing the Petun or neutral, he won a part of the Hurons as converts. Thus they separated from the traditionalists, who stayed away from the Jesuits, especially since this was said that they einschleppten serious diseases with them, such as smallpox.

With the flare of the war against the Iroquois League, especially against the Seneca, there was a campaign of destruction, of all but wiped out the Hurons. Eight of the missionaries came in these years also killed. When she had to give up in 1649, the station, they put themselves fire. Christophe Regnault was given the task of unearthing the relics of the martyrs de Brébeuf and Lalemant and lead them to safety.

An attempt to create a second, better defending the mission station along with the Hurons, failed because of the harsh winter and the continued Iroquois attacks. Known as Ste Marie II mission on Christian Iceland had to be relinquished.

1844 led the Jesuit priest Pierre Chazelle by first excavations, Félix Martin 1855 continued. But only in 1940, the Order bought the land, and Kenneth Kidd of the Royal Ontario Museum conducted the first archaeological excavation. In 1954, the tombs of the two saints were retrieved (since 1930) Brébeuf and Lalemant.

The now developed into a museum building ensemble is led by Huronia Historical Parks. 1984 Pope John Paul II, the tombs of the martyrs.

On 22 August 2006 a part of the reconstructed buildings was destroyed by a fire. Particularly affected were the chapel, blacksmith and carpentry. The reconstruction is far advanced.