Mackenzie Delta Citation Data BaseDocument 19

“The Softness of a Dove and Cunning of a Snake”:

Sickness and Power in the Early Career of Gabriel Breynat,

Vicar Apostolic of the Mackenzie1901-26.

by Walter Vanast

Draft 2 May 11, 2011

McGill University

Intellectual Property

Corrections and Suggestions Invited

wvanast@videotron.ca

walter.vanast@mcgill.ca

"The Softness of a Dove and the Cunning of a Snake":

Illness and Power in the early career of Gabriel Breynat,

Vicar Apostolic of the Mackenzie

1901-1926.

Draft 2

Walter Vanast

Chronic debility empowered Bishop Gabriel Breynat's reign—his symptoms

raised his reputation and facilitated his works. How to that end he fed outsiders’

misconceptions of the rigours of the Far North and skilfully deployed self-image of

Christ like martyrdom is the subject of this story.

Without the, he might not have been able to build, reconstruct, and support the

hospitals, boarding schools, and churches that appeared between 1901 and 1926 in his

remote domain, the Vicariate of the Mackenzie, nor would he have been able to challenge

Protestant endeavours at far-away Aklavik, among the Inuit of the Mackenzie.

The bishop’s fatigue and illness justified asking the utmost of others. The more

frequent his crises, the harder his staff worked and the greater was the flow of funds from

wealthy benefactors and Rome.

The Far North in Vatican eyes gave missionaries the most severe test of all. The

ailing Breynat, labouring to the maximum (at least, so it was thought) in that terrifying

terrain, symbolized devotion and thereby received more attention from Rome than the

meagre five thousand souls in his domain, the Apostolic Vicariate of the Mackenzie

warranted. Sickness let him out- manoeuvre other prelates.

Irony marked all of this. For one, brisk air and wooded terrain were commonly

thought to bring health---a concept proven true in Canada’s Far Northwest where with

few exceptions missionaries lived to a ripe old age. Ill nuns and priests, as early mission

histories told, , had improved after arriving in what had until recently been the combined

Vicariates of Athabasca and Mackenzie, and Breynat as a frail seminary student had used

that very argument to end his schooling, attain the priesthood, and get his first posting.

Another irony was that, once a prelate, Breynat fed the opposite view. The cold

North, his admirers believed, made him ill. Painful travel across immense frozen wastes

drained the strength of the "Bishop of the North Pole." In fact, the prelate spent nearly all

his time (when he was there at all) in the most southerly part of his vicariate, where the

weather and topography differed little from that of Ontario's Lake Superior. Only in

summer, for a day at most, and for but a few miles, did he cross the Arctic Circle, and

even then he stayed well south of the treeline.

Not once in winter did he venture beyond the sixty-fourth parallel in winter, and

though he gave pelts of the polar bear to major figures overseas, he did not see its habitat

until decades later, when travel by small plane (as sole passenger other than his assistant)

ushered in an era where fame derived less from illness and more from being The Flying

Bishop, the title of the three-volume work he made his priests write.

As prelate, Breynat spent far less time afoot than the average European. His

missions all stood on the water's edge, and he reached them in summer in the comfort of

a private room on a trade-company vessel or the mission’s own small boat. In winter he

moved by sled, warmly bundled under fur skins, while a brother on snowshoes walked in

front of the dogs to compress the snow for them and a Métis guide standing behind

snapped the whip and kept the carriole on track.

Often the prelate's health improved during such trips. Indeed, he most often fell

ill not while in his northern domain, but on reaching France, his home country.i There, in

the greatest irony of all, he found solace in daily showers at a mountain spa under its

coldest spring, where icy water sprang from the rocks.

Sickness interwove closely with two other themes in Breynat's life: he loved

being the recipient of tender care at the hands of a woman in elegantly quiet settings. On

occasion, he catered to those needs in American convents, where nuns, happy to have a

bishop in their midst, met his every whim. More often he was a long-term guest in

stately homes owned by devout rich women, on whose peaceful grounds he lounged.

Early Years In France and Belgium

All these themes--illness, womanly care, and access to luxury—showed in

Breynat's formative years. The youngest of three children, he was the object of his

mother's fierce attachment, especially after the others chose for a celibate life as clerics.

Mental strain, he learned in that setting, could be deadly. His decision also to join the

priesthood sent Mrs. Breynat to bed, and within a year of his becoming a priest, she was

dead.ii

Though born into a modest home Breynat tasted luxury in his youth—local

aristocrats, the count and countess de la Suzeranne, took him underwing and financed his

schooling. The happy relationship, which lasted for decades, gave the student a glimpse

of the better life, made him comfortable with revered figures, and taught him a way of

life for which he always longed..

Illness dogged Breynat from childhood on and often disrupted his seminary

studies. Headaches followed small amounts of reading, abandoned after eighteen

mediocre months.iii At daybreak he walked barefoot for hours through a field, as it was

hoped exposure to dew (a form of Kneipp hydrotherapy) would help, yet symptoms

remained.iv Still, when galloping consumption swept through the ranks, his frailty caused

no problem. He sailed through while many students perished.v

In 1901, Monseigneur Émile Grouard, Vicar Apostolic of Athabaska-Mackenzie,

visited the school (which had moved to Liège in Belgium) to find recruits. His search did

not go well, as anti-clerical laws in France had hurt the pool of seminarians, but when

Breynat sought to go, the principal for good reasons said no. Nothing had helped the

ailing youth and his studies remained stalled, so it was clear he lacked what it took to

survive the Far North’s “difficult missions.” vi

Breynat appealed directly to top Oblate officials, explaining that ever since the

Virgin Mary spoke to him in a childhood dream he had felt compelled to go to the world's

most demanding mission—and the bishop’s offer fit the bill. Then, turning the table on

local nay-sayers, he used poor health as the main argument to let him go.

In his present state, Breynat argued, he was of little use to the Oblates. At the

seminary, under pressure before exams, his symptoms worsened and blocked

concentration. In the North, however, "open air, with lots of space and movement" would

restore his health. As well, it would let him read textbooks at leisure and thus complete

academic tasks. In short, it made sense to let him go.

Within days, Breynat received his obedience for the Athabasca-Mackenzie, along

with permission to be sworn in as priest. Mgr. Grouard presided over the Feb 21, 1892

ritual.

