Please join the Toronto Jesuit History Research Group on Friday, November 14th, 2025 (1:00–3:00pm ET) for a talk entitled “Hiding in Plain Sight: Open Secrets About the Jesuit Relations from New France,” by Micah True. Professor True is the author of the recently published monograph, The Jesuit Relations: A Biography.
See the attached poster for further details.
Author: haton
The Archives of the Jesuits in Canada is happy to announce the inaugural Indigenous Research Grant. The grant was created to support research on Indigenous topics and by Indigenous students. Preference will be given to Indigenous students.
Amount: CAD 2,500
Deadline: December 1, 2025
Full details are available below. If you have any questions, please write to the AJC at canarchives@jesuites.org or give us a call at 514-387-2541, ext. 318.
Dr. Fannie Dionne and Patricia Prost
15 June 1625. After weeks of sailing across the North Atlantic, the first Jesuits disembarked in Quebec. Fathers Ennemond Massé, Charles Lalemant, and Jean de Brébeuf, accompanied by two brothers, discovered the small town with, among other things, a fort, several houses, and a Recollet convent. That was 400 years ago.
The Archive of the Jesuits in Canada (AJC) contains few traces of this arrival and the early years of Brébeuf and his confreres’ mission. In fact, the records of the Society of Jesus that date from this period, scattered between 1800 and 1842, have only been partially recovered. Among the pieces that allow us to dive back into the period is a map dating back to 1685. The map highlights the presence of the Jesuits and another male religious order: the Recollets.
Recollets and Jesuits 400 years ago
The Jesuits landed in Quebec in 1625, but it was not Fr. Massé’s first transatlantic journey. He had been a missionary in Acadia between 1611 et 1613 before he had to return to France, where he shared the story of his stay with Indigenous peoples. His experience inspired other members of the Society of Jesus and helped set in motion the wheels that would lead to the Jesuit order returning to the French colony.
According to historian Éric Thierry, accounts from the Acadian mission motivated influential Jesuits, such as Fr. Jean de la Bretesche (a relative of the Duke of Ventadour and Cardinal François of La Rochefoucauld) to work behind the scenes to have members of the Society of Jesus sent to Quebec, where Recollet missionaries had been working since 1615.
Although the Recollet had not planned to share their mission with Ignatius of Loyola’s disciplines, they had no choice but to accept their presence once they were faced with a fait accompli. Those in Quebec welcomed the Jesuits to their convent upon their arrival, until the new missionaries could build their first home on the lands of the Notre-Dames-des-Anges seigneury, located on the site of the present-day Cartier-Brébeuf park in the Limoilou neighbourhood. During this period, in collaboration with the Recollets, the Jesuits worked with French Catholics, celebrating mass and feast days, in addition to beginning the first missions in Indigenous communities. As a result, as early as October 1625, Brébeuf departed to spend the winter with the Innu before being sent to the Wendat in 1626 with Fr. Anne de Nouë and the Recollet priest, Joseph de la Roche Daillon.
In 1629, the capture of Quebec by the English forced all religious orders to return to Europe, putting a temporary end to the mission.
The new growth of the Jesuit Mission in Quebec
In 1632, the British returned what was known as “New France” to the French. That same year, the Jesuits were the only religious order that returned to the French colony. Their apostolate then extended across several areas and thousands of kilometers. While many aspects of these missions are not apparent from Villeneuve’s bird’s-eye view of Quebec, this perspective highlights services rendered by the Jesuits to the population in a location close to the colony’s government.
For instance, the Jesuits founded their college in 1635, where they offered the classical course as it was taught in Jesuit colleges in France. The sciences were not neglected as, beginning in 1708, a hydrography course and training courses for pilots and surveyors in the colony were added. The college also housed an important library and an apothecary.
The importance of the Jesuit presence in Quebec is reflected in cartography from that period. Drawn to scale and rich in details, the Plan de la ville et chasteau de Quebec, fait en 1685 mezurée exactement [Map of the city and castle of Quebec made in 1685, exact measurements] enables us to see the location and configuration of the college’s stone buildings that began to replace the first wooden structures in 1648. The Recollets, who returned to the colony in 1670, were present in Villeneuve’s drawing, but at the margins of the map.
