Le Martyre Imaginaire: Arctic Metaphor and Sickness in the Career of Bishop Gabriel Breynat of the...

8/6/2019 Le Martyre Imaginaire: Arctic Metaphor and Sickness in the Career of Bishop Gabriel Breynat of the Mackenzie Vicar

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Le Martyr Imaginair e Illness and Power in the early car ee r of Gabriel Br eynat,

Vicar Apostolic of the Mack enzie 1901-1926.

Draft 6 cp

Walter Vanast

Bishop Gabriel Br eynat, as a famed historian put it, was a genius. Installed in1901 in the Vicariate of the Mack enzie in Canadas Far Northwest, his organizationalskill brought about an integrated system of churches, schools, and hos pitals, a sawmill for lumber, a farm for produce, and a boat for fr eight and r eve nue and all along he work edtir eless ly for funding. His work was a class ic illustration of how to adapt a r eligious organization to local conditions and opportunities .1

This article tells how Br eynat raised those opportunities throughsly mixing of European conce pts of the horror s of the Far North, Bible r ef er ences to the ends of the earth, andendless details of his see minglyserious chronic illness . The tactic, a hallmark of the fir st twenty five year s of his rule, let hims pend mor e time far from his flock thanhe s pent with them and tak e therapy in lush southern settings.

Ironies abounded in all this. Not until late in his r eign did the bishop trave l beyond the tr ee-line into the Mack enzie Delta, and he neve r saw the Arctic Coast untillate in his r eign. Though he boasted of his vicariate extending north from the sixtieth parallel to the ninetieth, he cancelled many of his journeys after passing ashort distance beyond the former.2 Though he blamed his poor health on the fr eezing climate, the tr eatment that work ed best was a dailyshower with ice-cold water at a luxurious European s pa.

The main irony, which forms the cor e of material pr esented her e, is that the bishops ailments and conseq uent absences helped the projects (schools, hos pitals, andorphanages , missions to the Inuit, competition with the Anglican Church on the ArcticCoast) he insisted on bringing about.

The mor e the pr elate was disabled, the harder nuns, priests, and brother s work ed.The longer his therapy, the mor e they believe d in his illness , while transient r ecoveries proved their prayer s had been heard. Similarly, the closer the pr elate see med to losing his lif e, the mor e the Catholic hierarchy couldsee him as a martyr, and the larger was his support in Rome.

As nearly always when patients use physical illness to material and psychologicends, some symptoms wer e genuine, and r eader s will diff er which they wer e and whenthey occurr ed. In terms of psychiatric diagnoses , Br eynat lik ely had a bi-polar disorder (another irony), which in its bes t-known form used to be termed manic-de pr ess ive , giventhe cycling of happy over-activity with disgruntled withdrawal from the world.

A Note on Mission Theatre

Individual per sonalities , the Norths miss ion historysugges ts, had little impact onwhat in the end came about. Roman and Protestant miss ions brought nearly identical


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r esults from one r egion to another (i.e. all natives converted) no matter whatseries of white clerics ran local issues . For whether see n from a providential or secular point of view, modernization inev itably took root, and adoption of the Christian faith was part of that process .

Still, ther e ar e times when a r egions miss ion history becomes transiently

colourful (in the sense of providing us withstories) or when one per son see ms for a while to have had an impact. Br eynat, with his wilyskill at admixing arctic, gos pel, and bodilymetaphor is one of the most striking. So this account may in part be seen as part of anattempt tosee what, if anything, in the cour se of miss ions was contingent.

The history of trave l writing is vast, as is that of Christianevangelization, andanother form of literatur e concerns use of illness by famed figur es as a means to r eachingand holding power. Bishop Br eynat s early rule, as told in his autobiography andr ecorded in the Norths primarysources, mak es for a conjunctur e of the thr ee .

What follows her e should be r ead as a form of theatr e. Though the material is back ed up by primary r ecords from the pens of priests and nuns at various miss ions in the Far North, most citations ar e from Br eynats thr ee-volume autobiography. That work was

ghost-written for him by junior clerics on his staff (one of whom Ive had the pleasur e tomeet), who took the tone and approach dictated by the bishop.In the same way that Br eynats acting the patient ser ved his ends, his

autobiography raised the theatr e to another leve l. Illness was painted in the most pathos-inducing terms and what he accomplished was made to see m astounding. Itser ved as ameans to gainstill further support for his image among the public and leader s of the Catholic Church. Hence, the onlyscenes we see ar e pries ts and nuns quietly anddevotedly labouring under difficult conditions while Br eynat undergoes necess ary car ewhile in the company of rich women on their love ly estates. It was all wanted by God.

Such r easoning foster ed autocratic, often thoughtless rule, and only at the end of this account does a counter-move by staff briefly show through.

F rom Ailing Child to Ailing Priest

Born in France in 1867, Br eynat was object of his mother's fierce attachment, andeve n mor e so after her two older sons became clerics. Mentalstrain, he learned in thatsetting, could be deadly. When he, too, chose the priesthood and joined the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Mr s. Br eynat took to bed. Within a year of his consecrationshe passedaway (as was also true of his sister and father).3

Though from a modest home, Br eynat tasted luxuryearly as local aristocrats, the Count and Countess de la Suzeranne, took him underwing and paid his schooling. The r elationship made him comfortable with upper-crust figur es andshowed him an affluentway of lif e to which he often r eturned in later year s.

Illness dogged Br eynat from infancy and hurt him at the Oblate seminary inLige in Belgium, wher e he had a mediocr e r ecord. Because r eading caused headache he stopped using book s and rather thanstudy walk ed bar efoot for hour s through a pastur e, as it was hoped the dew (a form of hydrotherapy4) would help his panoply of symptoms. Yetwhen galloping consumption took manyvictims at the school, he r emained untouched.5

In 1891 Bishop mile Grouard of the Vicariate of Athabaska-Mack enzie came from Canada to find r ecruits, but far ed badly as anti-clerical laws in France had hurt the


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pool of seminarians. Yet when Br eynatsought to go, the principal r efused. With therapyfailed andstudystalled, it was clear he could notsur vive the Far Norths rigour s.6

Br eynat appealed. Ever since the Virgin Marys pok e to him in a childhood dr eam,he told senior Oblates, he had wanted to ser ve the worlds most demanding miss ion andthe bishops off er fit the bill. Then, turning the principals argument around, he used poor

health as a r eason to let him go. At the seminary, he pleaded, study made him ill and pr eve nted thought. In the North, by contrast, open air, with lots of s pace and movementwould bring health and let him r ead at leisur e. Within days he had permiss ion, along withthe right to be sworn in as pries t. Bishop Grouard himse lf performed the ritual.

F rom Ailing Priest to Ailing Bishop

Br eynats weakness showed to all who met him on the route across Canada. Whenin Ottawa a throat problem cut himshort while cele brating mass, the local bishop,amazed so fragile a youth was going north,said he would neve r mak e it in the miss ions, a warning that turned out to be wildly wrong,

In 1900 Bishop Grouardstayed in charge of Athabasca when his domain was s plitin two, and Br eynat des pite chronic illness was made bishop of the northerly part, the new Vicariate of the Mack enzie a vast terrain that, as miss ion s pok esmen lik ed to pointout, str etched all the way to the Pole.

Since Br eynat had hads pent most of time at Fond duLac onLak e Athabasca andhad not gone further north, Grouard in 1900 had the bishop-elect tour his futur e miss ions,and cons pir ed with him to k ee p the appointment secr et. The tacticenabled Br eynat to goin the guise of tourist and thus learn mor e of complaints and per sonal issues . Tell them,Grouard instructed, I've sent you for your health.7 Andsince his array of symptoms wer e widely known, it was easy to foolseasoned men.

In early 1901, after pr e paring for the sacrifice that wouldsoon be demanded, 8 Br eynat went south for consecration near Edmonton, wher e a witness noted he was lacking in health, worn out by the voyage, and crushed by the new burdens placed onhis shoulder s. A famed orator 9 s pok e of the new pr elates motto, Peregrinaro ProCristo, trave ler for Christ. It was nothing now to circle the globe, but in the North those words still held true meaning. The snowshoes and canoe on Br eynat's e piscopalemblemr eflected Br eynats labour s on endless routes in the search for abandoned souls all the way to the arcticshor es.10

Love for the North, intoned another s peak er, had caused Br eynatenormous loss.Your father, mother, andsister died shortly after you left them. Your de partur e, lik e aheavy sword, cut them down. Now the son was to experience his own Calvary. Each priest was another Christ, and that was all the mor e true of a bishop. Br eynats painfulste ps in the snow in prior year s and his suff ering on long tr ek s across Lak e Athabascawer e as a mer e novitiate to the herculean task that lay ahead.11

In a letter to his new staff Br eynat gave center stage to illness: since he lack edgood health, his appointment was a test for the vicariate. Heaven had chosen a weak instrument to show Gods str ength.12 The rhetoric of de bility, howeve r, did not fool all.