Canada: From Priest to Bishop

The recruit's weakness showed to all who met the new priest on his route across

Canada. In Ottawa, where he celebrated mass, a throat problem forced the ceremony

short. The local bishop, amazed so fragile a cleric was going north, warned him he

would never "make it in the missions," and turned out to be entirely wrong. A few years

later, Monseigneur Grouard's domain of Athabasca-Mackenzie was split into two

separate fields. Breynat, despite frequent illness, was the prime candidate for the portion

beyond the sixtieth parallel, the new Vicariate of the Mackenzie. vii viii ix

In the 1900 summer Grouard had the future bishop inspect the missions that

would soon be his. Since Breynat had spent all his time at Fond du Lac on Lake

Athabasca and had not gone further north, the trip would give him a first taste of the

Mackenzie River. His appointment still a secret; he traveled in the guise of tourist, so as

to learn more of complaints and problems—and it proved easy to fool seasoned

missionaries, as Breynat’s manifold medical complaints were well known to Oblates

throughout the region. "Tell them," Grouard ordered, "that I've sent you for your

health."x

Breynat that fall at Fond-du-Lac prepared for "the sacrifice that would soon be

demanded," xi and in February reached St. Albert near Edmonton for consecration. He

was, a witness noted, "lacking in health," worn out by the voyage, and "crushed by the

new burdens placed on his shoulders." A famed oratorxii spoke of the new prelate’s

episcopal motto: "Peregrinaro Pro Cristo," traveler for Christ. It was nothing now to

circle the globe, but in the North those words still held their true meaning. The

snowshoes and canoe on Breynat's episcopal emblem reflected his labours on endless

routes in "the search for abandoned souls all the way to the arctic shores."xiii

Love for the North, intoned another speaker, had caused Breynat enormous loss.

"Your father, mother, and sister died shortly after you left them. Your departure, like a

heavy sword, cut them down." Now the son was to experience his own Calvary. Each

priest was "another Christ," and that was all the more true of a bishop. All those painful

steps in the snow Breynat had taken in previous years; all the suffering on his long treks

across Lake Athabasca -- were as "a mere novitiate to the herculean task that lay

ahead."xiv,xv.

In a circular letter to his new staff, Breynat gave center stage to illness. He lacked

the health required for his new duties, so perhaps, his appointment was a "test" for all the

vicariate. The Lord had chosen "a weak instrument" to show he extent of heaven’s

power. xvi xvii, xviii The rhetoric of debility, however, did not fool all.

Father Dupire at Fort Resolution, with long experience in the district, was

thoroughly angered when in 1903 Breynat arrived unannounced with a bevy of nuns for a

new school—their housing seemed impossible to finish to the point where they could

survive the winter. When Dupire was somehow brought on side, he saw that Breynat had

dressed iron will and autocratic streak in a deceptive robe of weakness. "Monseigneur

combines, remarkably smoothly," said his journal, "the softness of a dove with the

cunning of a snake." xix xx

Meetings in Europe

In February Breynat left for Liège, where he attended the General Chapter of his

order, a meeting that took place every six years, and afterwards headed for France and the

Count and Countess de la Suzeranne. The latter, as it happened, had fallen ill, and the

bishop saw her through the final hours and administered the sacraments. Years later the

count would repay the favour by finding Breynat the best available medical assistance.xxi

The funeral over, Breynat left for Rome and an audience with newly elected Pope

Pius X, who heard at length of the hardships of the Mackenzie.xxii Then at last in January

the bishop reached Le Havre, in France to take a vessel back across the Atlantic. But,

"much to his shame," as he informed his ecclesiastic inferiors, he became ill and was

"forced to stay to seek improvement." It pained him greatly, but he could not return until

much later.xxiii xxiv

Breynat soon found that absence increased his stature and made the heart of his

northern staff grow fond. The longer the treatment required, the stronger was evidence

for his illness, while recovery gave proof that God had listened to the prayers of the

faithful. When, twelve months after missing the boat he arrived at the convent and

boarding school at Fort Providence, the fathers and sisters were beside themselves with

joy. A priest at mass thanked God for having brought the shepherd back to his flock and

during the homily exhorted staff and students to show their Breynat affection in return for

the enormous love the prelate held for them. Then he asked for continued prayers for

Breynat's health—though improved, it "left a lot to be desired." xxv,xxvi

In rapid succession, the loss of Oblate leaders (one died, another resigned) led to

two more trips to Europe. xxvii xxviii xxix xxx xxxi xxxii xxxiii. For the first, starting in January 1906,

Breynat stayed away eleven months. Then, barely resettled, he left again and by July

1908, for the fourth time in seven years, was heading east across the Atlantic.

Monseigneur Grouard, also on board, used the occasion to make a pressing

request—advancing in age and wanting respite from duty, he repeatedly he urged his

colleague, whose career up to that point he had closely guided, to let their domains be

reunited, and to take the helm. But just at that point Breynat, who disliked the thought,

developed symptoms that greatly "alarmed" the senior cleric. Realizing the bishop of the

Mackenzie was too weak to take on more work, Grouard chose to stay in harness.xxxiv

The outcome cheered Breynat immensely. Landing at London, he took in the

International Eucharistic Congress, attended its parades and accepted invites to

sumptuous dinners in vast country homes. Illness bothered him neither there nor on the

way to Rome or during the Oblate gathering (the Chapter) that followed.xxxv Only after it

had closed and he crossed into France did sickness return, as a sore throat precluded

saying mass or delivering a sermon.

At Lyon a medical expert submitted Breynat to weeks of "unpleasant" therapies

without benefit. And alarm set in when the former explained that the throat was in a "

pitiful” state and would need would need half a year of close work to see improvement.

So the patient left for Paris and the counsel of the Count de la Suzeranne.xxxvi

Concerned at Breynat's “dreadful appearance," the nobleman called his own

physician, who in addition to the disabled throat found the stomach out of kilter, the heart

about to give out, the liver engorged, and so on. "Not a single organ performed as it

should." Yet all structures were "in perfect shape" and there was no disease. "Your

nerves are exhausted," explained the medic, "they've given up!" The only way to bring

them in line was to massage the body daily with perfumed water, Eau de Cologne, using

a cloth made of crin, the coarse hair from a horse's mane and tail. Recovery would take

ten months.

Soon Breynat felt “new life” was entering all pores, and seemed so well he

decided to return to Canada. No one, he lamented afterwards, dissuaded him, for the

departure turned out to be the "greatest sin" of his life. The full course of treatment and

rest would have made him "good for a hundred years."xxxvii Instead, he caused permanent

harm.

Canada 1909-1910: A good tonic in a flask

When in mid-1909 Breynat returned to the Mackenzie he found that his staff had

performed superbly. The hard regime of mission life had hurt none and priests and nuns

were in excellent shape as they devoted themselves “fully, quietly, to their task."xxxviii

Unhappily, his own health stayed incomplete and relapse always threatened.

At Fort Providence in spring the mother superior had to rush to his room to

correct an indigestion. Weeks later, on learning a sore throat had put the Bishop, the

nuns began a neuvaine –prayers for his recovery during nine days of invocation to the

Sacred Heart, “les bras en croix,” arms held like a cross against the chest.xxxix

In September Breynat attended the International Eucharistic Congress in

Montreal, falling ill as it started. The "fourteen or fifteen thousand miles traversed by

boat, train, horseback, canoe, and dogsled" since the eau-de-cologne treatment had

suddenly caught up and as a result his attendance suffered greatly. When despite advice

to the contrary he joined the closing procession through the city he repeatedly almost

collapsed, but continued haltingly with the help of a "good tonic" hidden in his mantle.

Fortunately, help was near.

Among dignitaries who saw his discomfort was an old friend from France, Father

Jean-Baptiste Lémius. "The state you're in," he admonished, "you can't possibly go back

to your missions to travel by dogsled. The winters up there are far too harsh. Come with

me and get yourself back in shape." When Lémius offered to pay all expenses, Breynat

could not resist. Once at sea, he felt better.

