Francesco bressani biography
- Francesco Giuseppe Bressani was.
- Bressani entered the Society of Jesus 15 Aug. 1626, at the age of 14.
- François-Joseph Bressani SJ was an Italian-born Jesuit priest who served as a missionary in New France between 1642 and 1650.
- •
Bressani, Francesco Giuseppe
Bressani, Francesco Giuseppe an Italian missionary, was born at Rome in 1612. He entered the Society of Jesus at the age of fifteen, went to Canada in 1644, and was on his way to the Huroi Indians, when (April 1644) he fell into the hands of the Mohawks, who subjected him to mutilations and torments, and after four months' suffering sold him to the Dutch at Fort Orange. The latter treated him kindly, and sent him to France. Bressani returned to Canada in July, 1645, and labored for five years among the Hurons, that is, until the extinction of the Huron mission. In 1650 he was recalled to Italy, and devoted many years to establishing missions. He died in Florence, September 9, 1672. Bressani wrote a history of his mission (Macerata, 1653; a French translation, with biography and notes, was published in Montreal, 1852). See De Courcy and Shea, Hist. of the Cath. Church in the United States, pages 311, 312; Shea, Cath. Missions, pages 193-212; Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, s.v.
- •
BRESSANI, FRANÇOIS-JOSEPH (Francesco-Giuseppe), priest, Jesuit, missionary; b. 6 May 1612 in Rome; d. 9 Sept. 1672 in Florence.
Bressani entered the Society of Jesus 15 Aug. 1626, at the age of 14. He held in succession the chairs of literature, philosophy, and mathematics. Like so many others he was attracted by the foreign missions, and sought the privilege of being sent to New France. His superiors granted his wish in 1642. He first spent some time at Quebec in order to adapt himself; from there he went to Trois-Rivières (1643), a post much frequented by the Indians during the summer months. The missionary aspired to more arduous tasks; he obtained permission to penetrate 900 miles into the interior of the country, where the Hurons lived.
On 27 April 1644, as soon as the snows melted, he set out, together with one Frenchman and six Christian Hurons. He did not know that some ten bands of Iroquois were in ambush at strategic points on the route followed by the convoys of the French or those of their allies. Seven or
- •