Canada -- History -- To 1763 (New France); Laval, François de, 1623-1708
These most precious advantages were recognized on November 6th, 1678, by
Mgr. de Laval, who preserved throughout his life the most tender
devotion to the Mother of God. On the other hand, the prelate imposed
upon the parish priest the obligation of having the Holy Mass celebrated
there on the Day of the Visitation, and of going there in procession on
the Day of the Assumption. Is it necessary to mention with what zeal,
with what devotion the Canadians brought to Mary in this new temple
their homage and their prayers? Let us listen to the enthusiastic
narrative of Sister Morin, a nun of St. Joseph: "The Holy Mass is said
there every day, and even several times a day, to satisfy the devotion
and the trust of the people, which are great towards Notre-Dame de
Bonsecours. Processions wend their way thither on occasions of public
need or calamity, with much success. It is the regular promenade of the
devout persons of the town, who make a pilgrimage there every evening,
and there are few good Catholics who, from all the places in Canada, do
not make vows of offerings to this chapel in all the dangers in which
they find themselves."
The church of Notre-Dame de Bonsecours was twice remodelled; built at
first of oak on stone foundations, it was rebuilt of stone and consumed
in 1754 in a conflagration which destroyed a part of the town. In 1772
the chapel was rebuilt as it exists now, one hundred and two feet long
by forty-six wide.
CHAPTER XIII
LAVAL RETURNS TO CANADA
Mgr. de Laval was still in France when the edict of May, 1679, appeared,
decreeing on the suggestion of Frontenac, that the tithe should be paid
only to "each of the parish priests within the extent of his parish
where he is established in perpetuity in the stead of the removable
priest who previously administered it." The ideas of the Count de
Frontenac were thus victorious, and the king retracted his first
decision. He had in his original decree establishing the Seminary of
Quebec, granted the bishop and his successors "the right of recalling
and displacing the priests by them delegated to the parishes to exercise
therein parochial functions." Laval on his return to Canada conformed
without murmur to the king's decision; he worked, together with the
governor and commissioner, at drawing up the plan of the parishes to be
established, and sent his vicar-general to install the priests who were
appointed to the different livings. He desired to inspire his whole
clergy with the disinterestedness which he had always evinced, for not
only did he recommend his priests "to content themselves with the
simplest living, and with the bare necessaries of their support," but
besides, agreeing with the governor and the commissioner, he estimated
that an annual sum of five hundred livres merely, that is to say, about
three hundred dollars of our present money, was sufficient for the
lodging and maintenance of a priest. This was more than modest, and yet,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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