France

In Paris the doctor scolded Breynat for leaving therapy prematurely. Though

healing would have to start anew, circumstance allowed for it to occur in a quiet setting.

A nun from Reims, hearing of the bishop's state, invited him to her convent for a period

of relaxation, and promised to include therapy with champagne, "the best of tonics," for

which the area was famous. Though Breynat's fragile stomach could not handle that

"excellent and delicious" remedy, he benefited greatly from the serene accommodation.

The idyll, however, was interrupted in December by a telegram from the Count de la

Suzeranne, who was severely ill.

Rushing to Paris, Breynat administered the last rites and then fell sick himself, for

a draught in the train had inflamed his throat, which caused much concern. When the

bishop revealed he had slept in the snow at 40 degrees below zero with similar

symptoms, the doctor marvelled that he must have been “in a special state of grace," even

as he explained again that nerves had caused the crisis. "Take good care of them," he

admonished. The bishop promptly resumed the eau-de-cologne regime.xl

Canada 1911—An Abscess in the Throat

Breynat seemed in great shape on returning to Resolution in 1911, pushing others

to do their most, sharing manual work, running the mission boat to the sawmill, and

helping to plane boards.xli But to one's surprise, the exertion took its toll. Headed to Fort

Rae in December, the bishop felt miserable and wished he’d not left—he liked

Resolution, where his "poor nervous system" felt best.xlii Soon his fatigue was evident to

all.

Traveling through Hay River, the bishop could not stop shivering as his throat

became sore and no amount of heating in the priest's cabin could warm him. The

Protestant minister, an old acquaintance, brought medicine "sure to work" that had no

effect—the swellings at the back of them mouth continued to enlarge, so that he could

barely sip water. Through cracks in the timber he heard underlings discuss how to

dispose of his remains, and with great effort, sure he would die, wrote orders for his

succession. Then of a sudden "the last abscess broke" and he felt somewhat better.xliii

Once back at Fort Resolution, Breynat regained some strength. "May the good

Lord," invoked the father superior on March 16, the eve of Breynat's birthday, "restore

the bishop to full health, and grant him a long life, for he really is, to all of us, a devoted

and affectionate father." The wish, it seemed, was granted, as in subsequent weeks the

bishop surprised the nuns by visiting classrooms, helping with English instruction, and on

Easter Sunday delivering the sermon. The high attendance by Indians "thoroughly

comforted" him,"xliv yet reversal seemed in the making.

On Pentecost, Breynat was unable to preach. In summer, though it was feared he

would be too ill to do the journey to other missions, it passed without problems.

Throughout fall, suspense mounted as staff discussed Breynat’s every act and its effect

on his state. The bishop, noted a senior priest, "carries on well enough; but his health

fails to improve." A month later he wrote how Breynat helped with a children's retreat

and somehow worked despite a “cross” of ill health. At Christmas, when the bishop

delivered a full homily, an assistant worried it might have been "too long for

Monseigneur's well-being."xlv

Breynat's performance of the simplest tasks came to be seen as special, and his

work as a form of martyrdom—a view to which Dr. J. Rymer, a destitute physician who

had taken permanent shelter at the Fort Resolute mission, gave his full imprimatur.

Writing in an international mission journal, he compared Breynat's exertion to the "great

fatigue and long privations of the early Christians." Labouring in the North, Breynat was

"spending” his force.xlvi

The bishop’s ups and downs made staff constantly worry, and they turned out to

be right when in winter he felt too weak to go north to Providence and instead headed

south to warmer climes. Returning in June, he seemed in "excellent health,"xlvii an

assessment that soon changed to "not flourishing," and his fragile state continued through

fall.xlviii "Not up to a long trip in the carriole," the bishop cancelled the Christmas visit to

Raexlix and at Providence shortly after caused panic when he fell ill and failed to show for

supper. A purgative brought improvement while two nuns hovered over him till late at

night.

Then, as Breynat prepared for a trip to Europe and another Oblate Chapter

General, his symptoms suddenly fled. In March he was "in a fine state" and when months

later he left his flock "a heavy heart" was all the father superior detected. "We share his

pain at parting," wrote the priest, "and hope through our prayers to obtain him a happy

voyage and a quick return." l

Another audience with the pope

The return might have been quick for Breynat soon heard that war had begun in

Europe and that the meeting was off, but he continued southwardli. It is not clear with

whom he spent the fall, but in New York in early 1915 he boarded a liner for Italy, where

Benoit XV once again received him "like a father." The pontiff showed deep interest in

the story of Fathers Rouvière and Leroux, despatched by Breynat two years earlier to

evangelize the Copper Inuit northeast of Great Bear Lake (neither prelate knew they had

been murdered). The work must continue, the pope urged, despite all difficulties. Making

a gift of a beautiful portable altar, he overwhelmed Breynat with blessings.lii

Strengthened by the papal audience, the bishop hoped for help for his vicariate

from Oblate officials, but found them less than enthusiastic. No staff could be spared,

resources were scarce, a great war raged nearby, and the voyage to Canada was long and

dangerous. And why all the fuss? Breynat's vicariate was small in terms of number of

souls—with but a few thousand Indians in all the Mackenzie.

Breynat responded with his most skilful words. His flock, he agreed, was small

and remote, but, those very qualities made it warrant special attention. The dreadful

isolation, the enormous distances between priests in those endless plains of snow and ice,

meant the Superior General should show paternal feelings to these loneliest members of

his religious family. Now that the Indians were all baptized and listened to the counsel of

their pastors, it was inconceivable the Oblates could "abandon" them.

And what about the Inuit? Would their small number and wide dispersal through

their "terrible land" exclude them from Jesus’ order to teach the Gospel to all the nations?

Protestants, Breynat warned, would succeed in any area neglected by Rome, for ministers

were determined. One had to respect their sincerity, though they taught an erroneous

creed. "How can we hesitate," he demanded, "to match their zeal? We, who have

received the order from the Vicar of Christ to take word of His salvation usque ad

extremum terrae, to the very end of the world?"

Oblate recruitment, Breynat pointed out, had long benefited from the selfless

sacrifice of Mackenzie priests. Accounts of their heroism brought the order more novices

than any other measure. Eager to show matching devotion, young men sought similar

adventure and privation. Rather than send them to other mission fields, "would it not be

just to give the Mackenzie its due portion?" The argument worked, although in an

unexpected manner. The Oblate assistant-general, Father Isidore Belle, accompanied a

jubilant Breynat back to his vicariate to assess the need.liii

Oblates from Europe visit the Mackenzie

For weeks on end, as the two made their way from Europe, Breynat worked on

the father with stories from his vicariate, and by June, when they arrived, Belle was well

on side. After Breynat told staff of "the tremendous good the visitor would do for the

missions," the assistant-general responded with praise for the great men who had served

the region. "How much God must love this corner of the world," he ended, "to have

given it missionaries of the calibre of Grandin, Faraud, Clut, and Grouard." Breynat, it

followed, stood in the same line of giants. Father Belle, wrote a nun, "spoke tenderly of

Monseigneur's devotion."liv

Traveling with Belle was Father Duchaussois, an Oblate priest who in time would

do Breynat's image enormous good. A superb writer, the young cleric had come from

France to serve the bishop's needs by writing a series of books about the Mackenzie

missions,lv and soon became aware of Breynat's precarious state of health. As the

episcopal party began its tour of missions north of Great Slave Lake and arrived at

Providence, Breynat required a sweat for a flu-like illness and, recovering slowly, could

not get on the next boat. The tour, as a result, was delayed ten days.lvi That winter, too

weak to make the Christmas trip to Rae, Breynat sent Duchaussois instead.lvii The

following year, however, was one of Breynat's best.

