Francis-Xavier de Montmorency-Laval, commonly referred to as François de Laval (French pronunciation: [fʁɑ̃swa də laval]; 30 April 1623 – 6 May 1708), was considered the founder of the Catholic faith in New France. He was a French Catholic prelate who served as Apostolic Vicar of New France from 1658 to 1674. In 1674, he was given the diocese, making him the first bishop of Quebec. He held this position until he retired due to poor health in 1688. He continued to work in New France until his death in 1708.
Among his accomplishments was the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663. Laval was a member of the Montmorency family via cadet branch of the House of Laval, but renounced his rights as heir so he could pursue his ecclesiastical career.
He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 22 June 1980 and Pope Francis declared him a saint on 3 April 2014.
Contents
Early life
Laval was born on 30 April 1623 in Montigny-Sur-Avre in the ancient Province of Perche, now the Department of Eure-et-Loir. His father Hugues de Laval, a member of the House of Laval, was the Seigneur of Montigny, Montbaudry, Alaincourt and Revercourt. His mother Michelle de Péricard (daughter of Nicolas Péricard and Anne de Chantelou) was from a family of hereditary officers of the Crown in Normandy. Her brother was François de Péricard, bishop of Évreux. Despite his family's heritage, his parents were not considered to be wealthy. Montigny was considered equivalent to a good-sized market-town. François (Francis) was baptized on 30 April 1623 in St. Martin's Church in Montigny-sur-Avre. He was named after Francis Xavier canonized in 1622, by Pope Gregory XV. Laval had five brothers and two sisters. His youngest brother Henri entered the Benedictine Order and his sister Anne Charlotte entered the Congregation of Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. He was a descendant of John of Brienne, Berengaria of León, Louis of Brienne, Guy VII de Laval and Matthew II of Montmorency.
Laval's mother served as an example of piety and encouraged him to be charitable to those who were less fortunate. Often described as destined for an ecclesiastical lifestyle, Laval was recognized as a clear-sighted and intelligent boy and he was admitted into the "privileged ranks of those who comprised the Congregation of the Holy Virgin." This was a society founded by the Jesuits, who aimed to inspire young people to adopt religious lifestyles, and encouraged regular prayer and spiritual practices. At the age of eight, Laval received the tonsure and took minor orders, which then allowed him to enter the College of La Flèche (Collège Henri-IV) in 1631, an institution that educated the sons of elite families and guaranteed him a good education. There Laval came into contact with reports of the Jesuit missions to the Huron in Canada, which inspired him to become a missionary, like his patron saint Francis Xavier.
In 1637, Laval was appointed a canon of the Cathedral of Évreux by the Bishop of Évreux. The death of Laval's father in September 1636 left his family in a precarious financial situation. François received revenue from the prebend attached to his position as a canon, which allowed him to continue his education. Once he completed his classical education at the age of nineteen, Laval left La Flèche to study philosophy and theology at the College de Clermont in Paris.
However the death of his two oldest brothers in the battles at Nördlingen in 1634 and Freiburg in 1644 made him the head of the family. His mother, the Bishop of Évreux, and his cousin all argued he should abandon his ecclesiastical career. Instead Laval helped his mother settle the family's affairs and renounced his rights of primogeniture, which then passed to his brother Jean-Louis.
New France
Background
New France had no bishop for the first 50 years of its European settlement. Colonial religious officials, either Recollects or Jesuits, managed spiritual affairs. In 1646, under pressure from Rome, the Archbishop of Rouen was recognized as the authority over the Church in New France, but his authority was limited to granting faculties to clergy traveling to the colony. Yet no one denied the need for an established ecclesiastical presence.
Appointing a bishop was a contentious issue disputed between the Jesuits and the newly arrived Sulpicians. The former were quite accustomed to working independently and they believed a Sulpician bishop would make the Church in the colony subordinate to the Crown. The Sulpicians proposed one of their own, Gabriel Thubières de Levy de Queylus, as bishop, while the Jesuits supported Laval and gained royal approval easily with the support of the queen mother, Anne of Austria. Securing papal confirmation was another challenge.