This map is the work of engineer and cartographer Robert de Villeneuve. Sent to New France in 1685, he created the map for military purposes, with a view to fortifying the city. We do not know the provenance of this copy of the Villeneuve map. We do know that it was part of the collection of the Jesuit residence on Dauphine Street in Quebec City. It was exhibited in 2012-2013 at the National Museum of the Fine Arts in Quebec, as part of the exhibition entitled Les Arts en Nouvelle-France [The Arts in New France]. Another, even more detailed copy is held by Archives nationales d’outre-mer [The National Overseas Archives] in France, in the Fortification of the Colonies repository.
Villeneuve’s work shows the three wings of the building arranged around a central courtyard. They house both the college and the Jesuit residence. The map also shows the adjoining church, whose construction began in 1666. We can see large gardens and a small stream that ran through the property, as well as a mill below, near the current Côte de la Fabrique.
The AJC holds another original document that attests to the scale and importance of this architectural complex. In 1653, Governor Jean de Lauson ordered the Jesuits to fortify their building so that residents could take refuge there in the event of an attack:
“And since Quebec City is completely open and defenseless, the house of the Reverend Jesuit Fathers is the only place capable of sheltering a large number of people and families in such an event […], we have asked the said Jesuit Fathers to fortify their house in Quebec, to build gun ports and projections to flank it so that it can be defended against enemy attacks, and even to have stone throwers and other small pieces of artillery to defend it.”
Permission de fortifier la maison de Quebec, 10 août 1653. [Permission to fortify the house in Quebec, 10 August 1653.] AJC, Q-1.220.
Villeneuve’s plan gives us an idea of how large buildings in this period have shifted over time and in different ways. For instance, the facade of the complex inhabitant by the Jesuits overlooked what is now the Rue des Jardins in Old Quebec, opposite what was then the Notre-Dame-de-Recouvrance church, now occupied by the Notre-Dame de Quebec cathedral. The Jesuit college changed significantly as well, since it was demolished at the end of the 1870s after having served, among other things, as a military depot and barracks following the seizure of Jesuit property by the British government after their conquest of New France. This site is now occupied by Quebec’s city hall, where the former pediment of the Jesuit college is still prominently displayed.
References
Galarneau, C. (2015). Collège des Jésuites. Dans l’Encyclopédie canadienne. www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/fr/article/college-des-jesuites
Ministère de la Culture et des Communications. Plaque du Collège des jésuites. Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Quebec. https://www.patrimoine-culturel.gouv.qc.ca/rpcq/detail.do?methode=consulter&id=99399&type=bien
Morisset, G. (2003). Villeneuve, Robert de. Dans Dictionnaire biographique du Canada. https://www.biographi.ca/fr/bio/villeneuve_robert_de_1F.html
Ouellet, J. (19 novembre 2015). L’ancien Collège des jésuites (1825). Vues anciennes de Quebec. https://histoireurbaine.wordpress.com/2015/11/19/lancien-college-des-jesuites-1825/#_ftnref9
Labrecque, P. (2006). Historique. Ville de Quebec. Répertoire du patrimoine bâti. Fiche d’un bâtiment patrimonial. Hôtel de ville de Quebec. https://www.ville.quebec.qc.ca/citoyens/patrimoine/bati/fiche.aspx?fiche=6180
Lumbroso, S. (2023). « Recollets contre jésuites, entretien avec Éric Thierry ». Revue d’histoire de la Nouvelle-France, (3), 54–55.