Journeys across Canada

After a long spring journey in the South, the bishop easily made the summer tour

of missions. In January, after a two-hundred mile dogsled trip, he was "in good health

and not too tired." At Resolution in March he was untouched by influenza when

everyone else took to bed and, becoming the "nurse," he cared for priests and brothers. In

August, after fifteen months in the North, good health remained. Then he was off to

eastern Canada and discussions about missions, schools, and health care with government

officials.lviii

His Ottawa visit completed, Breynat traveled across the country to meet with

Catholic leaders, many of whom spoke of issues requiring Papal consent and advice:

Ontario's resistance to Catholic schools needed a unified response; a bishop wanted a

coadjutor; another yearned to be replaced; a papal nuncio longed for transfer, and so on.

Suddenly, despite the submarine dangers of the Atlantic, it seemed a good idea to send

Breynat to Rome.lix

Illness in Rome, convalescence on the Côte d’Azur.

At the Vatican, Benoit XV gave the bishop repeated audiences, many dignitaries

offered their time, and a papal letter to the Canadian church soon followed. Breynat's

prestige in Rome was by now undoubted, and that showed when Cardinal van Rossum,

head of the powerful Propaganda of the Faith, invited him to officiate at mass on the day

of the Epiphany, a day of special celebration for missionaries.

Breynat was overjoyed, but just then his throat refused to cooperate, and a new

"angine" (as pain in that area is called in French) showed. For weeks, the bishop could

not leave his room. "The cold humid air of Rome in December and January," he

lamented, "made the crisis more severe and more dangerous than usual."

When at last Breynat felt strong enough he left for the soft climate of France's

Côte d'Azur, where he suffered a "long convalescence." Not until late August did he

reach the Mackenzie, leaving just enough time for a shortened inspection trip before the

Mackenzie froze.lx

“Cerebral Congestion”

The European stay had done Breynat wonders--all that fall his throat caused no

problem, and at Fort Smith on All Saints Day on the first of November he delivered a

long sermon in full voice. Days later, however, a new problem frightened staff. After

sitting immobile in his room, Breynat arose to add wood to the fire and as he opened the

stove door the heat caused light-headedness, leaving "just enough time" to throw himself

on the bed before passing out.lxi Sister Fortin, rushing over from the hospital, said little,

but Breynat saw in her eyes "just how serious my condition had become." He had sensed

it already: his thinking was muddled, his memory poor, and he had trouble finding words.

Clearly, he was suffering from a "cerebral congestion." lxii

Thanks to the sister's care, Breynat recovered quickly, if not fully, as intense

exhaustion remained. Leaving by dogsled for Resolution, he was sure of having a fever,

but on arriving days later felt surprisingly well. travel in brisk winter air had worked

wonders, so much so that the bishop felt jolly as he entered the mission.lxiii Those around

him, however, knew enough not to be fooled by his bonhomie.

The prelate's lively moods seldom lasted, and like his forays into hard work often

preceded a breakdown, so the staff watched still more closely for signs of illness. At

Providence in February the nuns admired the bishop's dedication "despite the precarious

state of his health," while throughout the Mackenzie priests and sisters scanned his letters

to get a sense of his true well-being. "Monseigneur's health is excellent," wrote a

relieved father superior at Resolution in his journal in May, "and that is of more

importance to us than anything else." Before long the assessment was no longer valid as

the suddenly ill Breynat needed weeks of full rest. Then, considering it "prudent" to see a

specialist soon, he left for the world outside.

Rest with Madame Pinaud in Texas

Speeding east across the country, Breynat worsened by the hour. At St. Boniface

(beside Winnipeg in Manitoba) a "serious crisis" forced refuge at the Grey Nun hospital,

where to the bishop’s disgust a doctor prescribed medications that almost caused "ruin."

Packing his bags, he left for better treatment elsewhere.

In Québec, friends directed him to the "famous" Dr. Masson. It was quickly

obvious the man had as much insight as the French experts who had cared for Breynat.

"It's not medical care you need," he advised, "but eight months of complete rest." Texas,

with its warm, dry climate, was the best place to take it. "I had no choice," Breynat wrote

later, "but to resign myself to the verdict." Feeling "utterly exhausted," he lacked the

strength to take any other course. He desperately needed repose.

As luck would have it just then, Breynat met the mother superior of a Grey Nun

hospital for incurables at Cambridge, Massachusetts. Breynat, realizing "it was just what

I needed," committed himself to the care of the sisters. They looked after him so well, he

"felt as if he were back in his northern missions." Writing to a young admirer, a doting

teenage girl whom he had befriended in the home of a Montreal acquaintance, Breynat

described his symptoms at the time as "head a little less weary; sleep intermittent; heart

strong; legs weak." To keep his thoughts from getting too muddled, he kept

correspondence to a minimum. Feeling early signs of improvement, he stayed with the

nuns for six "most agreeable and beneficial" weeks.lxiv Then he headed south.

At New Orleans, local Oblates received the bishop "with open arms and hearts."lxv

Swept away by their kindness, he felt as if in a magic world. But the honeymoon was

soon over. Finding the city too noisy for his tastes, the bishop left for a stay with the

Abbott Huot, a clerical friend holidaying on the Mexican Gulf. Chaplain to a wealthy

Montreal widow, the abbot had followed her to her magnificent winter residence at Pass

Christian.

Born in France and raised in Paris, Madame Pinaud was delighted by the arrival

of a fellow countryman, and a bishop at that. The abbot would soon return to Canada, but

she insisted that Breynat stay. She and her two teenage daughters, she implored, "would

be delighted to try to restore your health." lxvi Living up to that promise, she provided "a

most stimulating cultural presence." A woman of exquisite taste, she displayed an

extensive knowledge of intellectual and political issues. Long, intimate conversations on

matters of literature and history helped pass the time. Outside, the grounds were no less

inviting. The lawn ran down to within a few feet of the water. Pine trees shaded a

multitude of paths between the bayous. The bishop thought it "a blessing from heaven to

have found such delicious solitude."lxvii

Worries in the North

At Resolution, meanwhile, the community of priests, nuns, and children appealed

to heaven for Breynat's recovery. "We are asking," wrote Father Duçot to Pass Christian,

"for a complete recovery by the time of your patron feast on the eighteenth of March."lxviii

Young Clara, too, maintained a regime of frequent prayer. In a brief note, the bishop

thanked her for those efforts. Her requests for divine aid, he assured her, would

undoubtedly help him regain the health he so desperately needed to continue his work

among the "poor outcasts" of the North. Her plans to meet him somewhere, however,

received little enthusiasm. If he really wanted to get better, he would have to stay at Pass

Christian "until the last possible moment before returning to the North." lxix

No letter went to Father Duport at Resolution, who became increasingly

concerned. For Monseigneur "to remain inactive for so long in a remote corner of the

United States" could only mean that he was "seriously ill." On March 5, the religious

community began a neuvaine in the hopes of obtaining the bishop's cure. The

participants thought it especially worthwhile to address St. Joseph, whose feast fell on the

ninth day of the undertaking. "The intercession of that powerful saint," hoped Father

Duport, would bring about the desired result.lxx

The supplicants had no way of knowing if their appeals found favour. Breynat

wrote to almost no one but Clara. He was "so busy doing nothing," he told her, "that my

correspondence suffers -- and so do my friends." He anticipated the day on which he

would be able to address the backlog. Healed, he would finally be able to "go back on

duty for God." The Good Master, it seemed, was already restoring some of his strength.