Father Dupir e at Fort R esolution, with longexperience in the district, was thoroughly anger ed when in 1903 Br eynat arrived unannounced with nuns for a newschool their housingsee med impossible to finish to the point wher e they couldsur vive the winter. When Dupir e was somehow brought onside, he r ealized the young bishop


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dr esse d iron will and autocraticstr eak in a wily robe of weakness: Monse igneur combines , r emarkablysmoothly, the softness of a dove with the cunning of asnak e. 13

Meetings in Europe

In Fe bruary Br eynat left for Lige to attend the General Chapter of the Oblate order, a six-yearly meeting. Then he went to France to administer last rites to the ailingCountess de la Suzeranne.14 Next was a meeting in Rome with newlyelected Pope Pius X, who heard at length of the Mack enzies hardships.15

After a year in Europe, Br eynat f ell ill and was forced to stay, as he said in aletter to his staff, tosee k improvement.16 The longse paration made them overjoyedwhen, after yet another winter had gone, he at last visited Fort Providence. At mass a priest thank ed God for bringing the she pherd back to his flock,exhorted staff andstudents to r es pond in kind to the gr eat love Br eynat held for them, and ask ed for continued prayer s for his health, which left a lot to be des ir ed. 17

The loss in success ion of two Oblate superior-generals (one died, another r es igned) brought mor e trips to Europe. For the fir st, in 1906, Br eynat was gone eleve nmonths. 18 Then he left again in July 1908, crossing the Atlantic for aseve nth time in as many year s.

Ageing Bishop Grouard, also on board, made a pr ess ing r equest, urging him tohead both their domains and let them be r eunited. Just then, howeve r, Br eynatshowedsymptoms that alarmed the senior cleric. See ing the younger man too weak to the task,Grouardstayed in harness .19

Arrived inLondon, Br eynatshowed plenty of energy, taking in the InternationalEucharistic Congr ess , attending its parades, andenjoyingsumptuous dinner s in elegantcountry homes . No illness occurr ed on the way to Rome or during the Oblate Chapter inBelgium that followed.20 Only when the bishop crossed into France did a throat problemchange his voice. Alarmed after a Lyonexpert applied week s of unpleasant therapies and declar ed the throat insuch a pitifulstate it would tak e half a year to heal, Br eynatleft for Paris and the Count de la Suzeranne.21

Alarmed at the pr elates dr eadful appearance, the count called his own doctor,who found the stomach out of kilter, the heart about to give out, the liver engorged, andso on. All organs malfunctioned, yet ther e was no disease. Your ner ves ar e exhausted,explained the medic, they've given up! The only way to bring them in line was by daily body massage with perfumed water, E au de Cologne , applied withcrin, a cloth of coar se hair from hor se-mane and tail. R ecovery would tak e ten months.

Br eynatsoon f elt new lif e entering all por es and f elt so well he r eturned toCanada. No one stopped him, he later moaned, for leaving turned out to be the gr eatestsin of his lif e. Full tr eatment would have made him good for a hundr ed year s.22 Instead, he caused permanent harm.

A Good Tonic in Montreal

When in 1909 Br eynat r eturned to the Mack enzie23 , his staff wer e performingwell. In goodshape des pite the hard miss ion lif e, they wer e devoted fully, quietly, totheir task. But his own health stayed weak and r elapse thr eatened. At Fort Providence ins pring the mother superior rushed to his room to corr ect an indigestion. And when a sor e


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throat put him to bed, nuns began a novena for his r ecoverynine days of invocation tothe Sacr ed Heart, arms held lik e a cross against the chest.24

In Se ptember Br eynat left for the International Eucharistic Congr ess in Montr eal,falling ill as it started. The fourteen or fifteen thousand miles trave led since quittingtr eatment caught up to him and made his attendance suff er. When des pite advice he

joined the closing process ion through citystr eets he f ear ed collapse, but continuedhaltingly by means of a good tonic hidden in his mantle. Fortunately, help was near.Among the dignitaries who saw his discomfort was Father Jean-Baptiste Lmius,

an old friend from France, The state you'r e in, he admonished, you can't possibly go back to your miss ions to trave l by dogsled. The winter s up ther e ar e far too har sh. Come with me and get your se lf back inshape. When Lmius off er ed to pay allexpense,Br eynat could not r es ist. Once at sea, he f elt better.

Eau de Cologne

In Paris the doctor scolded Br eynat for leaving tr eatment early and order ed a period of close r est. Circumstance allowed that to happen in aquiet setting, for when anun heard of the bishops state she invited him to her convent in R eims and therapy withchampagne, for which the ar ea was famous. And though Br eynat's fragile stomach couldnot handle that particular drink, he benefited from the ser ene accommodation. The stay,howeve r, was brought to anend by a telegram from the Count de la Suzeranne, who layseve r ely ill.

Rushing to Paris by train, Br eynat caught a draught that hurt his throat and causedconcern. But the doctor explained yet again that ner ves had caused the crisis. Tak e goodcar e of them, he admonished, as the bishop r esumed the eau-de-cologne r egime.25

Near-Death in the North

Br eynatsee med fine in 1911 on r eturning to Fort R esolution, pushing other s to dotheir most, running the miss ion boat to the sawmill, and helping to plane boards.26 But tono one's surprise, the work took its toll. Headed to Fort Rae in December, he wished hednot left, as he lik ed R esolution, wher e his poor ner vous system f elt bes t.27 Soon his fatigue was ev ident to all.

Trave lling through Hay River, the bishop began toshiver as his throat became sor e and no amount of heating in the priest's cabin could warm him. Swellings at the back of the mouthenlarged so he could bar ely sip water and was sur e he would die whenthrough crack s in the timber he heard underlings plan dis posal of his body. Then, of asudden, the last abscess brok e and he f elt somewhat better.28

In the following months Br eynat gained str ength. At Fort R esolution on March16, the eve of his birthday, the father superior hoped God would bring him health andlong lif e, for he r eally is, to all of us, a devoted and aff ectionate father. The wishsee med granted as the bishopvisited classrooms, helped nuns to teach, and at Easter gave the sermon. The high attendance by Indians comforted him,29 yet r elapse see med in the making. At Pentecost he could not pr each.

Thoughsummer visits to miss ions went well, staff watched the eff ect of Br eynats eve ry act on his symptoms. The bishop, wrote a priest in fall, carries on well enough; but his health fails to improve. A month later it was noted how Br eynat helped with a


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childr en's r etr eat des pite a cross of ill health, and at Christmas ther e was concern his homily might have been too long for Monse igneur's well-being.3 0

The bishops performance of the simples t task s came to be seen as martyrdom aview supported by a destitute physician living at the mission. In an international miss ion journal he lik ened Br eynat's suff ering to the gr eat fatigue and long privations of the

early Christians. Labouring in his frozen vicariate, he was s pending his force.3 1

In winter the bishop f elt too weak tovisit miss ions and instead went south towarmer climes . R eturning in June, he see med in excellent health,3 2 an assess ment soonchanged to not flourishing. The Christmas trip to Fort Rae was cancelled andshortlyafter at Fort Providence he caused panic when indigestion made him miss supper. A purgative brought improvement while two nuns stayed close till late at night.33

Then, as Br eynat pr e par ed for another Oblate Chapter General, his symptoms suddenly fled; when he left, a heavy heart was all the father superior detected. We shar e his pain at parting, wrote the pries t, and hope through our prayer s to obtain him ahappyvoyage and aquick r eturn. 3 4

Benedict XV, F ranklin, and Oblate Intransigence

Br eynatsoon heard that war had begun in Europe and that the meeting was off,yet continued south.3 5 After time in Que bec, he took a liner from New York to Italy,wher e Benedict XV r eceived him lik e a father. The pontiff showed dee p inter est in two priests from whom nothing had been heard since they wer e des patched two year s earlier to the Copper Inuit on the arctic coast (it was then not known theyd been killed). The work must continue, the pope urged, des pite adver se conditions. Making a gift of a portable altar, he overwhelmed Br eynat with bless ings.3 6

Str engthened by the papal audience, Br eynat ask ed for new staff from Oblate officials, but found them unbending. No men could be s par ed, r esources wer e scarce, the Gr eat War raged nearby, and the voyage to Canada was dangerous. And why all the fuss? The Mack enzie vicariate held but a f ew thousand Indians.

Br eynat r es ponded withskilful words. His flock, he agr eed, was small andr emote, but those very qualities meant the pries ts working ther e warranted attention. The dr eadful isolation, the enormous distance between priests in those endless plains of ice,meant the Superior General shouldshow paternal f ee lings to these loneliest member s of his r eligious family.

The Indians, it was true, wer e by now all baptized and listened to the counse l of their pastor s, but it was inconceivable the Oblates could abandon them. And whatabout the Inuit? Did low number s and dis per sal through a terrible land exclude themfrom Jesus order to pr each toall nations?

Protestants, Br eynat warned, wouldsucceed in any ar ea neglected by Rome, for minister s wer e most determined one had to r es pect their sincerity, though they taughtan erroneous cr eed. How can we hes itate, he demanded, to match their zeal? We, whohave r eceived the order from the Vicar of Christ to tak e word of His salvationusque ad extremum terrae , to the very end of the world?

Oblate r ecruitment, Br eynat pointed out, had long benefited from the se lfless sacrifice of Mack enzie pries ts. Mor e than any other measur e, accounts of their heroism brought the order new member s eager to show matching devotion. Rather thansend themto other miss ion fields, would it not be just to give the Mack enzie its due?