Palomino, J.-F. (2012). Pratiques cartographiques en Nouvelle-France : la prise en charge de l’État dans la description de son espace colonial à l’orée du xviiie siècle. Lumen, 31, 21-39. https://doi.org/10.7202/1013065ar
Turcotte, G. et al. (avril-mai-juin 2008). La présence jésuite à Quebec du 17e siècle à nos jours. Le Brigand, (494), p. 10-12. Une version de cet article est disponible en ligne : https://www.chapelledesjesuites.ca/un-peu-dhistoire/la-presence-des-jesuites-a-quebec-du-17eme-siecle-a-nos-jours/
Ville de Quebec (s. d.). Histoire du Collège des jésuites. Patrimoine. L’archéologie à Quebec. https://archeologie.ville.quebec.qc.ca/sites/college-des-jesuites/histoire-du-college-des-jesuites/
When the Jesuits returned to Canada at the start of the 1840s, they responded to an invitation from the Bishop of Montreal, Mgr Bourget, who dreamed of a new college that would serve the city’s Catholic population. Education, in fact, is a fundamental mission and age-old area of expertise for the Society of Jesus. As the new school year begins, we have decided to share with you some stories unearthed from the archives of the colleges founded by the Jesuits.
GLC C-6.S6.4.119.1
In the early 1940s, during the Second World War, Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf welcomed prestigious guests from among the European nobility.
In May 1940, the Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg and her husband, Prince Félix of Bourbon-Parma, fled the invasion of their country by German forces. After several displacements in Europe, they found refuge in Quebec, as did the Luxembourg government-in-exile. The family first resided in the former seigneurial manor of Saint-Henri of Mascouche, before finally settling in Montreal. Their son, Charles of Luxembourg, joined his cousins, Jacques, Michel, and André of Bourbon-Parma, sons of Prince René of Bourbon-Parma and of Princess Marguerite of Denmark, who attended Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf. For the young exiles, the Jesuit college offered the advantage of an education that was both French and Catholic.
In the college prefect’s diarium—a journal in which the Jesuits recorded the events of the day—their names appear on a list of foreign students, alongside Barons Van der Elst and Léon and Philippe Lambert of Belgium, Count Charles of Chambrun of France, et Viscounts Martel and Romano Obert of Thieusies. Other cousins of Charles, including the children of the former empress of Austria, Zita of Bourbon-Parma, who had been in exile since the fall of the Austro-Hungarian empire, also attended educational establishments in the province of Quebec: Université Laval, Collège Jesus-Marie of Sillery, Collège Saint-Charles-Garnier in Quebec City, and Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague boarding school.
An object of curiosity for the students and staff of the college, Charles of Luxembourg featured on the front page of the October 30, 1940 edition of Brébeuf, the school newspaper. In an article from the October 6, 1941 edition, he recounts his hurried departure from Brussels—where he was staying with his aunt Zita—during the German army’s invasion of Belgium in May 1940. He then narrates his incredible journey across Europe and his family’s departure for America abroad the USS Cruiser Trenton at the invitation of President Roosevelt, who also welcomed them to Washington for dinner. He also describes the emotion of his first meeting with his classmates, and evokes nostalgic memories of his country.
Brébeuf newspaper, 30 October 1940 and 6 October, 1941. GLC C-6.S7.SS5.2.1.2.61, 69.
The prefect’s diarium also contains several newspaper clippings recounting the circumstances surrounding the exile of the grand ducal family and the Luxembourg government to Canada. Collected and assembled in the style of a scrapbook, the diarium also includes more unusual items that testify to the interest generated by the presence of the distinguished guests, such as envelopes addressed to Princes Michel, André, and Jacques of Bourbon-Parma, and a telegram sent to the college by Baronness Lambert (Johanna of Reininghaus) regarding her childrens’ luggage.
Prefect’s diarium, September 1931-July 1945. GLC C-6.S1.SS6.2.3.2.
Under January 8, 1942, an inscription mentions the definitive departure of Princes Michel and André of Bourbon-Parma, and the return of Barons Léon and Philippe Lambert to New York after an illness. Charles attended the college until 1943, where he took his classes in French Elements, Latin Elements, and Syntax.
External Sources
Bernier Arcand, P. (2022). Les Bourbon-Parme dans les institutions d’enseignement du Québec. Histoire Québec, 28 (1), 24-28.