He hoped to deploy it better than he had in the past.lxxi

In Rome, Cardinal Van Rossum also received a letter. Medical orders, Breynat

divulged, had instructed him to spend all his winters under a warm sun. Thirty years of

mission work, twenty as bishop, in the severe climate of the North, with its extremely

demanding travel conditions, had reduced him to such a state of "total exhaustion" that he

considered resigning. Only his "love for the missions and apprehension at being

unemployed" stopped him. lxxii

A sudden crisis while in the Mackenzie

When, in late spring, Breynat said goodbye to Pass Christian, he found the leaving

of its enchantments "a real sacrifice."lxxiii With heavy heart, he headed for the North. He

knew, however, that there was little time to visit his missions: an Oblate Chapter General

was to be held in Rome in the fall. Nevertheless, his arrival led to exuberant celebrations.

At Resolution, the congregation bowed their heads in thanksgiving to the Sacred Heart of

Jesus, which had "preserved Monseigneur and brought him back to us." The bishop's

health was not complete, but all hoped "that God's divine goodness will allow further

improvement."lxxiv

Although the need for manpower at Resolution was already desperate, the bishop

asked Father Fallaize to move further north to work among the Copper Inuit. The

Oblates sent in 1913 had been murdered, and the push ad extremum terrae had to go on.

Only an elderly priest now remained to share the workload with the superior, Father

Duport.lxxv From that moment on, the latter rarely had a moment of rest.

At Providence, the next mission, disaster struck as Breynat descended the

gangplank. In full view of the waiting crowd, a sudden "weakness" overwhelmed him.

The rest of the summer trip was cancelled. After a two-week rest, the prelate was off for

Rome.lxxvi Passing through Québec, he saw Madame Pinaud at her summer home, where

she slipped him a generous viaticum, money for extras on his travels. "Put it to good

use," she urged, "make your trip from New York to Naples as comfortable as

possible."lxxvii

Europe and “an especially painful situation.”

At the Chapter General, Breynat applauded colleagues' expanding missions "in

warmer climates and more favourable settings." Despite the few souls in his own

vicariate, he "humbly" asked them consider the "especially painful situation" of his poor

priests, the grands isolés of the North, who all alone performed the "extremely arid task"

placed on the order's shoulders by the Oblates’ founder, Monseigneur Mazenod. The

work was crushing and their failure would embarrass the order in front of the entire

church.

"Before we succumb," Breynat ended, "we cry: au secours!" lxxviii But the call for

help heard in near-drownings had little effect, and he got no new priests or brothers. If he

wanted more than was his due, he would have to look elsewhere.

The congress over, Breynat showed little haste in returning to the North, and

Father Duport, who ran the vicariate in his absence, had no idea of where he might be.

The bishop, he ribbed gently in a forwarded letter, had become like "the Wandering Jew,

completing a tour of the world for the fifth or sixth time." The response came from Liège

in January. Breynat, though unwell, hoped to make his way to Pass Christian in Texas.

Darker news followed—after a medical crisis a doctor had "prohibited the voyage" to

America. lxxix, lxxx

The travel restriction, it seems, did not apply in Europe. Breynat journeyed

constantly, giving talks in hopes of finding recruits. Spending time in France, Belgium,

and Germany, he visited relatives of his staff—contacts, he later explained, that offered

large rewards. "How happy the mothers and fathers were to get details of their sons'

activities face to face -- to learn of the daily lives of these dear ones who had left them

out of love of God." Personal acquaintance with families allowed him "to understand far

better the joys and sorrows of his co-workers."lxxxi lxxxii

Gabriel, patron saint of the Mackenzie

In June 1921, after eleven months of absence, Breynat returned to Resolution. He

looked tired, but the summer's travels restored his glow. By late August, after

"demanding visits" to many posts, he appeared in excellent shape. News from Rome

bolstered his spirits: the Church had honoured his request to make St. Gabriel the patron

saint of the Vicariate of the Mackenzie. The bishop's own namesake and patron would

henceforth occupy a special place in the devotions of northern believers.

"May the angel of the Virgin Mary our Immaculate Mother," invoked Father

Duport, "protect us as if we were his very own possession; may he protect us on difficult

days from the designs of the Evil One against whom we are here to do battle, and who

seeks to entice us into perdition." lxxxiii

Not surprisingly, images of Gabriel the saint and Gabriel the bishop commingled.

That very year Rome had named the saint as patron of radio, telegraph and wireless

operators. The symbolism captured the celestial speed at which electronically generated

messages traversed the stratosphere. Breynat's constant travels and brief appearances

matched the metaphor.

Another stay with Madame Pinaud

In late September, the bishop was off to Edmonton, Ottawa, and Montreal, but his

whereabouts thereafter were a mystery to Father Duport. "No doubt," asked a note from

the latter, "you are far away? Under what sky, in what land?" lxxxiv News eventually

reached him that Breynat had traveled through rural Québec to enlist brothers for the

North, and that the result far exceeded expectations. The meetings, however, had sapped

the prelate’s strength.

Breynat was recovering under the gentle care of Madame Pinaud at Pass Christian

when papal authorities received, once again, a missive from him informing of a "crisis."

Father Duport, learning of the setback, urged the patient to stay as long as possible, so he

could be at his best for the summer's work.

Duport could not, however, agree with Breynat's decision to open a novitiate for

brothers at Resolution. Material resources, stretched to the limit, would not allow the

lodging and feeding of so many men. Staff had enough on their plates as it was and

without Father Fallaize the superior found himself running from morning to night.

The combined demands of running the mission, supervising the sawmill, and

visiting Indian camps allowed Duport not a minute of rest. On top of his local worries,

he ran the Vicariate during Breynat's many absences; further work, he let the bishop

know, would make things impossible. Already he lacked the time to supervise and

instruct novices.

In a depiction of his daily life in 1921-1922, just submitted to an international

mission journal, Duport described his dogsled trips to sick and dying Indians in the

depths of winter, the fatigue and worry of his tasks, and the unending requests for his

services. The entire year was a race. "Let me tell you," he ended, referring to a French

expression that emphasizes an utter lack of spare moments, "if I have any time to write

poems!"lxxxv

Breynat paid Duport scant attention. On June 10, 1922, he arrived at Resolution

with ten novice brothers.lxxxvi As was proper, given his vow of obedience, Father Duport

made no complaint when several novice brothers quit before long. But, after a difficult

initial period, others proved helpful in gathering food, cutting lumber, and constructing

buildings. Soon, they would provide the backbone of the preparations for a new mission

in Aklavik.