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The argument work ed, though in unexpected fashion. Father Isidor e Belle, the Oblates assistant-general, accompanied Br eynat back to his vicariate to see the need.3 7

Mackenzie visitors: F athers Belle and Duchaussois

For months on end, as they made their way from Europe, the bishop s pok e of his vicariate, and by June, when they arrived, Belle was well onside. After Br eynat toldstaff of the tr emendous good the visitor would do for the miss ions, the assistant-general praised the gr eat men who hadser ved the r egion. How much God must love this corner of the world, he ended, to have given it miss ionaries of the calibr e of Grandin, Faraud,Clut, and Grouard. Br eynat, it followed, stood in the same line of giants. Father Belle,wrote a nun, s pok e tenderly of Monse igneur's devotion.3 8

Also trave ling along was Oblate Father Pierr e Duchaussois, an author who hadcome from France to write book s about the vicariate.3 9 Though he and Father wer e sur elyalr eady awar e, they soon saw for themse lves howsudden storms (the little miss ion boatnearly went down on Gr eat Slave Lak e40) and changes in the bishops health complicatedhis endeavour s. As the e piscopal party beganvisiting Mack enzie miss ions and arrived atFort Providence, Br eynat f ell ill and the tour was delayed ten days.41

At Christmas, too weak to go to Fort Rae, the bishop sent Duchaussois instead,and left for the South.42 The next year, howeve r, was one of his best.

Rome and the Cte dAzur.

R ecover ed after a long br eak, the bishopeasily performed the summer ins pections and in winter after a two-hundr ed-mile sled trip was not too tir ed. At R esolution ins pring he nur sed other Oblates when he alone was untouched by influenza. In August,after fifteen months in the North, good health r emained. Then he was off toeasternCanada and discuss ions aboutschools and health car e with government officials.43

His Ottawavisit completed, Br eynat traver sed the country to meet withcolleagues, many of whom raised issues needing papal advice.44 Suddenly, des pite the submarine danger, it see med a good idea for Br eynat to go to Rome.45

At the Vatican, Benoit XV gave the bishop r e peated hearings, dignitaries off er edtheir time, and a papal letter to the Canadian church followed. Br eynat's pr estige showedwhen Cardinalvan Rossum, head of the Propaganda of the Faith, ask ed him to cele brate mass on the day of the Epiphany, which holds s pecial meaning to miss ionaries.

Br eynat was overjoyed, but had to decline as his throat turned sor e. For week s he could not leave his room as Romes cold winter air made the crisis mor e seve r e andmor e dangerous than usual. So he left for Frances Cte d'Azur, wher e a gentle clime helped a long convalescence. In late August he r eached the Mack enzie.46

Brain Congestion

That fall the bishops throatstayed well, and at Fort Smith on All Saints Day(Nov. 1) he deliver ed a longsermon. Days later, howeve r, a new problem frightenedstaff. After sitting a while in his room, Br eynat added wood to the fir e and as he openedthe stove, heat caused light-headedness ther e was just enough time to throw himse lf on the bed befor e passing out.47


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A sister rushed over from the hos pital andsaid little, but Br eynatsaw in her eyes just howserious my condition had become. He had sensed it alr eady: his thinking was muddled, his memory poor, and he had trouble finding words. Clearly, he was suff ering acer e bral congestion. 48

Thank s to the sister's car e Br eynat r ecover ed quickly, though not fully, as

exhaustion r emained a problem. Leaving by dogsled for R esolution, he was sur e of having a f eve r, but on arrival days later f elt surprisingly well. Trave l in winter air hadwork ed wonder s, to the point that he f elt jolly onentering the mission.49 Those aroundhim, howeve r, f ear ed his bonhomie.

The pr elate's live ly moods and forays into hard work often pr eceded a br eakdown,so the staff watched still mor e close ly for signs of illness . Nuns admir ed his dedicationdes pite pr ecarious health, andscanned his letter s to get a sense of his true well-being.Monse igneur's health is excellent, wrote a father superior in his journal in May, andthat is of mor e importance to us than anythingelse . Befor e long the assess ment was nolonger valid as Br eynat needed week s of r est. Then, considering it prudent to see as pecialist, he left for the world outside.

Madame Pinaud

Speedingeast across the country, the bishop wor sened by the hour. A serious crisis forced r efuge at a Gr ey Nun hos pital in Manitoba, wher e to Br eynats disgust adoctor gave him drugs that almost caused ruin. Packing his bags, he left for better car e elsewher e.

In Qu bec friends dir ected him to the famous Dr. Masson, whoshowed goodinsight. It's not medical car e you need, he advised, but eight months of complete r est.Texas, with its warm, dry climate, was the best place to tak e it. I had no choice,Br eynat wrote later, but to r es ign myse lf to the verdict. Fee ling utterly exhausted, he lack ed str ength for any other cour se. He des perately needed r e pose.

As luck would have it, Br eynat just then met the mother superior of a hos pital for incurables in Massachusetts and, r ealizing it was just what I needed, committed himse lf to her car e. The sister s look ed after himso well he f elt as if he wer e back in his northernmiss ions. Writing to a teenage girl befriended in Montr eal, he described his symptoms as head a little less weary;slee p intermittent; heart strong; legs weak. To k ee p thoughtfrom getting too muddled, he k e pt corr es pondence to a minimum. He stayed with the nuns six most agr eeable and beneficial week s50 befor e headingsouth.

At New Orleans local Oblates r eceived Br eynat with open arms and hearts.51 Swe pt away by their kindness , he found himse lf in a magic world. But the honeymoonwas soon over. Finding the city too noisy, the bishop joined a friend who was chaplain toa wealthy Montr eal widow, Madame Pinaud, and was with her at the familys magnificent winter r es idence at Pass Christian on the Mexican Gulf.

Raised in Paris, Madame Pinaud was thrilled by the arrival of a f ellowcountryman, and a bishop at that. The chaplain wouldsoon r eturn to Canada, butshe insisted Br eynat stay. She and her two teenage daughter s, she implor ed, would be delighted to try to r estor e your health. 52 A woman of exquisite taste, she provided amost stimulating cultural pr ese nce.


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Equally inviting wer e the grounds outside grass ran down to the water and pine tr ees shaded paths between bayous. The bishop thought it a bless ing from heaven tohave foundsuch delicious solitude.53

Clara and F ather Duport

At Fort R esolution, meanwhile, Oblates, nuns, and childr en appealed to heavenfor Br eynat's r ecovery. We ar e asking, wrote Father Duot to Pass Christian, for acomplete r ecovery by the time of your patron f east [i.e. the f east of Saint Gabriel] on the eighteenth of March.54 Young Clara in Montr eal also prayed often, for which the bishopthank ed her in a brief note. Her r equests for Gods aid would help him r eturn to the poor outcasts of the North. But her plan to meet him was turned down. To get better he had tostay at Pass Christian until the last possible moment befor e r eturning to the North.55

No letter went to Father Duport at R esolution, who became concerned. For the bishop tostay in Texas so long could only mean that he was seriously ill, so he order eda novena to gain the bishop's cur e and addr esse d it to Saint Jose ph, whose f east f ell on its ninth day. The intercess ion of that powerfulsaint, he hoped, would bring the des ir edr esult.56

The supplicants had no way of knowing if the appeal found favour, since Br eynatwrote to almost no one but Clara. He was so busy doing nothing, he told her, that mycorr es pondence suff er s and so do my friends. He look ed forward to addr ess ing the backlog when healing would let him go back on duty for God.57

In Rome, Cardinal Van Rossum heard from Br eynat that doctor s had order ed he s pend all winter s in warmse ttings. Thirty year s of miss ion work in aseve r e climate had broughtsuch totalexhaustion that he ought to r esign; only love for the miss ions andappr ehension at being unemployed stopped him.58

Sudden Weakness

In late s pring Br eynat found the leaving of Pass Christian a r eal sacrifice59 andf elt blue as he headed for the Mack enzie. He knew, howeve r, that time s pent ther e wouldnot be long, as an Oblate Chapter General was scheduled in the fall. Meanwhile, he wouldenjoy cele bration ateach miss ion on his arrival. At R esolution, the congr egation bowed their heads to thank the Sacr ed Heart of Jesus, which had pr ese r ved Monse igneur and brought him back to us. His was not complete, but all hoped that God's divine goodness will allow further improvement.60

Though manpower at R esolution was alr eady short, the bishop took one of its priests away to work among the Copper Inuit, for des pite the demise of the two Oblates alr eady sent, the push ad extremum terrae had to go on. And that meant only anelderly priest r emained to help Father Duport,61 who alr eady rar ely r ested.

At Providence, next stop on the bishops tour, sudden weakness overwhelmedhim as he descended the gangplank toward the waiting crowd, and the r emainder of the trip was cancelled so he could r est befor e leaving for Rome.62 Passing through Qu bec,he saw Mme. Pinaud, whoslipped him a large viaticum , money for extras on his trave ls.Put it to good use, she urged, mak e your trip as comfortable as possible.63


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Wandering Jew

At the Oblate Chapter General, Br eynat applauded colleagues ' growing miss ions in warmer settings. Des pite the f ew souls in his ownvicariate, he ask ed they consider the es pecially painfulsituation of his poor pries ts, the grands isols of the North, who all

alone performed the extr emely arid task placed on the order's shoulder s by its founder.The work was crushing and their failur e wouldembarrass the order in front of the entir e church. Befor e we succumb, Br eynat ended, we cry: au secours ! 64 But the call for help (the sort heard in near-drownings) had little eff ect. If he wanted mor e than was his due, he would have to look elsewher e.