Bernier Arcand, P. (2010). L’exil québécois du gouvernement du Luxembourg. Histoire Québec, 15 (3), 19-26.
Gallery
Join us on June 5, 2025 for our new exhibit on pilgrimage and pilgrimage reports in Canadian Jesuit tradition. More information and registration link below.
Registration: https://forms.gle/v9VqRCCFm57fdZvk8
Questions? Write to CANarchives@jesuites.org or call 514-387-2541, ext. 318.
The Archive of the Jesuits in Canada (AJC) is seeking a candidate for the position of Project Archivist, under the Young Canada Works Program. This is a 24-week position projected to begin on September 22, 2025, and run through March 20, 2026. The AJC is located in Montreal, Quebec. The internship will be on-site, at Maison Bellarmin, in Montreal. The hourly wage for the internship is $22.00 (35 hours per week; 24-week project; unpaid statutory holidays and 10–12-day seasonal break in December/early January).
The AJC provides an access point to its collections, as well as resources concerning the history of the Jesuits in Canada. It supports the research of members of the Jesuit community, genealogists, academic researchers, Indigenous researchers, artists, and students from a variety of disciplines. The archival collection holds more than 1.5 km of textual records, more than 500,000 photographs, more than a thousand maps and cartographic material, hundreds of audio-visual records, as well as born-digital records.
The main objective of the project is the processing of one fonds and one collection that testify to various encounters between Jesuits of Canada and Indigenous peoples. This includes the appraisal, the processing, and the creation of finding aids for the selected collection and fonds. The project also includes the digitization of selected records – mostly textual – pertinent to larger research undertaken at The AJC, related to its commitment to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada with Indigenous peoples, as well as more explicit initiatives in collaboration with Indigenous communities.
The fonds, titled Native Peoples Apostolate, contain correspondence that puts forward initiatives, activities, and relationships between Jesuits and various Indigenous communities. In addition, it includes various reports, studies, and commission reports that offer details about the Jesuit presence alongside Indigenous communities, mostly in Northern Ontario. Moreover, the fonds comprises information about the Anishinable Spiritual Centre and different committee reports. The fonds is comprised of approximately one metre of textual records. The dates of the material range from the early 1900s to the end of the 1990s.
The second project involves the processing of materials created and compiled by Jesuits about Indigenous languages. The collection includes, for example, a vast array of manuscript grammar notes, sermons, prayers, and catechisms in Anishinaabemowin, other Indigenous languages to be identified, and English. The collection also contains annotated published materials. The selected candidate will need to appraise the material and decide, with the help of the Processing Archivist and the Director, if these are included in the collection. Most of the records seem to be from the first part of the twentieth century. The collection contains approximately 2.5 metres of textual records.
TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION WITH INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
The AJC is engaged in a process of truth and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. The AJC supports Indigenous resurgence. The selected candidate will need to demonstrate an understanding of the main challenges regarding archival concepts and practices. The candidate must be familiar with the principles stated in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Calls to Action, the Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Taskforce of the Steering Committee on Canada’s Archives as well as demonstrating a knowledge of national and international strategic orientations and principles concerning Indigenous peoples and associated archival records.
QUALIFICATIONS AND COMPETENCIES
- University-level education in Archival/Information studies or a related field with a demonstrated interest in archival theory and practice, with preference for candidates with a master’s degree in
Information studies with a specialization in Archival studies; - Demonstrated ability in the use of collections management tools and the Rules of Archival Description (RAD);
- Interest in digital archives, including digitization practices and processes;
- Ability to communicate information to small and large groups;
- Oral and written fluency in English, with a working knowledge of French, is required;
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team on collaborative initiatives;
- Ability to develop objectives and to implement procedures.
The material to be processed is in Anishinaabemowin, English, French, and a diversity of Indigenous languages. The selected candidate will need to be able to write in English, as the documentation and the finding aids that concern the project is in English. The working environment of the AJC is in French. Operational activities are delivered in French, English, or both, depending upon the researcher, the initiative, and the intended audience. The selected candidate will need to be comfortable working in a bilingual environment.
