“…for whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it…”
This is the skull of St. Jean de Brebeuf, Jesuit martyr, as it is seen at the shrine I mentioned earlier. Here follows a brief account of his martyrdom as found in Rene Latourelle’s “Jean de Brebeuf” that I have been reading lately. I post it not to gross anyone out but to relate to you the passion of my brother and also how important is was to him and to many missionaries that the Gospel was preached to all people. Brebeuf and many other missionaries loved these people so much that many gave up their lives for the sake of the Gospel, that these lost sheep might be gathered into the one flock of the Good Shepherd.
That, and the story I find to be quite inspiring as a young Jesuit in training.
“Fire and Blood”
On March 16, 1649, another band “of about 1,000 men, well armed and mostly with guns they had obtained from their Dutch allies,” surrounded the village of St. Ignace, itself protected by 15 and 16-foot palisades and a natural escarpment serving as a moat. There was, however, one weak point leading into the village. During the night, the Iroquois attacked precisely at this point. Everybody was either killed or taken prisoner. The Iroquois lost only ten of their men. Three Hurons managed to escape and brought the news to St. Louis (another mission site; not the big city in Missouri), about two miles farther on. Brebeauf and Gabriel Lalemant happened to be there. At the first warning that the enemy was approaching, the women fled. Eighty Hurons prepared for the attack. They repulsed the enemy twice, but they could not withstand the superior number of guns. The Iroquois set fire to the cabins, throwing in the old or the wounded not able to move. Five hundred people had escaped, out of an estimated six hundred inhabitants.
After an attack, the Iroquois would usually disperse. This time, however, they meant to exterminate their enemy. They therefore established a headquarters at St. Ignace with a view to attacking Sainte-Marie-Among-the-Hurons. In the meantime, they took pleasure in torturing their two captives, especially the renowned Echon (the name given to Brebeuf by the Huron people), known as the most famous of sorcerers. Gabriel Lalemant, having arrived from Quebec just six months earlier, was Brebeuf’s companion at St. Louis. Brebeuf’s sufferings began around one o’clock in the afternoon and finished around four the same afternoon. The account of his sufferings has often been told. None of the descriptions, however, matches that of Christophe Regnaut, based partly on reports by some Christian natives–eyewitnesses–”who were present from the moment that Brebeuf was seized until the moment of his death. These good Christians were captives and were later led to Iroquois country to be killed there but our good God gave them the grace to escape along the way, and they have come to recount everything that I am now putting down in writing.” Regnaut adds: “I have no doubt that everything that I have just written is true, and I sign it with my blood.”
(Here follows his testimony)
The very next morning, when we were sure that the enemy had departed, we went to the place to recover the remains, the very place where they were put to death. We found them both, somewhat separated one from the other. We took the remains to our cabin and placed them on some bark for examination. I looked at them for a space of two hours to assure myself that what I had heard from some of our natives was actually true.
First, I examined Fr. Brebeuf’s body and it was pitiable to see, as was also Fr. Lalemant’s body. Fr. Brebeuf’s had all the flesh ripped away from his legs, thighs, and arms right to the bone. I saw and touched a number of large blisters that were on various parts of his body, resulting from boiling water having been poured over him in derision of baptism. I saw and touched the wound caused by a bark belt full of pitch and resin that roasted his entire body. I saw and touched the burns caused by the hatchet necklace that had been in contact with his shoulders and stomach. I saw and touched the two lips that had been cut off because he continued to speak of God while they were causing him to suffer (A note: as I have heard the story, it is said that he did not scream once during his torture, but only muttered the named of Jesus and Mary).
I saw and touched all the places on his body that had been struck by more than two hundred blows from a rod. I saw and touched the back of his smashed head. I saw and touched the hole that was made in his chest to rip out his heart. (His executioners, being so impressed with his courage, ate his heart because they believed that in doing so they would gain that same courage).
Finally, I saw and touched all the wounds on his body, of which our natives had told me and assured me. We buried these precious relics on Sunday, March 21, 1649 with much consolation.
For skeptics who ask themselves how the Iroquois could have made a collar strung with red-hot hatchets, Christophe Regnaut, anticipating somewhat this question, describes the thing: “This is how I have seen such a collar made for other prisoners. They heat six hatchets to red hot, make a long stick from a green branch, string teh six hatchets along the stick, bring the two ends together, and then place the whole thing around the victim’s neck. I have never seen torment that moved me to as much compassion as did this one. The victim is naked, tied to a pole, and with this collar about his neck he does not know which way to twist. If he leans forward, those hatchets on his back begin to press on him more. If he leans backward, those on his stomach make him suffer the same torment. If he stands up straight, not moving one way or the other, the red-hot hatchets, pressing equally on both sides, double his agony.”
After having thus tortured Brebeuf, they then went to Lalemant. Having learned something from Brebeuf’s torture, they were able to keep Lalemant alive longer, from six in the evening to nine the next morning, March 17th. They had pushed burning coals into his eyes. Lalemant’s heart was also ripped out to be eaten. The relics of the two martyrs were buried in the Sainte Marie chapel.
