The Liturgy in the Jesuit Relations, 1610-1650

In 1930, Pope Pius XI canonized the group of missionaries, known as the eight North American Martyrs, whose feast the Catholic Church now celebrates every October 19. The Jesuits in Quebec, New France, published for some time in the seventeenth century a high-quality literary report or chronicles known as the Relations des Jésuites de la Nouvelle-France. A section of these chronicles presented the Mass and the sacraments developed with the Hurons who had joined the Church. This aspect had been neglected for more recent study. Hungarian Bishop Attila Miklósházy SJ, directed a thesis in Toronto to fill this gap. The core of the study is presented here. This was the liturgy before the Jesuit missionaries and their Huron allies were massacred and became the North American Martyrs.