The bishop now had the men to do the labour, but still lacked funds. Many of his

churches, in a state of decay, needed replacement. Fort Smith, which had only a chapel,

needed a full-sized house of worship. And since Protestants were building a church at

Aklavik among the Inuit of the Mackenzie Delta; Breynat wanted to match them with a

competing mission, including a hospital. Yet none of it could be done without access to

money. Unless he drew more Vatican attention to himself, Breynat would get nowhere.

Many mission organizations, larger than the Oblates and better connected, competed for

the resources dispersed by Cardinal Van Rossum's Propaganda of the Faith, but the

bishop had planned his strategy well.

Father Duchaussois tells of polar missions in Rome

Father Duchaussois' publications about the Mackenzie had found success beyond

Breynat’s wildest hopes. lxxxvii lxxxviii The second volume, Aux Glaces Polaires, [To the

Polar Ice], received wide notice in the Catholic press and a prestigious award from the

French Academy of Letters. In 1922, when Duchaussois was in Rome on a publicity

tour. Monseigneur Migliore, a visiting prelate who had found the book fascinating,

brought the author in during his own brief audience with the Pope.lxxxix

Well- read in ethnology, Pius XI? revealed close knowledge of the writings of the

North’s early visitors. "As a young student at the library of the Villa Borghese," he

explained, "the first books I read concerned the Mackenzie," and he had "never stopped

having an interest in that country." Looking afar, as if scanning a vast horizon, he named

the works he had consumed, including Franklin's Report of a Second Expedition to the

Arctic Ocean. In detail he retold how the explorer halted quest at Cape Turn Again, and

how on an earlier voyage to the Barren Lands his helpers perished.

"It’s the Oblates," Pius suddenly asked, "who still evangelize the peoples of those

desolate lands, isn't it?" "Yes, Holy Father," stammered the amazed Duchaussois, "for

seventy five years they have been the only ones in all the territory." "Oh, what brave

workers," came the response, as the pope joined hands in prayer-like posture, "I've

always been convinced that to stay in so deserted and cold a land requires a great reserve

of physical and mental strength." He repeated the words with special emphasis: "Yes, a

great worthiness, physical and mental."

Just then, Duchaussois realized that Monseigneur Migliore had given the pope a

copy of Aux Glaces Polaires, and that it lay opened at a photograph of Breynat with his

dogteam in the snow. Less timid now, the father pointed out that the fur-clad figure was

the present "Bishop of the North Pole," who had traveled the wastes of the Athabasca-

Mackenzie region for thirty years. "Yet," the priest added, "he has never been in 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 to read it soon. In

the meantime, he would pray especially for the Oblates’ missions.xc xci

Shortly after, on the anniversary of the founding of the Propaganda of the Faith,

Duchaussois spoke to a packed audience in one of the Vatican's largest halls, where a

large number of dignitaries, including Cardinal Van Rossum, attended. L'Osservatore

Romano, the Vatican newspaper, reported the talk under the headline "The Missions of

the North Pole,"xcii and repeated Duchaussois’ s depiction of the "extreme desolation" of

the north's frozen wastes and the difficulty of travel in those immense regions. The father

told of the privations suffered by men raised in civilized lands, and lingered on the ways

beasts attacked unsuspecting victims. Using the deaths of Fathers Rouvière and Leroux

as example, he showed the mortal danger of approaching pagans who were "enemies of

the Good Word."

For two hours, the oration continued. The father, said l'Osservatore, opened

everyone's eyes to the "incredible heroism" of the missionaries in the remote Mackenzie,

who toiled so very hard to save souls otherwise ignored and doomed to eternal darkness.

Because of their efforts, flowers of virtue, pure and pleasing to God, were now blooming.

All who had the privilege of hearing Duchaussois had left with a double wish: "to hear

him again, and to do something for the missions." xciii xciv

Thus, the Vicariate of the Mackenzie and Gabriel Breynat, its untiring leader,

became the object of praise at the very center of Catholic power. Without being there,

the bishop had engineered a public relations coup.

An Energized Bishop

That summer, although his "poor nerves were crying out for mercy," Breynat

spent seven weeks in his vicariate,xcv and a subsequent period of "necessary repose" in the

South worked wonders. Rather than spend the winter elsewhere, as he had for three

years, he returned to the Mackenzie, remaining active, almost driven, for a full eight

months. xcvi xcvii Completing plans for church renovations and for the new Aklavik

mission, he seemed energized by the enormous workload those projects imposed on

underlings.

The winter's journeys only seemed to make him stronger. The trip to Fort Rae

brought him back in excellent health, and at Providence Breynat participated in a

whirlwind of celebrations, confessions, retreats, and confirmations. Tirelessly, he

counselled sisters, brothers, and fellow priests. His presence offered a happy excuse for

the mounting of pageants, plays, and religious processions. The prelate distributed candy

in the dormitories, surrounded by banners proclaiming "let the children come unto me"

and "Mane Nobiscum." "Yes, oh Yes!" proclaimed the sister superior, "may our good

Pastor stay with us a long time!"xcviii?

At Resolution, Breynat maintained the hectic pace. Directing carpenters at the

church and woodcutters at the mill, he lent a welcome hand. Only once, very briefly,

near the end of May, did he feel "lightly indisposed." At the end of the summer

inspection trip, Father Duport was amazed at how well the bishop looked. When, a week

later, Breynat left for Rome, no one could have predicted that illness would keep him

overseas the next four years.xcix, c.

Aglow with success

At the Vatican, Breynat enjoyed a long visit with the pope. "You come from afar,

Monseigneur," said the pontiff, motioning the visitor to a seat at his side, "You come

from the ends of the earth. I must tell you that I follow, in spirit and heart, your progress

across those desolate wastes. I have almost completed reading Aux Glaces Polaires. I

found it enormously edifying, and I thank God for the marvels of grace brought about

through the ministry of the Oblates."

The pontiff listened intently as Breynat told of the difficulties that sapped the

strength of his missionaries and prematurely ended their life. The pope's sympathetic ear

gave Breynat the perfect occasion to ask for favours. He needed financial support and

hoped for indulgences adjusting religious life to the harsh realities of the Mackenzie

(these concerned the handling of sacramental bread, fasting, and daily devotions).ci

Within the day all the bishop's requests were granted. More than that, Cardinal

Van Rossum asked him to tell his missionaries that the church held them is special

esteem. Rome was well aware of their sacrifices in spreading the Gospel "among

desolate tribes at the ends of the earth." So awed was the cardinal by their special labours

that he prayed for them at mass every morning -- "Yes! Every morning!"

Aglow with success, Breynat left for France. A "great test," however, abruptly

changed his mood as he crossed the border. cii His nervous system "protested" against an

overload of travel, worry and responsibility. The breakdown, he knew, had been in the

making for over a year, for his attitude to underlings had changed to the point of causing

unnecessary suffering. His senior counsellors, including Father Duport at Resolution,

had felt the warning sign and urged him to get help while in Europe. Only now did he

agree to slow down.