The position is in Montreal, Quebec, a city with a diverse population. It is an urban environment with a significant number of universities and cultural institutions.
Preference will be given to Indigenous candidates. Candidates from the Government of Canada’s job equity groups are encouraged to apply / Les candidat.e.s visé.es.
To find more information about the AJC, please visit our website: https://archivesjesuites.ca/
The deadline for applications is May 23, 2025.
Applications, which must include a letter of interest and a curriculum vitae in one Word of PDF file, should be sent to François Dansereau, Director of The Archive of the Jesuits in Canada: CANAJCdirection@jesuites.org.
Candidates must be eligible to the Young Canada Works Program. For more information: https://jeunesse-canada-travail.canada.ca/
We thank all applicants for their interest in this position. Only those selected for the short list will be contacted for an interview. Personal information received from prospective candidates will be used only for this recruitment process.
By Noami Mercier, Project Archivist
On the 25th of November, 1922, François-Xavier Ross (1869-1945) was named the first bishop of Gaspé, a region he already had plans to develop by founding a small seminary. He approached various religious organizations to find one that would accept to take on this responsibility. In 1923, Mgr. Ross wrote to the Jesuit Provincial, Father John Milway Fillion, regarding their potential interest in the project, and a few days later, the latter proposed an arrangement to the bishop, which he also submitted to the Superior General of the Society of Jesus. In January 1924, the Superior General accepted the offer and an agreement was reached: the Jesuits would assume responsibility for the Séminaire de Gaspé.
Architect Pierre Lévesque (1880-1955) was commissioned to design the seminary. The foundations for the building were laid in November 1923, but the work was delayed and only began in 1924.
On September 11, 1926, the Séminaire de Gaspé welcomed its first classes. Four young Jesuits took on teaching duties, assisted by secular priests.
The Séminaire de Gaspé fonds is made up of correspondence that reveals the inner workings of this enterprise and the difficulties it faced in its early years. In the late summer of 1926, Father Olivier H. Beaulieu, rector of the seminary, shared the challenges faced by the seminary with the Provincial, in particular its need for personnel. The bishopric of Gaspé’s difficulty with recruiting personnel was matched by the Jesuits’ struggles to send men who could teach.
Correspondence between Mgr. Ross and the Jesuit provincials over the years highlight these difficulties, but also underscore a sense of pride in the accomplishments of the students and the creation of the seminary. The seminary, despite the obstacles it faced, welcomed students who excelled in intercollegiate competitions. One such successful graduate was the famed journalist and Quebec premier René Lévesque (1922-1987), who appears during his student years in two photographs in the fonds.
In 1938, Mgr. Ross released the Jesuits from their duties and gave the Clercs de Saint-Viateur responsibility over the Séminaire de Gaspé, which they operated until 1947, from which point the diocesan fathers took over responsibility. In 1967, following the recommendations of the Parent Commission (1961-1964), the seminary was replaced by the Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Iles.
The cégep is still housed in the now 100-year old seminary building today–additions were made to the original pavilion, and some facilities were converted to meet new needs. The cégep thus carries the legacy of the Bishop of Gaspé and the Jesuits, who paved the way for access to post-secondary education in a remote, rural region.
To learn more about the Séminaire de Gaspé fonds, please consult the entry in our catalogue.
External sources
Dupuis, S. (2020). La Commission royale d’enquête sur l’enseignement dans la province de Québec (Commission Parent). L’encyclopédie canadienne. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/fr/article/la-commission-royale-d-enquete-sur-l-enseignement-dans-la-province-de-quebec-commission-parent
Lavoie, L. (1995). Mgr François-Xavier Ross. Cap-aux-Diamants, (41), 82. https://www.erudit.org/fr/revues/cd/1995-n41-cd1041903/8713ac.pdf
Gouvernement du Québec. [s.d.] Ancien séminaire de Gaspé. Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec. https://www.patrimoine-culturel.gouv.qc.ca/detail.do?methode=consulter&id=233311&type=bien
Assemblée nationale du Québec. (2016). René Lévesque. https://www.assnat.qc.ca/fr/deputes/levesque-rene-4219/biographie.html
When the Jesuits returned to Canada at the start of the 1840s, they responded to an invitation from the Bishop of Montreal, Mgr Bourget, who dreamed of a new college that would serve the city’s Catholic population. Education, in fact, is a fundamental mission and age-old area of expertise for the Society of Jesus. As the new school year begins, we have decided to share with you some stories unearthed from the archives of the colleges founded by the Jesuits.
