Loyola College - Review Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

Page 11 text:

LOYOLA COLLEGE REVIEW XOU OSA SOS AOA OCA SOCEM The Triumph of Our Martyrs (о) quois іп the seventeenth ge, century is an event of Fed unique interest in the history of the Church in Canada. The splendor of the function in the great basilica of St. Peter and the enthusiasm of the tens of thousands who were present, was an eloquent tribute to the memory of Jean de Brébeuf and his seven companions. It brought Rome nearer to our own Canada, and made us grateful to the Pontiff who gave his official sanction—the first of its kind— to the heroism displayed by our early apostles. Many servants of God labored in Canada in the past centuries and many of them mdy some day receive the honors of Beatification, but the eight martyrs recently exalted will always remain at the head of the list. The long and intricate process which has been before the Roman tribunals for forty years, but which is now happily ended, raised the veil which hid a heroic period in our annals, and revealed in all their gruesome details the sacrifices those eight missionaries had to make in order to spread the Faith among the Indian tribes. Their Beatification was not merely a gracious acknowledgment of the role they played in the great cause, but it also showed the world how the Catholic Church, sooner or later, rewards those who distinguish themselves in the service of the Master. TO HE recent Beatification b ў of the eight Jesuits who 7 Г (ej were slain by the Iro- When soldiers of the Empire perform brave deeds on the field of battle, their names are mentioned in despatches, their heroism is brought to the notice of the ruler, they are raised in rank in their regiments, medals recalling their daring are pinned to their breasts. It matters little what form the demonstra- tion may take, as long as the heroes are made to feel that they have earned the gratitude of their Country. While her field is wider and her motives loftier, the Church acts on somewhat similar lines. Her heroes are the martyrs. They are the soldiers who distinguished themselves by shed- ding their blood in the service of the King of Heaven. No stronger proof of their loyalty could they give than by yielding up their lives in His service. The Church does not allow such heroism to go unrewarded. Years may pass before the deeds of her martyrs are brought to her notice; it may take other years before the whole story is told of their lives and of their final sacrifices; but when at last the truth is fully brought to light and they are officially recognized as martyrs for the Faith, the honors that this grateful mother showers upon them eclipse all the honor and glory that any State could confer upon its most devoted sons. No triumph ever accorded a Roman emperor can rival the splendor of the ovation which the Church gives her children when she puts them in the ranks of the Beatified. Worldly dis- tinctions, no matter how eminent, have very little meaning beyond the

Page 10 text:

· CANADIAN JESUIT MARTYRS BEATIFIED JUNE 14TH, 1925.

Page 12 text:

12 LOYOLA COLLEGE REVIEW — State that grants them; those con- ferred by the Universal Church are heralded to the ends of the earth. Thus it is in the case of our eight Canadian martyrs, who suffered tor- tures and died for the Faith. After three hundred years Rome has judged, Rome has at last spoken, and has attached to their names a glorious epithet, one that surpasses all earthly honors. Henceforth the whole world is entitled to call them ‘Blessed’; artists may encircle their brows with the halo, which is the Church's official pledge that those eight men fought a good fight and won. Their memories will live; their renown is now secure; nevermore shall they be forgotten. And yet how simple, after all, the whole process seems! The Relations give interesting details of the victories that their heroic devotedness gained over the hearts of red men in the Canadian forests in the seventeenth century. Hidden away in the primeval woods that skirted Georgian Bay and the Mohawk River those eight mis- sionaries lived with the Hurons and the Iroquois, tribes that for centuries had been steeped in the most degrading superstitions; they dwelt with them in their wretched wigwams, shared their coarse food, listened to their ribald conversations, endured their filth, witnessed their vices, yielded to their savage brutality, meanwhile praying for them and teaching them in all joy and patience the sublime doctrines of the Gospel! Aided by Divine grace, they brought thousands of those poor barbarians to a knowledge of the true God, taught them how to live saintly lives and prepared their souls for their life beyond the grave. Apparently God was satisfied with the results of their labors; the moment had come to reward them with the royal gift of a martyr’s crown. The furious Iroquois were the unconscious instruments of His designs, they in- vaded the Huron villages on Georgian Bay, seized the missionaries, tortured “-- them with burning brands, boiling water, sharp awls and red hot toma- hawks. But, while the barbarous Iro- quois tormented the frail bodies of Brebeuf and his brethren, they could not reach their souls. Even in the agony of their sufferings the heroic Jesuits prayed for their executioners. Nature, however, could stand no more; they yielded up their lives at last; but what mattered ?—, they had fought and won! Clothed in their robes of blood they went before the Great Judge to give an account of their stewardship. Those tragic events happened when New France was still a wilderness. Since that distant date many changes have taken place. Generations of men and women have come and gone. With the exception of Brébeuf and Jogues, around whose name s historians have thrown a certain glamor, the memories of those martyrs had nearly faded out. Events moved slowly after 1652, when the first efforts were made to gather testimony regarding those victims of the Iroquois. The records of their supreme acts of fortitude were, it is true, to be found in the Relations; but who had the leisure to consult those rare documents? Wars, revolutions, political upheavals, the change of flags, gave Churchmen in Canada other things to think about. It was only in 1884 that steps were finally taken to bring about their Beatification. The records of their lives, hidden away in musty tomes were taken up and care- fully examined. After forty years of minute investigation the Sacred Con- . gregation of Rites, satisfied that the eight Jesuits had died for the Faith, finally decided to raise them to the altar. The moral grandeur of their martyrdom was a victory. Their con- quest over the powers of darkness was a desire to immortality and power with God. The triumph of the Canadian mar- tyrs is complete. Henceforth we may rejoice with them in their new-found