Many saints share our human fears, but have an ability to resist fear and remain in challenging situations. Saint Isaac Jogues, one of the Jesuit Martyrs of North America, overcame his natural, and well-founded, fears and hesitation. He knew first-hand the tortures that were possible, but he also knew that his place was with the native peoples of Huronia. Nothing could separate him from the mission he felt he received from the Lord. The story of Jogues is moving and memorable.

Isaac Jogues was born in Orléans, France, the fifth of nine children of well-to-do parents. He was born on January 10, 1607 and received most of his education from the Jesuits and eventually entered the order at the age of 17. Having heard many accounts from New France, Jogues yearned to be sent there. He came to New France in 1636, just 29 years of age and ordained several months earlier, still carrying with him a Mass kit from his mother. In a short time, he embarked on the long and challenging canoe ride upriver, to Huronia.

We can only imagine the differences from France – the food, the geography, the language barriers, the discomforts, adjustment to a new culture! Once in the land of the Hurons, he served at mission outposts, instructing and baptizing, gradually gaining the trust of the native people. This trust was tested in 1642, when he experienced severe tortures from the Iroquois.

Among other humiliations, his captors cut off several of his fingers. Despite this, he was grateful that they spared his right hand, so he could still write to his Jesuit brothers. Later on, Jogues was still imprisoned, but he had enough freedom that Dutch traders were able to help him get away from his captors. He debated whether he should escape, but eventually reconciled himself to the realization that it was what God wanted.

There were brief sojourns in Quebec and France, in an effort to escape a repeat of the torture. In France, Jogues was referred to as a “living martyr” – Lazarus raised from the dead. He received special permission from the Pope to celebrate Mass with his mutilated hands. Pope Urban VIII judged that, “it would be shameful for a martyr of Christ not to drink the blood of Christ.” Father Isaac Jogues’ missionary zeal would not allow him to stay away from Huronia. He felt that he should return, to make use of his knowledge of the native language and customs.

His companions in New France must have been shocked to see him reappear on a ship from Europe! Once he was back in Huronia, he was sent as an emissary to discuss a peace treaty with the Mohawk Iroquois. He went with fear. He wrote to a fellow Jesuit, “My heart tells me that, if I am the one to be sent on this mission, I shall go but I shall not return.” There were some Mohawks who regarded Jogues and the peace process with suspicion, blaming their sickness and crop failure on the magic that was found in his Mass kit.

Father Jogues was martyred by tomahawk at Ossernenan (now Auriesville, NY) with Jean de Lalande, a young lay volunteer, on October 18, 1646, at the age of 39. One writer described Jogues as “one of the purest examples of Roman Catholic virtue,” recognizing that he suffered two martyrdoms in a single lifetime. Father Isaac Jogues was canonized along with the other Jesuit Martyrs of North America on June 29, 1930 by Pope Pius XI. They are celebrated on October 19 in the USA and on September 26 in Canada. Saint Isaac Jogues, pray for us!