St. Isaac Jogues and the North American Martyrs are rather well known as the Patron Saints of North America. They were all French Jesuits who worked among the Native Americans around the Great Lakes in the 1640s. These 8 missionaries were all canonized by Pope Pius IX in 1930. (Note – Fr Jacques Marquette was assigned as a missionary at the same location in New France some 15 years later.)
Fr. Joques was captured and tortured by hostile Iroquios in 1642 and some of his fingers were cut off including his thumb. After serving as a slave to the Indian Chief for a year he escaped and made his way to New York with the help of a Reformed minister. After sailing back to France, and because of his courage, he was granted an exception to continue to say Mass by the Pope even though his fingers had been mutilated and he was unable to hold the host correctly. He was viewed as a living martyr by many, Catholics and non-Catholics alike. Fr Jogues demonstrated even more courage by returning to New France in 1646 where he was martyred later that year.
Fr. Jogues’ life and death remind us of what he was able to endure to share the Gospel with others. This raises a question for each of us. “What keeps me from telling others about Jesus?” St Isaac Jogues, pray for us.