The congr ess over, Br eynat stayed in Europe, Father Duport, his de puty, had noidea wher e he might be. The bishop, he ribbed in a forwarded letter, had become lik e the Wandering Jew, completing a tour of the world for the fifth or sixth time. The r es ponse told how doctor s after a crisis had prohibited trave l.65

The r estriction did not apply in Europe, wher e Br eynat journeyed constantly,giving talk s in hope of finding r ecruits. In France, Belgium, and Germany he visited

r elatives of his staff contacts, he later explained, that off er ed large r ewards. Howhappy the mother s and father s wer e to get details of their sons ' activities face to face -- tolearn of the daily lives of these dear ones who had left them out of love of God. Meetingfamilies let him under stand far better the joys and sorrows of his co-work er s. 66

St. Gabriel, patron saint of the Mackenzie

In June 1921, after eleve n months absence, Br eynat r eached Fort R esolution.67 He look ed tir ed, but the summer's work r estor ed his glow and after demandingvisits tomany posts he see med in goodshape. News from Rome further raised his s pirits: the Church had agr eed to mak e St. Gabriel patronsaint of the vicariate.

Br eynats namesak e in heaven would henceforth occupy as pecial place in the Mack enzies devotions. May the angel of the Virgin Mary our Immaculate Mother,invok ed Father Duport, protect us as if we wer e his very own possess ion; may he protectus on difficult days from the des igns of the Evil One against whom we ar e her e to do battle, and whoseek s to entice us into perdition.68

Notsurprisingly, images of Gabriel the saint and Gabriel the bishop commingled,as that very year Rome had named the saint as patron of radio, telegraph, and wir eless operator s. The symbolism captur ed the celestial s peed at which mess ages traver sed the stratos pher e. Br eynat's constant trave ls and fleeting appearances matched the metaphor.

F ather Duports Exhaustion

In Se ptember the bishop was off to Montr eal, but his wher eabouts ther eafter wer e a mystery to Father Duport. No doubt, ask ed a note from the latter, you ar e far away? Under whatsky, in what land? 69 News eve ntually r eached him that Br eynat hadtrave led through rural Qu bec to enlist brother s for the North, and that this hadsappedthe pr elates str ength. Then, r ecovering under the gentle car e of Mme. Pinaud at Pass Christian, he hadsuff er ed another crisis. Father Duport urged himstay as long as possible, so as to be at his best for the summer's work.


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Duport r egr etted, howeve r, Br eynat's decision to open a novitiate at R esolutionfor Oblate brother s, as str etched r esources would not allow lodging and f eedingso manymen. Staff hadenough on their plates as it was and the superior was running frommorning to night.

The demands of running the miss ion, super vising the sawmill, andvisiting Indian

camps allowed Duport no r est and on top of his local duties, he ran the Vicariate duringBr eynat's absence. Further work, he let the bishop know, would mak e things impossible.As it was, he lack ed time to instruct the f ew brother s on hand.

De picting his daily lif e in an Oblate journal, Duport described sled trips to ailingIndians in winter, fatigue and worry, and unending calls for his ser vices. The entir e year was a race. Le t me tell you, he ended, if I have time to write poems!70

Br eynat paid it no attention and in June 1922 brought ten brother s.71 As was proper, given his vow of obedience, Father Duport made no complaint when seve ral quit befor e long des pite the pr ecious time he s pent with them. Other s after a difficult periodhelped gather food and cut lumber. Men wer e now in place to start major construction.

Fort Smith, which had only a chapel, r equir ed a full-sized house of wor ship and

churches elsewher e, in astate of decay, needed r e placement. Andsince Protestants wer e building a miss ion at Aklavik among the Inuit of the Mack enzie Delta; Br eynat wanted to beat them at thatsite with aschool and hos pital.

None of it could be done without access to funds, and the bishop knew that order s larger and better connected than the Oblates vied for Vatican r esources. His plans wouldget nowher e unless he dr ew attention, and for that he had planned his strategy well.

Polar missions in Rome

Father Duchaussois' s book s about the Mack enzie had foundsuccess beyondBr eynats hopes. 72 The secondvolume, A ux Glaces Polaires [To the Polar Ice], r eceivedwide pr ess notice and an award from the Fr ench Academy of Le tter s. In 1922 while Duchaussois was in Rome on a publicity tour, avisiting cardinal73 who had found the book fascinating brought the author in during his own brief audience with the Pope. 74

Well-r ead inethnology, Pius XI? explained his close knowledge of the Mack enzie as a youngstudent at the library of the Villa Borghese the fir st book s hedr ead concerned the Far North and his inter est had neve r flagged. Looking afar as if scanning avast horizon he named Franklin's Report of a Second E xpedition to the A rcticOcean and r ecalled in detail the explor ers halt at Cape Turn Again and the death on anearlier journey of his helper s on the Barr en Lands.

Its the Oblates, Pius suddenly ask ed, who still evangelize the peoples of those desolate lands, isn't it? Yes, Holy Father, stammer ed Duchaussois, for seve nty five year s they have been the only ones in all the territory. Oh, what brave work er s, came the r es ponse, as the pope joined hands in prayer-lik e postur e, I've always beenconvinced that tostay inso dese rted and cold a land r equir es a gr eat r ese r ve of physicaland mentalstr ength. He r e peated the words withs pecialemphasis: Yes, a gr eatworthiness , physical and mental.

Just then Duchaussois saw that the cardinal had given the pope a copy of A uxGlaces Polaires , and that it lay open at a photograph of Br eynat with his dogteam in the snow. Less timid now, the father pointed out that the fur-clad figur e was the pr ese ntBishop of the North Pole, who had work ed in Athabasca-Mack enzie thr ee decades


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des pite lacking good health. The Pope could not contain his admiration. In that case, he exclaimed, he must possess double mental fortitude! Closing the book, he promised tor ead it soon. In the meantime, he would prayes pecially for Oblate miss ions.75 [fallaize citation]

Shortly after, on the anniver sary of the founding of the Propaganda of the Faith,

Duchaussois s pok e in one of the Vatican's largest halls, pack ed with dignitaries ,including Cardinal Van Rossum. The Vatican news paper L' Osservatore Romano r e portedthe talk under the headline The Missions of the North Pole76 and gave Duchaussoiss de piction of the Mack enzies extr eme desolation, frozen wastes, and difficulty of trave l. The father had told of privations suff er ed by men raised in civilized lands, andlinger ed on beasts attacking unsus pectingvictims. Using the Copper Inuits killing of two priests as example, he showed the mortal danger of approaching pagans who wer e enemies of the Good Word.

The father, said l ' Osservatore, opened eve ryone 's eyes to the incr edible heroismof the Mack enzies miss ionaries , who toiled to save souls otherwise doomed to eternaldarkness . Because of their efforts, flower s of virtue, pur e and pleasing to God, wer e now

blooming. All who had the privilege of hearing Duchaussois had left with a double wish: to hear him again, and to dosomething for the missions. 77 Thus, the Mack enzie Vicariate and its leader became objects of praise at the

centr e of church power. Without being ther e, Br eynat had won a coup in public r elations.

An Energized Bishop

Thatsummer while his poor ner ves wer e crying out for mercy, Br eynats pentseve n fr enetic week s in his vicariate,78 after which a necess ary r e pose in the Southser ved him well. Rather thans pend the colder seasons elsewher e, as he hadseve ral year s in success ion, he r eturned to the Mack enzie and stayed active, almost driven, a fulleightmonths. 79 Completing plans for church r enovations and for the new miss ion at Aklavik,he see med energized by the work those projects brought.

The winter journey to Fort Rae made the bishop stronger. At Providence he took part in conf ess ions, r etr eats, confirmations, counselling of staff, pageants, plays, andr eligious process ions. Boosting s pirits still further, he gave out candy in the dormitories,surrounded by banner s proclaiming let the childr en come unto me and M ane

Nobiscum (Stay with us) Yes , oh Yes! proclaimed the sister superior, may our goodPastor stay with us a long time!80?

Br eynat k e pt the hectic pace on r eturning to R esolution, lending a hand while dir ecting work at the church and wood-cutting at the mill. Only once did he f ee l lightlyindis posed. At summers end, Father Duport was amazed at how well the pr elate look ed.When a week later Br eynat left for Europe no one could have pr edicted that illness wouldk ee p him ther e for year s.81

Aglow with success

At the Vatican Br eynatenjoyed a longvisit with the pope. You come from afar,Monse igneur, said the pontiff, motioning the visitor to aseat at his side, You come from the ends of the earth. I must tell you that I follow, ins pirit and heart, your progr ess across those desolate wastes. I have almost completed r eading A ux Glaces Polaires . I


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found itenormously edifying, and I thank God for the mar ve ls of grace brought aboutthrough the ministry of the Oblates.