Nervous collapse

What happened next took the bishop by surprise. Instead of making him better,

rest transformed what had been a diffuse weakness into a "complete nervous collapse."

Insomnia troubled his nights; reading and writing became impossible; tears appeared

without warning. Breynat's head hurt, he suffered from indigestion, and his legs felt

heavy. Minor irritations precipitated sobs, and with each such outburst the depression

deepened. Those around him felt the sting of an easily aroused temper. For "the first

time in my life," Breynat recalled later, he became discouraged. If symptoms persisted,

he would resign.

A senior Oblate had a better plan. "Get the Holy See," he suggested, "to name a

temporary administrator for the Vicariate, with full powers and responsibility. Then, you

take a rest. You're still young. With a little care, you'll be back at the helm in no time."

Cardinal Van Rossum arranged the matter so that in April 1924 Breynat was relieved of

all responsibilities and Father Duport would take over. The cardinal himself would keep

an eye on the vicariate from Rome. ciii

By letter, the bishop told his staff of the "pain" he felt at the forced exile.

Difficult as everyone would find the next year, it was all for the best. Repose would

restore his strength and set aside, for many years, the spectre of early retirement. civ,cv

At Resolution, the setback caused much grief. Long voyages and excessive

duties, all agreed, had precipitated the breakdown. Resigned to God's will, the

community stoically accepted the prelate's absence. Father Duport felt certain their

prayers for his healing would be answered. Surely the Great Master "would take into

account their good works, generosity, and devotion."cvi

Boarding the next steamer to conduct his first ever tour of the missions, Duport

discovered what little time the vessel spent at each stop. "On average," he noted

apologetically, "I spent but three or four hours at each mission." Still, it was long enough

to recognize the missionaries' high morale, their willingness to contribute to the overall

good of the Vicariate, and their faithful pursuit of a life in the service of God.cvii

Therapy at Eaux les Bains

Breynat, meanwhile, pursued a cure. A Lyon physician confirmed the "pitiful

state" of his nerves, and prescribed hydrotherapy at the Divonne-les-Bains spa near

Geneva. Breynat found a delightful small hotel whose staff proved constantly attentive,

and his choice of a certain Doctor Napoléon Vieux could not have been better. The

medic, while divulging how "serious" the disorder had become, offered much hope.

Given time, remission was possible. "Your solid constitution," he explained, "will save

you."

Much work lay ahead. Every day, Breynat would have to submit to the coldest

showers the spa could offer, at the spot where springwater emerged from the mountain’s

side; the doctor himself would apply the remedy. Except for a short daily walk, the

regime dictated total rest. A personal secretary, supplied by the Oblates, performed even

the smallest chores. cviii

Therapy, it soon showed, would have to be lengthy. "The illness," a November

bulletin to Resolution revealed, "is deep-seated and serious." From a physical point of

view, the patient was improving. All spiritual or intellectual thought, however, remained

"very difficult...almost impossible." Reading and writing had been prohibited; Breynat

no longer recited the breviary. The illness had forced him into "a purely vegetative

state."

At the consecration of an old friend, Breynat had suffered a relapse, necessitating

addition of an entire month of showers in the spring. As reaction to treatment was always

"slow and painful," he could not possibly return to the Mackenzie until the following

summer.cix "We are thankful," responded Father Duport "for the brief missives, even if

they come from another's hand." The missionaries, he assured the bishop, were

continuing to pray for his recovery.cx

Mademoiselle de Romigoux

Unfortunately, events conspired to halt Breynat's progress, as the time had come

for the doctor's annual break cxi and winter was making the water too cold. Where, the

bishop worried, should he spend the idle months before resuming treatment?

Stays a Oblate residences set his nerves back, reminding him how much he

disliked being in a community. He tried to be a guest in private homes, but though the

first day always went well, trouble always followed. Where companionship was offered,

he wanted solitude, and within a week his irritability forced a move to yet another

acquaintance. Only later did Breynat recognize how much hurt he had inflicted.

The bishop felt worse than ever as the failed search for peace negated months of

treatment. But then again Father Lemius, who had helped so much in Montreal in 1910,

came to the rescue. Renowned for his sermons, the priest received support from

prominent society figures, and some time previously to please the most generous,

Mademoiselle de Romigoux, he had had Breynat bring her a polar bear pelt.cxii

When the father informed her of the bishop's "overwhelming fatigue," the wealthy

spinster determined to help, and in a warm letter revealed how pained she was by his

illness. "Come and spend some time with me here, under the pine trees of les Landes.

Consider my house yours -- stay as long as you like." Breynat expected the letdown he

had felt in so many homes already—but it turned out he need not have worried. cxiii

At Mademoiselle de Romigoux’s mansion at Béliet, beautiful and spacious,

Breynat settled in a large room with "all modern conveniences." Above was a private

oratory to celebrate mass, and all around magnificent pine forests offered sheltered paths

where he could wander for hours without seeing a person. The hostess, well known for

her work among the sick and poor, showed herself to be a most sensitive and gentle

nurse. Not once did Breynat's shifting moods upset her. Tolerating his quirks, she put

him at ease; she knew when to enter his world and leave it. In no time at all, two

"charming months" passed by. "Providence," Breynat recognized, "was spoiling me in

letting me inside the gates of that little paradise." cxiv

A Cure in Bethlehem

After Christmas, when Father Lemius arrived, the three of them spent tranquil

days. In the evening they talked gently by the fireside, and one such occasion, the talk

turned to pilgrimages. The Father had a liking for the magnificent shrine to Mary at

Montmartre, where he had once been chaplain. The hostess preferred Lourdes, where,

each year, she spent time and money among the suffering. The only site that could

possibly elicit his enthusiasm, Breynat insisted, was the Holy Land itself. Within the day,

Father Lemius had talked Mademoiselle Romigoux into financing the journey. By late

February, the party left for Palestine.

A fine holiday it turned out to be, as frequent rests in good hotels ensured the

bishop did not tire, and the group stopped in Naples, Palermo, Athens, and

Constantinople before reaching Jerusalem. Words failed Breynat as, walking on the very

ground where Jesus had trod, he experienced deep emotions. At Nazareth, on the feast

day of St. Gabriel, he said mass at the altar of St. Gabriel, in the grotto where the

archangel had delivered God's message to Mary.cxv

In Resolution, that same day was clear and sunny. Because it was Breynat's

birthday and the feast day of St. Gabriel, the patron saint of the vicariate, the children at

the convent school had a holiday. Nuns and priests turned their thoughts to the ailing

bishop and prayed for his convalescence. "Let us hope," said Father Duport in a

summary of the day's events, "that St. Gabriel has applied all of his enormous influence

in presenting our petitions to God. May he grant us the recovery of our head pastor and

father in this world below and send him back to us as soon as possible."cxvi

When, shortly thereafter, he learned (via the first wireless message he had ever

received) that Breynat was in Palestine, his hopes were raised. "Might it be possible," he

wondered, "that Monseigneur will find a cure in the land of miracles of the Sacred

Heart?"cxvii A letter soon informed him that a miracle had indeed taken place. cxviii

"I want to let you know," Breynat began, "that your appeals to Heaven have been

answered." His full recovery was at hand. While at Nazareth he had felt, for the first

time, the certainty that he would not have to spend another winter away from the North.