The Holy See remained reserved regarding Laval's nomination, as the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith wanted to assert papal authority in the colony rather than allow the Jesuits to exercise control in a new diocese that was part of the ecclesiastical structure of the Catholic Church in France. Instead of naming Laval bishop of the diocese of New France, he was made a bishop of a newly created apostolic vicariate, a type of jurisdiction directly managed by the Holy See through the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith: the Apostolic Vicariate of New France.
Vicariate of New France
On 3 June 1658, the papal bulls were signed appointing Laval vicar apostolic of New France and titular bishop of Petra in Palestina. On 8 December 1658, in the church of the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris, Laval received his episcopal consecration from Cardinal Celio Piccolomini, Apostolic Nuncio to France, assisted by Bishop Hardouin de Péréfixe de Beaumont of Rodez and Bishop André du Saussay of Toul as co-consecrators. Laval took an oath of loyalty to the French king and sailed from La Rochelle for New France on 13 April 1659. On 16 June he arrived at Quebec. He began work immediately and on the day he arrived he baptized a young Huron and gave a dying man his last sacraments.
While small in size, the colony still provided a number of challenges to Laval. He found himself having to make concessions where he never thought to before to a population that, while scarce, was spread out, and was less inclined to continue under strict church discipline. Additionally, he had to deal with the Sulpician de Queylus, who had been managing Church affairs in the colony as vicar general under the authority of the Archbishop of Rouen, who continued to claim ecclesiastical jurisdiction over New France. De Queylus continued to assert his authority for nearly two years, while Laval repeatedly appealed to the king and the Holy See for support.
Laval struggled a great deal throughout his career to defend the church's power against state intrusion. Upon his arrival, Laval was adamant in asserting his primacy over the governor. He was immediately in opposition with Governor d’Argenson, particularly regarding ceremony and protocol. Also, the issue of selling alcohol to the natives further fueled their feud. Laval believed that intoxicated natives were an embarrassment to the colony and endangered the lives of those around them. He quickly imposed the threat of excommunication on those who continued to deal in this trade. Governor D’Argenson abhorred this action, deeming it an intrusion of church into state affairs.
D’Argenson soon resigned and was replaced by d’Avaugour, who, in order to avoid any conflict with Laval, decreed harsh penalties against anyone caught selling alcohol to the natives. One such case was that of Daniel Vuil, who was executed in October 1661 after Laval had excommunicated Vuil in February for religious offences. Laval was displeased, believing that excommunication was a far more humane consequence. When alcohol was again being sold freely to natives, in a moment of despair over the state of New France, Laval departed for France in August 1662 to consult with King Louis XIV on the matter. Laval succeeded in bringing about d’Avaugour's recall the following year.
Diocese of Quebec
In 1674, fifteen years after his arrival in New France, Laval asked that the vicariate be promoted to a diocese. The Holy See established the Diocese of Quebec on 1 October 1674, naming Laval as its first bishop.
He revisited the issue of alcohol sales to the indigenous peoples. In 1675, Laval, over the objections of Governor Louis de Buade de Frontenac, excommunicated all who sold alcohol to them. On 24 May 1679 Laval succeeded in obtaining a royal decree banning the trade.
In 1678, he obtained a royal edict stating that permanent curacies would be established in the colony. In 1681, he drew up the boundaries of parishes.
Retirement
Laval eventually realised that his health was declining and that he could no longer run his large diocese, which extended from Acadia to Lake Michigan. In 1688, he passed on his responsibilities as bishop to Jean-Baptiste de La Croix de Chevrières de Saint-Vallier.
Laval continued to collaborate with the colony's high religious authorities, until his last days. He helped the poor with his presence and his gifts of charity. He never missed a Mass or a day of fasting, despite his ever declining health. By 1707, he had developed an ulcer which eventually took his life on 6 May 1708. His body was placed in a coffin in the cathedral; however his heart was kept in the chapel of the seminary to which he had dedicated most of his life and fortune.
Veneration
Laval's remains have been entombed in a shrine for personal veneration in the Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec. His cause was formally opened on 24 September 1890, granting him the title of Servant of God. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1980. He was granted Equivalent canonization on 3 April 2014 by Pope Francis.
In 1663, Laval founded Séminaire de Québec and in 1852 it was named renamed to Université Laval in his honour. The city of Laval, Quebec, immediately north of Montreal, is also named after him.