The pontiff listened intently as Br eynat fir st painted the difficulties that sapped his miss ionariesstr ength and pr ematur ely took their lif e, and then ask ed for favour s. He needed financialsupport and hoped for indulgences adjusting r eligious lif e to the har sh

r ealities of the North (issues aboutsacramental br ead, fasting, and daily devotions).82

Within the day all r eques ts wer e granted. Mor e than that, Cardinal Van Rossumtold Br eynat to inform his missionaries that the church held them ins peciales teem andthat Rome knew of their sacrifices among desolate tribes at the ends of the earth. Soawed was the cardinal that he prayed for them at mass each morning.

Aglow withsuccess , Br eynat left for France. A gr eat test, howeve r, followed as his ner vous system protested against an overload of trave l, worry and r es ponsibility.83 The br eakdown, he knew, had been coming for some time, for his attitude to underlings had changed to the point of causing suff ering. Father Duport hadsee n the warningsignand urged him get help while in Europe. Only now did he agr ee to slow down.

Nervous collapse

Instead of making the bishop better, r est brought complete ner vous collapse.Insomnia ruled, r eading and writing became imposs ible, tear s flowed without cause, the head hurt, legs f elt heavy, and he suff er ed indiges tion. Minor irritation broughtsobs andthose near him f elt the sting of his temper. For the fir st time in my lif e, Br eynat later r ecalled, he became discouraged. If symptoms per sisted, he would r es ign.

A senior Oblate had a better plan. Get the Holy See , he suggested, to name atemporary administrator for the VicariateTh en, you tak e a r est. You'r e still young.With a little car e, you'll be back at the helm in no time. Cardinal Van Rossum arrangedmatter s so that in April 1924 Father Duport took over. The cardinal himse lf k e pt aneye on the vicariate from Rome. 84

By letter the bishop told his staff of his pain at the forced exile. Yet, difficult as they would find the next year, it was all for the bes t. R e pose would r estor e his str engthand halt the s pectr e of early r etir ement.85

At R esolution the setback caused grief as, r es igned to God's will, nuns and pries ts acce pted Br eynats absence. Father Duport f elt certain their prayer s for his healing would be met, for sur ely the Gr eat Master would tak e into account their good work s,generosity, and devotion.86

Boarding the next fur-trade steamer to conduct his fir st tour along the Mack enzie,Duport discover ed how little time the vesse l s pent ateach stop. On average, he notedapologetically, I s pent but thr ee or four hour s at each miss ion. Still, it was longenoughto r ecognize high morale, the willingness of priests and nuns to contribute to the overallgood, and their faithful pur suit of a lif e in the ser vice of God.87

Therapy at Eaux les Bains

Meanwhile, a physician noted the pitiful state of the bishops ner ves and pr escribed hydrotherapy at Eaux les Bains, a s pa near Geneva, wher e Br eynat found anice small hotel. The staff proved attentive , and his choice of a certain Doctor NapolonVieux could not have been better while agr ee ing how serious the disorder was, he


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off er ed hope. Given time, healing was possible. Your solid constitution, he explained,will save you.

Each day Br eynat had tosubmit to the s pas coldes t shower s wher e water s prungfrom the mountains side; the doctor himse lf applied the r emedy. Andexce pt for ashortdaily walk, the r egime demanded full r es t. A per sonalsecr etarysupplied by the Oblates

composed his letter s and performed the smalles t chor es.88

Therapy had to be lengthy. The illness , a November bulletin to Father Duportr evealed, is dee p-seated andserious. From a physical point of view, Br eynat was improving, buts piritual thought r emained almost impossible. R eading and writing wer e not permitted, he did not r ecite the br ev iary, and he was in a pur ely vegetative state.

At the consecration of an old friend, Br eynat r evealed, he hadsuff er ed a r elapse that would need anextra month of shower s in s pring, and as r eaction to tr eatment was always slow and painful, he could not come back tillsummer.89 We ar e thankful,r es ponded Father Duport for the brief miss ives , eve n if they come from another's hand.The staff, he assur ed the bishop, all continued to pray for his r ecovery.90

Mademoiselle de Romigoux

Unfortunately, eve nts cons pir ed to halt Br eynat's progr ess , as the time had come for the doctor's annual br eak 91, winter made the water too icy, and the bishop had adr eadful time finding a peaceful place to stay. Sojourns with Oblates r eminded him howmuch he dislik ed being in a r eligious community andset back his ner ves , while board in private homes also caused trouble. When companionship was off er ed, he wanted solitude,within a week his irritability forced yet another move.

The lack of peace had negated months of tr eatment when Father Lmius, who hadhelped year s earlier in Montr eal, came to the r escue. R enowned for his sermons, the priest r eceived donations fromsociety figur es and some time befor e, to please the mostgenerous, Mademoise lle de Romigoux, he had arranged for Br eynat to bring her a polar bear pelt.92

When L mius informed her of the bishop's overwhelming fatigue, the wealthys pinster determined to help, and in a warm letter r evealed how pained she was by his illness . Come and s pend some time with me her e, under the pine tr ees of les Landes.Consider my house your s -- stay as long as you lik e. This time the pr elate did not get the letdown he had f elt inso many homes.93

At Mademoise lle de Romigouxs mansion at Bliet, beautiful ands pacious,Br eynatsettled in a large room with all modern conveniences. Above was a private oratory to cele brate mass, and all around pine for ests off er ed shelter ed paths wher e he walk ed for hour s withoutsee ing a per son. The hostess , well known for her work amongthe sick and poor, was a gentle, sensitive nur se ; not once did the bishops shifting moods upset her. Tolerating his quirk s, she put him atease , and knew when to enter his worldand leave it. In no time at all, two charming months passed by. Providence, Br eynatr ecognized, was s poiling me in letting me inside the gates of that little paradise. 94

A Cure in Bethlehem

After Christmas, when Father Lmius arrived, the thr ee of them s pent tranquildays together. Evenings wer e s pent gently chatting by the fir es ide and on one such


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occasion the subject turned to pilgrimages . The father had a liking for the shrine to Maryat Montmartr e, wher e he had once been chaplain. The hostess pr ef err ed Lourdes, wher e each year she s pent time and money among the suff ering. The onlysite that couldenthuse him, Br eynat insisted, was the HolyLand. Within the day Father Lmius had talk ed Mlle.de Romigoux into funding the trip. In Fe bruary the two clerics left for Palestine.

A fine holiday it turned out to be, as fr equent r ests in good hotels ensur ed the bishop did not tir e, and they stopped for sight-see ing in Naples , Palermo, Athens, andConstantinople befor e r eaching Jerusalem. Words failed Br eynat as, walking on the veryground wher e Jesus had trod, he experienced dee p emotions. At Nazar eth, on the f eastday of St. Gabriel, he said mass at the altar of St. Gabriel, in the grotto wher e the archangel had deliver ed God's mess age to Mary.95

In R esolution thatsame day the sky was clear andsunny. Because it was Br eynat's birthday and the f east day of St. Gabriel, childr en at the school had a holidaywhile nuns and priests turned their thoughts to the ailing bishop and prayed for his convalescence. Le t us hope, said Father Duport in asummary of the day's eve nts, thatSt. Gabriel has applied all of his enormous influence in pr ese nting our petitions to God.

May he grant us the r ecovery of our head pastor and father in this world below andsendhim back to us as soon as possible.96 When he learned (via the fir st wir eless mess age he hadeve r r eceived) that

Br eynat was in Pales tine, hope was raised: Might it be possible that Monse igneur willfind a cur e in the land of miracles of the Sacr ed Heart?97 A letter soon informed him thata miracle had indeed tak en place. 98

I want to let you know, Br eynat began, that your appeals to Heaven have beenanswer ed. Arrived at Nazar eth at fir st ves per s on the f east of St. Gabriel, the Protector of our Vicariate, he had said mass next day in the very Grotto wher e the sublime mystery of the Incarnation took place, and wher e gentle emotions filled his soul.

Your guardian angels, it see med, wer e all about me, their arms filled with the supplications and prayer s that I knew you had all off er ed, the pr ev ious day, for the r ecovery of the unworthy Pastor of the Vicariate. St. Gabriel took all those testaments of your filial devotion and pr ese nted them to our Immaculate Mother, who, in turn, placedthem lovingly in the heart of her Divine Son. At thatvery moment the bishop had f eltthe firm conviction that the wishes of the Mack enzie faithful would be fulfilled.

Br eynat's confidence was such he announced his r eturn by mid-summer. After landing at Mar se illes, he would need a f ew week s of shower therapy to consolidate the gains of the past year, and r est to let the body cr eate the best possible r esult. Then he would be on his way home. In the meantime he needed prayer s to ensur e progr ess . He still could not r ead the br ev iary.99

For the fir st time Br eynat told his staff about Mademoise lle Roumgoux, who had stopped at nothing to get him well enough to r eturn to his beloved miss ions. After months of most maternal devotion she had financed this pilgrimage to the HolyLandso he could find distraction ands piritual r est to r estor e his well-being.

