|
PIERRE MAILLARD, RELIGIOUS
EDUCATOR
Fr. Pat Fitzpatrick, CSSp
Spiritan Missionary News, Oct. 1994
Edited for website: Fr. Paul McAuley, CSSp
On Sundays, and when the sick or the dying required his attention,
the first priest to come among the Micmac Indians came out, attended
to them and then immediately shut himself up again. He continued this
all winter, until Easter. He then sent word, that if the people would
assemble, he would preach to them. They did so, and to their
astonishment, he spoke Micmac as well and as fluently as any of them.
 When
Pierre Maillard came from the Spiritan Seminary in Paris to
Louisbourg, Cape Breton, in 1735, he was convinced that if he was to
work among the Native People of that island, he would have to he able
to speak to their in their own language. Their astonishment that
Easter Sunday resembled the bewilderment of the people of Jerusalem
that Pentecost Sunday when each of them heard, in his or her native
tongue, the group of apostles in the streets of the city speaking of
the marvels of God.
There was nothing miraculous about Pierre Maillard's fluency. He
spent years learning Micmac idioms and developing a pictorial script
that the people could use. This hieroglyphic script contained more
that 5700 different picture letters to speak to their imagination. In
addition, he wrote the first Micmac grammar and dictionary, he
produced religious handbooks containing prayers, hymns, sermons and
forms for celebrating baptisms, marriages and funerals. When the
government no longer allowed resident missionaries to work among the
people, their chiefs would gather them in their villages for Sunday
services, read Fr. Maillard's "sacred text" and comment on
his written sermon. Then they would say the prayers and sing the
songs taught by Fr. Maillard. The missionary was no longer there, but
the Micmac book had taken his place.
In 1740 Pierre Maillard was appointed Vicar General of Cape Breton.
Five years later he was among the Catholic priests arrested by the
British, and deported to Boston and then back to France. Four years
after that, this determined Breton was back in Cape Breton, living
and working in Bras d'Or.
After the capture of Louisbourg by the British in 1758 and the
deportation of the Acadians in crowded boats to France, Fr. Maillard
led his Micmac people to Miramichi, New Brunswick, where they joined
the Acadians who had gone into hiding rather than face deportation.
Two years later, he convinced the Acadians and the Micmacs to accept
the conditions of a peace offer from the British, convinced that
trying to hold out against them would be no good.
He moved to Halifax and lived there for two years. But his health was
deteriorating and in 1762 he died there, the last Catholic priest
allowed to remain in Nova Scotia. A rare tribute was paid to him
after his death. In those unecumenical times he was given an Anglican
funeral and buried in the Protestant cemetery.
Pierre Maillard identified with the Micmac people. He lived with
them, spoke their language, shared their joys and endured their
hardships. According to a Micmac legend, after his death bushes
bearing beautiful flowers sprang up over his grave. The influence of
his twenty-seven years among them did not end with his death. As late
as 1927 it could he written, "the Micmac book has taken the
place of a missionary for nearly a hundred and seventy years."
*Photos: Fr. Paul McAuley,CSSp |
Welcome to the site of the TransCanada Province of the Spiritans. We are a Roman Catholic Religious Congregation of over three thousand members, founded in 1703. Our missions are spread worldwide. While we may be found involved in many diverse ministries, we have dedicated ourselves to working with the poor and in those situations where the Church has difficulty in finding ministers. We hope you enjoy your visit to our site and that while browsing you will keep us in your prayers. May God bless you.