On October 24, 1929, the New York Stock Exchange crash marked the beginning of the Great Depression. Throughout the 1930s, the crisis spread throughout the world, and Quebec did not escape from the storm. The Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf–founded barely a year earlier–was not exception, as evidenced by the traces left by the crisis in archival records.
Concerns about the crisis
At the consulte of September 3, 1932, reading financial statements provided an opportunity to take stock of the first four years of the College’s activities. As far as spending was concerned, prudence was the word:
The Fr. Minister finds this severity reasonable, given the Collège’s enormous debt, the economic crisis that could be prolonged, the expenses incurred to make the College appealing, and also given the prospect of constructing the academic hall, which could only be undertaken after a signiticant reduction in debt.
Consultation Registre, 3 September 1932. GLC C-6.S1.SS4.2.1.1.1
The Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf Consultation Registre
The consulte was a body usually made up of three or four experienced members of the Jesuit staff, charged with advising the rector on various matters relating to running the College. From 1928 to 1968, the consultors met with varying frequency–about once or twice a month during the school year–and the minutes from these meetings were recorded in a large registre.
Among other things, they discussed the management of material resources, as well as legal, pedagogical, and disciplinary issues. Between March and July 1934, however, the consultants were mainly preoccupied by financial issues.
On June 3, 1934, concern was expressed about the decline in attendance at the College.
The decrease in the number of students, along with the arrears, complicates the problem of our finances. What can be done to attract students or to avoid losing those who do show up? — Obviously, the high cost of boarding scares off some parents, would it be appropriate to cut our prices?
Consultation Registre, 3 June 1934. GLC C-6.S1.SS4.2.1.1.1
Impacts on the daily life on the College’s students and Jesuit community
To guard against the crisis, the consulters proposed various solutions. On January 19, 1932, the registre reports a decision by the consulte to lighten the budget. There are no small savings and the sacrifices involve going without soft drinks… and ketchup!
On March 2, 1933, for similar reasons, the consultors opposed the installation of a new furnace to provide hot water during the vacation.
Is it worth installing a new furnace to supply hot water for vacations? Again, for the purposes of saving, all declared themselves against the installation. We will keep using the steam furnace for the duration of the housekeeping period, until around July 15, and then we will content ourselves with the small furnace installed near the residence elevator.
Consultation Registre, 2 March 1933. GLC C-6.S1.SS4.2.1.1.1
If these measures concerned first and foremost all members of the Jesuit community, others also had an impact on students’ lives. On June 1, 1933, for example, the consultors proposed that, due to the economic crisis, the award ceremony for sports, which aimed to honor the athletic achievements of students, should be eliminated. Just a few months earlier, on March 2, 1933, the consultors questioned, due to economic worries, the importance of printing the Palmarès, an annual publication that listed the winners of prizes awarded to deserving students. On November 1, 1934, the expenses linked to the conventum of Rhetoric students were called into question:
[…] portraits, rings, banquets, we would like to lower these costs. The portrait and the banquet are authorised by custom, rings less so […].
Consultation Registre, 1 November 1934. GLC C-6.S1.SS4.2.1.1.1
Prosperity returns
The consequences of the crisis went beyond quotidian inconveniences and delayed projects to expand the college. Indeed, despite the vagaries of the crisis, attendance remained high and the need for additional facilities, including an academic hall, a larger library, and a gymnasium, became apparent in the early years. However, thanks to post-war prosperity and a major fundraising campaign led by the Collège, it was not until 1956 that the first step towards this goal was taken with the start of construction work on a new annex, the Pavillon Lalemant.