Approved by Rome, Br eynat added, the voyage had been strongly r ecommended by his doctor, and the many bless ings shower ed on itshowed that God himse lf hadwanted it to tak e place. Mor eover, Mlle. de Roumgoux planned to extend her largesse: she wouldsoon donate for the vicariates daily operations, and wanted to be known in the


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Mack enzie as the petite maman tous , the little mother to all. From now on, Br eynatorder ed let her name rank high in your prayer s each day!100

Saddened at leaving Jerusalem, Br eynat took a train to Egypt,101 wher e on camel back he viewed the pyramids, Luxors ruins, and Tut-Ank-Amons r ecently discover edtomb. En route from Alexandria to France, as the leisur ely pace of asea voyage imposed

itse lf, he f elt better thaneve r and r eally began to believe he wouldsoon be in the Mack enzie. Once again, howeve r, that was not to be the case.

Setback at Marseille

At the Mar se ille dock s, Br eynat suff er ed a seve r e setback. The cries of stevedor es, the demands of customs officer s, and the bustle of de barking passe nger s hada disastrous eff ect on his ner ves . Instead of heading for Canada, he set off for prolonged ice-water tr eatment. Cardinalvan Rossum extended his sabbatical indefinitely.Only when your doctor authorizes you to r eturn to your vicariate, he order ed, ar e youto tak e over from Father Duport.102

In R esolution the new church had just been completed, and Indians from afar hadcome for the dedication. To Father Duport it was a pity Br eynat was not ther e he would have been so happy, as the building had been the idea of the bishop, who had provided the material and labour er s. Ninety f eet long andsixty high, it was a worthymonument to him.103

Learningsoon after that Br eynat wouldstay in Europe another twelve months,Dupont once mor e took on the duties of vicarial administrator and dashed off to other Mack enzie missions.104

Home via the Panama Canal

That fall after months of coldshower s Br eynat wanted to visit the Mack enzie,eve n if the exertion forced him back to France right away. The voyage, he argued, would boost his s pirits, for he languished away from his flock. The doctor agr eed on conditionhe s pend months at sea on the way to Canada if he took the Suez Canal to Ceylon,Japan, and the Pacific Ocean, he could go.105

The bishop had tak en a vow of poverty, so lack ed funds for such avoyage. ButMlle. de Romigouxsolved that problem after Father Duchaussois made an indiscr etion(as Br eynat called it) during avisit to Bliet, telling her a longsea excur sion had been pr escribed for her patient. Indignant,she ask ed Br eynat why he had not told her. If the doctor r ecommends it, she admonished, you must obey. Des pite many objections onhis part,she insisted on funding the passage. Watching her determination, Br eynatr ecalled an old Fr ench proverb: What a woman wants, God wants.106

That month, what God wanted was also on the mind of Father Duport. For thr ee year s, the Mack enzie 's priests and nuns had acce pted the bishops absence and,see ing his illness as a test of their r esolve , had r edoubled their work. Throughout, their most ardentwish had been his r eturn to good health.107

In France the Oblate Order assigned Father Edmond Planet, a permanentlydisabled World War veteran, to accompany Br eynat on the voyage. The priest r eceived amonthly pension from America that would come in handy for extras during the trip, but


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such costs turned out to be minimal as at each of their stops local miss ionaries tr eated the bishop and his trave ling partner lik e visiting ambassador s.108

In Ceylon, colleagues from Br eynat's seminary days showed them exoticsites as four delicious week s rushed by. Near Hanoi, they visited magnificent rice and coff ee plantations. Thr ee-daystays at sumptuous Hong-Kong and Shanghai followed. After

landing in Japan and aside trip to Kor ea they had a wonderfulstay with bishops they hadmet on board. Then, after touring Tokyo's temples and ruins from a r ecent earthquak e,they left for Vancouver.109

At R esolution in March the staff was encouraged by a note from Port Sad hintingat the bishops improvement, and ther efor e ask ed St. Gabriel (whose f east day occurr ed just then) to continue the process and bring the bishop full health. To raise the chance of being heard they vowed to labour harder thaneve r befor e, to see k the saints help mor e often, and to mak e him prominent in their lives .110

A fortnight later the community ask ed the Sacr ed Heart of Jesus to r eturn the pr elate soon. Allow him, they appealed. to s pend many long year s in the midst of the small flock for which he has sacrificed his well-being. 111 On May 13 , they began a

novena to Bishop Mazenod, the Oblates founder, whom they had neve r befor e approached for intercess ion in heaven. Anxieties wer e such, howeve r, as to justify the unusual appeal.

Pr e parations had begun for the twenty-fifth annive r sary of Br eynat's r eign. Ateach convent, miss ion school, and pries tly r es idence, s peeches had been memorized, plays r eadied, andsongs r ehear sed. The vicariate's four new churches wer e decorated,miss ion buildings scrubbed, and grounds s pruced up for the bishop. Importanteccles iastic visitor s from Canada and Europe wouldsoon arrive for the cer emonies. Itwould be awful if Br eynat wer e to get sick now,exhausted by his longvoyage.112

Celebrations in the Mackenzie

When on May 28 Br eynat crossed the sixtieth parallel andenter ed his owndomain, cele brations erupted. All hearts, wrote Br eynat at Fort Smith, vibrated inunison at the joy of being r eunited.113 He let it be known that his health was still notwhat itshould be, but that hardly dampened the joy.114 A f ew days later, Father Duportarrived on the St. Gabriel , a small miss ion steamer, and together they made their wayfurther north.

On June 4 jubilant pries ts, nuns, and childr en at Fort R esolutionsaw BishopGabriel Br eynatstandeve r taller as the St. Gabriel r eached shor e.115 The heavenlyGabriel had answer ed their prayer s. The happy dayso long des ir ed had arrived.

The bishop look ed happysaying mass the next day, buteve ryone knew he was not well, since the Indian agent (who was also a physician) had divulged details of his per sistent symptoms. Perhaps, Father Duportsuggested, improvement would come nowthat he was surrounded by his flock.116

May the Sacr ed Heart of Jesus, invok ed the nuns, through the intermediary of our little sister Saint Ther esa, heal our beloved Father. To that purpose they off er ed toinclude mor e good work s andsacrifices in their daily lives , and continued the supplication inshifts around the clock for thr ee days. Ther e was much cause for concern,as Br eynat had become terribly troubled by the delayed arrival of dignitaries. Amongthem was Father Belle, who had again come from Rome.117


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When on June 9 through the mist a vesse l brought Belle and Bishop Joussard (co-adjutor to Bishop mile Grouard of Athabasca), Br eynat at once led a pack edthank sgiving ser vice. Two hour s later a formal outdoor process ion led to the pontificalmass. Father Planet, Br eynat's trave l companion,stood in the chancel. Elderly Father Dupir e, who had left the North but once, was at his side.118

Father Belle s pok e of the love of a pastor for his shee p and how for twenty five year s it had lent grandeur to Br eynat's rule and driven his many journeys in the vicariate and around the world.Love had pushed the bishop to sacrificing all to the point of br eakdown of his health.Love , he hadshown, included willingness to lay down his lif e for the Mack enzie should God demand it.119

As the M agnificat bur st forth from the congr egation, Br eynat was escorted to his r es idence and, dee ply touched, bestowed bless ings on the r eligious community. Thenafter a banquet Bishop Joussard confirmed seve ral dozen pupils in front of the asse mbledvisitor s Br eynatshould have done it, but fatigue had forced him to tak e a brief nap. He arose in time to occupy the seat of honour at the eve ning's entertainment by the childr en.Overwhelmed withemotion at the dis play of aff ection, he couldstammer no mor e than a

f ew words in r es ponse, and Joussard had to give the thank-yous peech.120

The cele brations had been arranged such that as many Indians as possible couldattend. It was tr eaty time at R esolution, and natives had come to socialize and trade while waiting for the Indian agent to hand out toeach their annual five dollar payment.As the eccles iastic visitor s from the Southstrolled outside with their host, they saw the Indians surround Mgr. Br eynat and bend to their knees as they pr esse d their lips to his ring. The bishop, noted Father Duport, knew each one by name, andshowed an inter estin all matter s that concerned them. Her e was truly the good Pastor among his flock.121 The next day Br eynat and his guests left for other miss ions and cele brations.

A first visit to the Mackenzie Delta

Entering the Mack enzie Delta for the fir st time and arriving at Aklavik, Br eynatsaw the new Catholic convent school, hos pital, and miss ion r es idence. For thr ee year s the R esolution woodmill had work ed constantly to provide the lumber, Oblates had labour edfiercely building barges to tak e the lumber north, and throughout the vicariate staff hadskimped on food and goods to save money for the undertaking. For mor e than twelve months, a handful of nuns and priests, des pite many problems, had lived in this setting.

Proudlyshowing the site to his f ellow trave ler s, Br eynat off er ed proof of alr eadyhaving done what Pius XI urged thatvery year in anencyclical: that miss ions pr ess pastthe boundaries of past victories . As all couldsee , he was making an onslaught on the ends of the earth. 122

Br eynat r emained well during the voyage southward. Instead of exhausting him,as eve ryone expected, obser ved Father Duport on July 10, the hard work of the trip has made himstronger. Content with the state of his miss ions, enchanted by what he hadsee n, the bishop appear ed entir ely happy. It all augur ed well, but the sister s, mor e attunedto sensing discomfort, noted that a little fatigue showed through.


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A shock to the nervous system.

