Canadian Martyrs
The Canadian Martyrs were eight Jesuit missionaries from Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, who were martyred in the 17th century in Canada. The Martyrs are St. Jean de Brébeuf (1649), St. Noël Chabanel (1649), St. Antoine Daniel (1648), St. Charles Garnier (1649), St. René Goupil (1642), St. Isaac Jogues (1646), St. John de Lalande (1646), and St. Gabriel Lalemant (1649). They were each killed during the wars between the Huron and Iroquois. They had converted many of the Huron, although even among the Huron tribes they were not universally trusted. Many Huron considered them to be evil spirits who brought death and disease wherever they travelled. The Iroquois considered them legitimate targets as the missionaries were nominally allies of the Huron, and they had often helped organize resistance to Iroquois invasions. They were canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1930. The Martyrs' Shrine church in Midland, Ontario, the site of their missionary work among the Huron, is dedicated to them. They are collectively patron saints of Canada.
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