GLC C-6.S3.SS2.2.2.2.3
The AJC holds the Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf fonds, from its foundation by the Society of Jesus in 1928 to the ceding to a secular corporation in 1986. To read more, please consult our catalogue.
By Noami Mercier, Project Archivist
Louis-Adolphe Huguet-Latour (1812-1904) is one of the few lay people whose archives are held by the AJC. Bequeathed to Collège Sainte-Marie on his death, many of his documents have become part of the largest collection held by the AJC—the Collection des Archives du Collège Sainte-Marie. This practice was common among friends of the Jesuits, educated men who moved in the same circles. This article looks at the contents of his personal fonds, acquired a few decades later.
In 1863, Louis-Adolphe Huguet-Latour published the first edition of the Ville-Marie Directory: the origin, utility, and progress of Montreal’s Catholic Institutions [Annuaire de Ville-Marie : origine, utilité et progrès des institutions catholiques de Montréal]. From the very first pages, he emphasized the importance he attaches to the meticulous work of recording information to preserve and build the memory of societies:
“The gaps that we will inevitably be obliged to leave in our plan will perhaps show how important it is for each parish, each mission, each college or community, each society and even, if you like, each respectable family, to have a distinct book, separate from the accounting registers, in which to record, at the appropriate time, everything that is historically linked and, from its point of view, to each body thus constituted. What beautiful pages we would have today, with this method, on the intimate history of Canada!”
Couverture de L’Annuaire de Ville-Marie, Bibliothèque des Jésuites au Canada.
Born to a bourgeois Montreal family in 1812, Huguet-Latour became a notary in 1847. In the 1850s, he joined the Montreal militia, as his father—also a notary—had done before him.
At the same time, he was involved in several cultural societies, including the Temperance Society of the Diocese of Montreal. His personal involvement was part of a wider social phenomenon that began to gain momentum in the late 1840s, with the movement initiated by Father Charles Chiniquy. Huguet-Latour was also involved in the Montreal Historical Society, founded in 1858 by Jacques Viger, and became its first librarian.
Indeed, it was his interest in Canadian history and his desire to preserve its memory that seems to have truly marked Huguet-Latour’s life. The AJC holds an archival fonds that bears witness to his work collecting data on a wide variety of subjects, from observations on Montreal’s meteorology to an inventory of rare books from the Collège de Montréal, as well as lists of notaries, attorneys, surgeons…
Graph of monthly temperatures in Montreal between 1849 and 1852. GLC BO-81.2.7.1.9.
The fonds also contains documents that do not always concern him directly, but which demonstrate his interest in preserving historical witnesses. Indeed, his historical notes on the history of Lower Canada undoubtedly occupy the most space in this collection. Some of these he used to write his Annuaire de Ville-Marie. He also left the Jesuits a relic and two documents signed by Marguerite Bourgeoys.
Chronological list of the introduction of various tree species into Europe, middle of the 19th century. GLC BO-81.2.5.1.7.
His archival fonds also includes extensive correspondence with various scientific institutes, testifying to his interest in the creation of rich repositories of knowledge. For several decades, Huguet-Latour’s mission was to help these institutions build up their libraries and include writings on Canadian history, by sending them a number of books and brochures.
External sources
Brault, J.-R. 1993. La société historique de Montréal 1858-1993 [The Montreal Historical Society 1858-1993]. Cap-au-diamants 34 : 55.
Saint-Pierre, J. 2002. Le mouvement de la tempérance [The temperance movement]. Encyclobec.
The open-access publication Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal has published an article by AJC director François Dansereau about the AJC’s holdings.
Abstract:
This short article offers information on the scope of archival resources held at The Archive of the Jesuits in Canada (AJC), located in Montreal, Canada. It describes the characteristic of the archival collection, with a focus on historical records that testify to the Jesuits of Canada’s involvement in educational activities and institutions. It concludes by offering reflections on contemporary strategies at The AJC, particularly regarding archival material about Indigenous peoples, and by highlighting The AJC’s support to researchers.
Click here to access the article!