Saint Who?
Saints Who Were Missionaries
Saint René Goupil
Religious and martyr († 1642) Feast: September 29
René was born in Anjou, France, and became a surgeon. He was thirty-one years old when he tried to enter the Jesuits, who discovered that he was somewhat deaf and refused to admit him. However, René remained committed to evangelizing the native peoples of Canada, and he offered to accompany the Jesuits there anyway. In 1640, still a layman, he arrived in Quebec, and for two years, he cared for the sick at the Saint-Joseph de Sillery mission hospital.
In 1642, Jesuit priest Isaac Jogues, René, and about forty others left Quebec to live among the Hurons, a friendly tribe. As they traveled by canoe, they were attacked by the Iroquois. René and Father Jogues were captured and taken to the village of Ossernenon. The two men encouraged one another as they faced brutal, unspeakable tortures.
During captivity, René asked the priest to allow him to be admitted to the Jesuit order as a lay brother, and Father Jogues agreed. But his service as a Jesuit did not last long. When René made the Sign of the Cross over the head of an Iroquois child to bless him, one of the Iroquois interpreted it as a curse and killed him with a tomahawk. René, who had mentally prepared himself for martyrdom long before that moment, died speaking the name of Jesus.
Lord Jesus Christ, help us to bear our crosses
for the salvation of others.