Had the bishop stayed in his vicariate, the r esiduum of illness might have flar edinto disablingsymptoms. Ther e was, howeve r, no need to tak e such a chance, for Br eynatthat fall had to attend an Oblate Chapter General in Rome, and thought it best to tak e the

full year for a last attempt at r ecovery. As the Vatican had not r eappointed Duport as administrator, he used his own power s to doso another year. Fellow pries ts, howeve r,gave the hard-working cleric a br eak. Byvoting him their r e pr ese ntative to the convocation, they let him have a fir st trip outside the Mack enzie since his arrival in 1904.

In early December after the Oblate meeting, Duport went to France and saw his family. A week later he s pent time with Br eynat, who hadsettled in for a winter's solitude and r est with Mlle. de Romgoux. As always, the bishop noted, Duport was happy,animated, andeager to tak e on further projects.

Hard labour in the North had done him the priest no harm. Fifty- two year s old, he radiated good health while s peaking of plans to visit r elatives in Ardche. Ther eafter he hoped soon to r eturn to the Mack enzie to r edouble his efforts among his beloved

Indians.After leaving the bishop, Duport prayed at the grotto atLourdes for the Inuittowards whose conver sion he hads pent mucheffort the prior year s. Then, inexplicably,he f ell ill and on December 24 passed away.

Br eynat on Christmas day was at a gourmet meal with friends near Thier,r elishing the intimacy of the occasion when a telegram arrived and told of the fathers demise . You can imagine, Br eynat r ecalled afterwards, what ashock that was to my poor ner vous system. Given the distance and the difficulties in communication, he didnot leave for the funeral or visit Duports family.

R emaining with his hosts, the bishop sought balm for the blow to heart andmind while at the national headquarter s of the Oblate father s at Aix-en-Provence his

de puty was laid to r est.123

What happened after

After 1926 many whites enter ed the north and trans port to the Arctic was see n to be so easy that Br eynat could no longer use exhaustion from trave l as a means to fame.Instead, he took the opposite tack. Giving vent to his liking of the most modern means of trans port and his joy of long-distance dis placement, he became an enthusiastic user of bush-planes to visit his distant miss ions, including those on the Arctic Coast. That let himgain new r enown as the Flying Bishop.

Des pite his supposed frailty, Br eynat did not hand over the r eins to his vicariate until the early 1940s. Between World War II and 1954 he lived a comfortable r etir ementin France, which made him a member of the Legion of Honour and placed his image inthe car ved-glass window above the entrance to its new Ottawa consulate. At age 88,while see king r efuge from his symptoms on a warm Mediterranean beach he became genuinely unwell and left this world. By then, he had become a legend.1 Morris Zaslow, T he Northward E xpansion of Canada, 1914-1967 (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart,1988), 158.


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2 The climate around the 60th parallel wher e is much lik e that along the northern portions of the Gr eatLak es in Ontario.3 CA I 40.4 A variant of the Kneipp system.5 CA I 53 , 59-60. Driven from France by anticlerical laws, the seminary had temporarily r esided in Holland befor e settling in atLiege. The wet climate in the former setting was said to be hard on Br eynats health.6 CA I, 61-63 .7 CA I, 267.8 CA I, 276-7.9 Father Drummond10 R.P. Simoni, Sacr e de Mgr Br eynat, (extract of a letter to R.P. Gandar) M issions O. M .I. (1902): 227-23 2.11 CA I,33 8. Br eynatshowed gr eat ease in r elating to the powerful francophone bishops at his crowning,andquickly became their s pok esman concerning Indian missions and other issues. Whites wer e incr easinglysettling Canadas Northwest and money andstaff wer e needed to cater to them. Andsince many immigrants wer e Godless or Protestant and posed a thr eat to long-established missions, extra effortwould be needed to k ee p believer s in the fold. So Br eynat drafted a letter to the Oblate superior general,asking for incr eased help. G. Br eynat, Adr esse des vq ues de la province ecclsiastique de Saint-Boniface au trs r vr end Pr e Gnral, M issions O. M .I. (1902): 233 -5.12 BCL Dec 1902.That fall, Br eynat went to Ottawa to meet prime minister Sir Wilfr ed Laurier concerningthe inadequate monthly government contribution of a dollar per child at mission schools, which f ell far short of expenses . In Montr eal he discussed a new school for the vicariate with the Gr ey Nun mother-general. After a stay with clerical friends in New York, he left for an Oblate conf er ence in Rome, followed by avisit to his par ents' grave in France. Then it was on to Belgium and his oldseminary atLige. The students gave him a rousing r ece ption. Not only was Br eynat the fir st priest to graduate from the school;he was also the fir st bishop from its rank s. In a touching cer emony, he consecrated seve ral new priests, one of whom he would tak e back to the Mack enzie. Later, at a lavishly decorated gathering,students pr esented plays and accolades to the visiting pr elate. Then, they let him talk for hour s about his work in the North.C A II BCL 74-75. Anon., Mgr. Br eynat Lige. Br eynat arrived at the seminary on April 4, in time for the Easter cele brations. He consecrated priests on twose parate days, the last on the Tuesday of Easter. He left us charmed...under the s pell of his goodwill. M issions O. M .I. (1904): 143 -146. His main goal on that1903 voyage was to get to Rome. He f elt a strong need for a papal benediction, and hoped for Leon

XIIIs advice in avoiding mistak es in his new pastoral charge. Unawar e the pontiff was ill and no longer granted audiences, the young bishop accosted the Major-Domo. Did the man not r ealize from how far Br eynat had come? He had traveled all the way from the Arctic Ocean, having promised his Indians thathe woulds peak to what they called The Gr eat Chief of Prayer. How could he explain to them he had notaccomplished his mission? A f ew seconds at the popes bedside would do; if admitted, he promised not tocause the least disturbance. Andso Br eynat gained access to a pr esence that hadseemed forbiddinglyr emote just a f ew year s earlier. In showering his visitor with blessings for the Indians and for missionaries,their par ents and friends, the pope gr eatlyenhanced Br eynats pr estige. Insubsequent travels he would be able to dis pense the Papal blessing to those he visited. On this visit to Rome, as on many other occasions,Br eynat's manipulation of the symbolism of the Far North gave access he might otherwise not have had.C A

II, 76-7.13 R es. Cod., 8 June, 1903 . Prov. Chr., Oct. 6, 1903 .14 C A II , 13 5.15

Br eynat while in Rome also attended the fiftieth anniver sary of the proclamation of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conce ption.16 BC L, Jan 14.17 Prov. Chr., 1906.18 C A II , 150, 154. Br eynat came back north in time to s pend Christmas at Fort Chipewyan, just south of his own diocese . FPC Fe b 19-21, 1907. In Fe bruary 1907, Br eynat left his home base of Fort R esolution for the annual winter trip to Fort Providence. The visit, much anticipated by mission r esidents, always lasted untilthe anniver sary of his priestly ordination, which was cele brated by thr ee days of s pecialevents. That year,the sister s cover ed the convent with banner s. Childr en came by in procession to off er congratulations and inthe eveningentertained the pr elate. A magnificent angel, St. Gabriel, appear ed on the stage and gave the


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utilizing his contacts at the Fr ench embassy in the United States, would tak e car e of it on his way to NewYork to catch a liner. In Washington, Monsieur de Labolay, who had become his good friend the last time he crossed the ocean, got him the ambassador's ear. Very shortly, the off ending Montr eal diplomat was transf err ed to Ceylon.46 C A II , 3 43 -4.47 The e pisode was a simple faint, a benign process caused by transient decr ease in bloodsupply to the brain. A longsit lets blood pool in the veins in the lower parts of the body, and onsuddenlystanding up the blood pr essur e falls. In most situations normal autonomic r eflexes quickly compensate, and pr event further de pendent pooling of blood, but if one has tak en a sedative or an alcoholic drink, or if ther e is muchambient heat (which mak es vesse ls in the skin dilate) unconsciousness can occur.Lying downsolves the problem and brings quick r eturn of consciousness without permanent injury to ner vous tissue. To those unacquainted with the phenomenon, however, it can be frightening.48 C A II , 3 48.49 C A II , 3 48-9.50 C A II , 3 58.51 C A II , 3 58-60.52 The lady's hus band had r ecently died. As a colonel in the Pope's per sonal bodyguard, the Zouaves , he had been active in def ence of the Vatican under Pius IX. That connection obtained him an indult allowing the family to maintain the Eucharist in its private chapel. Br eynat, it followed, could cele brate mass daily, as was his duty, without having to leave the comfort of the r esidence.53 C A II , 3 58-3 60.54 Duport to Br eynat, 2 Fe b., 1920, Duport. Corr.55 Br eynat to Clara, 27 Fe b, 1920, Clara Corr.56 R es. Cod. 1920, Mar. 5.57 Br eynat to Clara, 10 Apr. 1920, Clara Corr.58 Br eynat to Van Rossum, May 21, 1921? 59 C A II , 3 60.60 R es. Cod. 1920, June 18.61 C A II , 3 60-1.62 C A II , 3 62-2. R es. Cod. 1920, July 18. R es. Chr. 1920, July 18.63 C A II , 3 62-3 .64 G. Br eynat, Vicariat des Missions du Mack enzie, Can., M issions O M I 54 (Dec. 1920): 286-293 .65

R es. Cod. 1921, Fe b. 5, April 13 . Duport: R e port on priests health: I've had news from all. They'r e alldoing r easonably well, butseve ral f eel their legs getting weak on their voyages and their health is declining. Alphonse Duport, Mission Saint-Jose ph, Fort R esolution, N.W.T., M issions O. M .I. 55 (May1920): 128-133 .66 67 C A III , 13 . On his way west across the country, the bishop stopped tovisit Dr. Scott in the De pt. of Indian Affair s in Ottawa. The bur eaucrats r eceived him most cordially. The bishop's pr esence couldn't have been mor e timely. Oil discoveries near Fort Norman had led to asurge of mineral exploration. Whites wer e entering the North in gr eater number s thanever. It had become a government priority toseek extinction of aboriginal land rights through a tr eaty with the Mack enzie Indians. We would be most grateful, saidScott, if you would accompany the tr eaty party into the North. Your influence on the native people willhelp us tr emendously in ensuring its success. Br eynat was delighted, as the r equest r eflected the esteem inwhich he was held by the Indians. The Anglican bishop garner ed far less r es pect among Protestant natives .

