François de Laval

Life events

1. Born — 1623

   François de Laval was born on 30 April 1623 in Montigny-sur-Avre in the ancient Province of Perche. His father Hugues de Laval was Seigneur of Montigny; his mother Michelle de Péricard came from a family of hereditary officers of the Crown in Normandy.

2. Tonsured — 1631

   At around age eight Laval received the tonsure and took minor orders, then entered the Collège Henri-IV at La Flèche — an institution for the sons of elite families — where contact with reports of Jesuit missions to the Huron in Canada shaped his ambitions.

3. Ordained — 1647

   Laval was ordained a priest on 1 May 1647. The Bishop of Évreux subsequently appointed him archdeacon of the diocese in December 1647, a post overseeing 155 parishes and four chapels.

4. Consecrated — 1658

   On 8 December 1658, Laval received episcopal consecration at the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris from Cardinal Celio Piccolomini, Apostolic Nuncio to France, with Bishop Hardouin de Péréfixe de Beaumont and Bishop André du Saussay as co-consecrators. The papal bulls of 3 June 1658 had appointed him Apostolic Vicar of New France and titular bishop of Petra in Palestina.

5. Other — 1659

   Laval sailed from La Rochelle on 13 April 1659 and arrived at Quebec on 16 June 1659, immediately baptizing a young Huron and administering last sacraments to a dying man on the day of his arrival.

6. Other — 1663

   The Major Seminary of Quebec (Séminaire de Québec) opened on 26 March 1663, affiliated with the Séminaire des Missions Étrangères in Paris; in October 1668 Laval added a minor seminary to train boys of both French and indigenous origins for the priesthood.

7. Other — 1674

   The Holy See established the Diocese of Quebec on 1 October 1674, naming Laval as its first bishop — the culmination of fifteen years serving as Apostolic Vicar since his arrival in 1659.

8. Died — 1708

   Laval died on 6 May 1708 in Quebec after developing an ulcer that had progressed since 1707. His body was interred in the cathedral while his heart was preserved in the chapel of the Séminaire de Québec, to which he had devoted most of his life and fortune.

Relationships

Documented claims

• When the Holy See established the Diocese of Quebec on 1 October 1674, Laval became its first bishop — the culmination of fifteen years serving as Apostolic Vicar since 1659. (certain)
• To fund the Séminaire de Québec, Laval donated most of his personal fortune to the institution and persuaded King Louis XIV to grant him the income of three abbeys in France. (likely)
• Laval repeatedly imposed and threatened excommunication against colonists who sold alcohol to indigenous peoples, bringing him into sustained conflict with successive governors of New France. On 24 May 1679 he secured a royal decree banning the trade. (likely)
• After the deaths of his two eldest brothers at the battles of Nördlingen (1634) and Freiburg (1644) made him family heir, Laval renounced his rights of primogeniture so he could continue his ecclesiastical career, passing the succession to his brother Jean-Louis. (likely)
• Laval's cause was formally opened on 24 September 1890; he was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 22 June 1980 and received equivalent canonization from Pope Francis on 3 April 2014. (certain)