Even better, it showed that Ottawa r ecognized the Catholic Church and not the Protestants as holdingsway among Mack enzie tribes. C A III , 16-17.68 At Ottawa's invitation, he accompanied the government party thatsigned the fir st tr eaty with the Mack enzie's Indian tribes. Ther e, the government tr eaty partysoon joined up with him. He brought withhim a young r ecruit, Father Jose ph Trocellier. From Montr eal, he brought two orphan boys for the St.Bruno farm. The northern climate, he assur ed them, would help overcome the tuberculosis that had begunto sap their health.C A III , 17. Prov. Chr. 1921, June 4, July3 . R es. Cod. 1921, July3 . Simpson Chr., July12, Se pt. 6. R es. Cod., Oct 24.69 Duport to Br eynat, 6 Nov. 1921.


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70 A. Duport, Mission Saint-Jose ph, Fort R esolution, N.W.T., M issions O. M .I. (March 1923 : 212-217).The work describes his activities in 1921 and 1922.71 R es. Cod. 1922, Mar. 22. Duport to Br eynat 15 Mar., 1922. P. Di Maria, Dlgu Apostolique, toBr eynat, 8 June 1922.C A III , 28. also a new priest (ceded by the Texas Oblates). As well, he brought withhim a young priest, ceded by the Texas Oblates. Br eynat's de bilitated state, which r eflected the need for help in his r emote vicariate, probably influenced their decision.72 The fir st book by Duchaussois concerned the labour s of the Gr ey Nuns and r eceived wide attention. The second, A ux Glaces Polaires (to the Polar Ice), focused on Oblate pr elates and priests and was awarded the pr estigious Prix Montyan by the Fr ench Academy of Le tter s. The Catholic pr ess gave it outstandingr eviews, and the Oblates journal r eviewed it glowingly. Anon., Notr e Bibliothque O.M.I.: Quelques Ouvrages R cents, M issions O. M .I. 56 (1922): 449-450.73 Monseigneur Miglior e.74 Rome (1922) Duchaussois, Un Oblat aux Pieds du Pape, M issions O. M .I. 56 (1922): 851-855. Br eynatsaw the Pope Oct. 17.75 P. Fallaize, La Nouvelle Mission du Cercle Polair e, M issions O. M .I. 56 (1922): 717-721.76 Duchaussois s pok e on May3 , 1922 in the grand hall of the Vatican's Palais de la Chancellerie Apostolique. L' Osservatore Romano LXIII Anno, No. 107, (10 Maggio 1923 ), p. 2, col. 6: Le Missioni delPolo Nord.77 The Osservatore r e port was r e printed in Anon. Les Missions du Ple Nord Rome, M issions O. M .I. 57(1923 ): 486-488.78 C A III , 8. R es. Cod. 1922, June 6. Prov. Chr. 1922, June 29. Simpson Chr. 1922, July 19, 23 , Aug. 7, 9.Prov. Chr. 1922, Aug. 11. R es. Codex 1922, Aug. 19,3 0. C A III , 3 6 (I must check exact page).79 C A III , 3 6.80 R es. Cod. 1923 , Jan 11;C A III , 3 9-40; Prov. Chr. 1923 , Fe b. 6, March 24,3 0, Apr. 1.81 R es. Cod. 1923 , Apr.7-9, 27, May 4, May 28.Leaving with Br eynat wer e two teenager s who hoped to become priests. A r ecent papalencyclical had called for immediate deve lopment of indigenous clergy.82 Thank s to the magnificent labour s of my missionaries, Br eynatexulted, I had the privilege of beingthe sole object of the kindly and fatherly attention of Christ's Vicar. The bishopexplained to the pope howdisappointing the work often proved to be; the number of new converts r emained very small. Oh, but don'tever discouraged! answer ed the pope, Tell your missionaries never to get discouraged!. God has his electeverywher e. Don't forget the Lord's words about those whosew and those who bring in the har vest. Youar e the one planting the seeds; other s willsew. As Br eynat kissed the pontiff's ring in parting, Pius XIgave him the papal blessing, asking that it be pronounced in turn over the heads of the faithful in the Mack enzie, over mission staff and their families, and over the mission's benefactor s.83 C A III , 50-52.84 C A III , 52-54.85 BCL, 17 April 1924. Surprisingly, given the serious symptoms that had brought the need for complete r est, Br eynat continued to work hard on certain matter s. Following up on an initiative by priests in the Peace River r egion of Northern Alberta, he lobbied for official Fr ench r ecognition of the accomplishments of Monseigneur Grouard. Working closely with a long-time friend of thatvenerable pioneer, the Honourable Dr. Roy, Canada's ambassador in France, the bishop put pr essur e on the national governmentto award Grouard the cross of the Legion of Honour. The intended r ecipient had just published his memoir s, Sixty Year s of Apostolate in the North; Br eynat made sur e a copy got into the hands of the appropriate dignitaries. The strategy work ed; Grouardsoon had his medal.C A III , 81. In the process, the

pr estige attached to being asenior missionary in the Mack enzie (and Grouard's successor) took aconsiderable boost upwards.86 R es. Cod. 1924, June 8. R es. Chr. 1924, June 22, 26.87 Duport Corr es p. 18 July 1924.88 C A III , 85-6.89 The doctor had urged him to tak e a little mor e time to get him inshape once and for all. Would it allr eally be worth the effort? God would determine that: Fiat ! Circular letter written by Father Duport, 12Dec. 1924. Section beginning news that Mgr. Br eynat has ask ed me to pass on to you.90 Duport to Br eynat, 16 Nov., 1924.


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91 Lik e all medical men at Divonne-les-Bains, Dr. Vieux per sonally administer ed the shower r egimes of his patients. Gr eatlysought after, he often car ed for a hundr ed patients simultaneously.92 Although Br eynat had never come near such an animal, and had not traveled withinseve ral hundr ed of the arctic coast, the gift fit his r e putation as the bishop of the polar wastes.93 Father Lemius had off er ed to come a f ew week s later, and was willing to act in the capacity of secr etary(the pr evious one, it seems, had left the pr elate's ser vice).94 C A III , 86-7.95 C A III , 87-89. [I think the date given her e for the f east day is March 24. I must check to mak e sur e I use the same one consistently.]96 R es. Chron. 1925, Mar. 24. R es. Cod. 1925, Mar. 24.97 R es. Cod. 1925, Mar. 29.98 In Jerusalem, clerical connections opened door s everywher e and gave Br eynat a role at major events during Holy Week, On Thur sday he cele brated mass and holy hour at Gethsemani; on Friday, he followedthe cross along the painful road once tak en by Jesus; on Easter Sunday he said mass in the crypt on the Mount of Olives and, later the same day, in the very grotto wher e the Saviour was born.C A III ,99 BCL, 12 Apr., 1925.100 BCL, 12 Apr., 1925.101 C A III , 87-89102 C A III , 89-90103 R es. Cod. 1925, June 11.104 R es. Cod. 1925, June 3 1.105 C A III , page? 106 C A III , page? 107 R es. Cod.3 1 Dec. 1925.108 C A III , page? 109 C A III , 95-101.110 R es. Codex 1926, Mar. 19 and 24.111 R es. Cod. 1926, Apr. 6.112 R es. Cod. 1926, May 13 .113 C A III , 101.114 R es. Cod. 1926, June 2.115 R es. Chr. 1926, June 4.116

R es. Cod. 1926, June 2.117 R es. Chr. 1926, June 6, 8. R es. Cod. 1926, June 8.118 R es. Cod. 1926, June 9. R es. Chr. 1926, June 9.119 R es. Cod. 1926, June 9.120 R es. Cod. 1926, June 9.121 R es. Cod. 1926, June 14.122 An Anglican hos pitalstood less than a mile down-river. Constructed the pr evious summer, at the verytime that the Oblates wer e completing their s, it r eflected the intensity of the Catholic-Protestant battle in the Mack enzie. Aklavik held the k ey to gaining a hold on the Inuit of the Mack enzie Delta and the ArcticCoast. The Catholic complex showed Br eynat's determination not to leave the field to the opposition.123 At Aix-en-Provence. C A III , 112-113 .

Le Martyre Imaginaire: Arctic Metaphor and Sickness in the Career of Bishop Gabriel Breynat of the...

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