He had arrived at first vespers on the feast of St. Gabriel, "the Protector of our Vicariate."

The following day, he had celebrated mass "in the very Grotto where the sublime mystery

of the Incarnation took place."

Gentle emotions had filled his soul. "Your guardian angels, it seemed, were all

about me, their arms filled with the supplications and prayers that I knew you had all

offered, the previous day, for the recovery of the unworthy Pastor of the Vicariate. St.

Gabriel took all those testaments of your filial devotion and presented them to our

Immaculate Mother, who, in turn, placed them lovingly in the heart of her Divine Son."

At that very moment the bishop had felt the firm conviction that the wishes of the

Mackenzie faithful would be granted.

Breynat's confidence was now such that he wanted to announce his return by the

middle of the summer. After landing at Marseilles, he needed just a few weeks of shower

therapy "to consolidate the gains of the past year." A period of rest would follow,

allowing the body to "create the best possible result." Then, he would be on his way

home. In the meantime, he needed prayers to ensure further progress. He was still

unable to read the breviary.cxix

For the first time, Breynat told his missionaries about Mademoiselle Roumégoux.

The lady had "stopped at nothing" to get him back to a state where he could return to his

beloved missions. After months of "most maternal devotion," she had offered him this

pilgrimage to the Holy Land as a New Year's gift. There, she had hoped, he would find

the "distraction and spiritual rest" that would restore his well-being.

Approved by Rome, Breynat hastened to add, the voyage had been strongly

recommended by his doctor. The many blessings showered on this journey indicated that

"God himself" had wanted it to take place. Mademoiselle Roumégoux, whose charity

had made it all possible, now planned to extend her largesse: she would soon donate

money for the daily operations of the bishop's vicariate. She wanted to be known as the

petite maman à tous, the little mother to everyone in the Mackenzie. From now on,

Breynat ordered "let her name rank high in your prayers each day!" cxx

Saddened at leaving Jerusalem, Breynat boarded the train to Egypt.cxxi On camel

back, he viewed the famous pyramids; visits to the ruins of Luxor and the recently

discovered tomb of Tut-Ank-Amon followed. On the steamboat from Alexandria to

France, as the leisurely pace of a sea voyage imposed itself, the bishop felt better than

ever. Mentally and physically, he had benefited enormously from the voyage. Buoyed,

he "really began to believe" that he might soon return to the Mackenzie. Once again,

however, that was not to be the case.

Setback at Marseille

At the Marseille docks, Breynat suffered a severe setback. The noisy cries of the

stevedores, the demands of the customs officers, and the hustle-and-bustle of debarking

passengers upset him enormously. The effect on his nervous system was "disastrous."

Instead of heading for Canada, he set off for Dr. Vieux. Cardinal van Rossum extended

his sabbatical indefinitely, urging the bishop to remain in therapy long enough for a

complete cure. "Only when your doctor authorizes you to return to your vicariate," he

ordered, "are you to take over from Father Duport." cxxii

In Resolution, the new church had just been completed. Indians from far and

wide had come to celebrate the official dedication ceremonies. It was such a pity, Father

Duport lamented, that the bishop could not be with them -- he "would have been so

happy." The church had been Breynat's idea; it was he who had organized it all and

provided the necessary materials and labourers. That winter alone, the mission mill had

produced over five thousand feet of lumber for the project. The structure, over ninety

feet long and rising sixty feet above the ground, was "a worthy monument" to the

bishop.cxxiii

The celebrations were hardly over when Duport was informed that Breynat would

stay away for another twelve months. Dashing off to other missions, he added, once

again, the many duties of vicarial administrator to his local responsibilities.cxxiv

Home via the Panama Canal

That fall, after months of icy showers, Breynat began to feel better. Increasingly,

he felt the need to visit the Mackenzie, even if the exertion were to force him back to

France right away. As the healing season ended at Divonne-les-Bains, the bishop asked

Dr. Vieux's permission. The voyage, he argued, would benefit his spirits. Away from his

flock, he had begun to languish; the separation had become too painful. The doctor

eventually agreed, on condition that Breynat spend a long period at sea on his way to

Canada. If he promised to take the Suez Canal route via Ceylon, Japan, and the Pacific

Ocean, a cruise of many months duration, he could go.cxxv

Breynat, having taken a vow of poverty, lacked the personal finances for such a

prolonged voyage. Fortunately, Mademoiselle de Romigoux, once again, came to the

rescue. Father Duchaussois, on another publicity tour of France, made an "indiscretion"

during a visit to Béliet. Speaking to the lady, he let it slip that medical authorities had

ordered a long sea excursion for her patient. Indignant, she demanded to know why

Breynat had not told her. "If the doctor recommends it," she admonished the prelate,

"you must obey." Despite "many objections" on the bishop's part, she insisted on funding

the therapeutic passage eastward. Watching her determination, Breynat recalled an old

French proverb: "What a woman wants, God wants."cxxvi

That month, what God wanted was also on the mind of Father Duport. For three

years, the Mackenzie's missionaries had accepted Monseigneur's absence with

resignation. Perceiving his illness as a test of their resolve, they had redoubled their

work. Still, their most ardent wish for 1926 was the return, in good health, of their

bishop.cxxvii

In France, the Oblate Order assigned Father Edmond Planet, a "permanently

disabled" World War I veteran, to accompany Breynat on the ocean voyage. The priest

received a monthly pension from America that would come in handy for extras during the

trip. But such costs, it turned out, remained minimal; at each all of their many stops,

local missionaries treated the bishop and his traveling partner like visiting

ambassadors.cxxviii In Ceylon, former colleagues from Breynat's seminary days showed

them exotic sites. Four "delicious weeks" rushed by. Near Hanoi, they visited

"magnificent rice and coffee plantations." Three-day stays at "sumptuous" Hong-Kong

and Shanghai followed. After landing at Kobe, Japan, the two Oblates made a side trip to

Korea. A wonderful stay with new acquaintances, bishops they had met on board ship,

followed. Then, after a tour of Tokyo's many temples and a look at the awesome damage

of a recent earthquake, Breynat and his partner boarded a liner for Vancouver.cxxix

At Resolution, the staff never flagged in their prayers for Breynat's healing. In

March, a note from Port Said suggested the appeals had been effective: the bishop was

improving. Encouraged, the community asked St. Gabriel (whose feast day occurred just

then) to obtain full recovery. They thanked the great saint for the help and protection he

had offered in the past. To increase the likelihood of his paying attention to their

supplications, they vowed to labour harder than ever before in their tasks. Pledging to

seek his intervention more often and more fervently, they assured the saint of a newly

prominent place in their lives.cxxx

Two weeks later, the community asked the Sacred Heart of Jesus to return the

prelate soon and in good health. "Allow him," they appealed. "to spend many long years

in the midst of the small flock for which he has sacrificed his well-being." cxxxi On May

13, they began a novena dedicated to Bishop Eugene de Mazenod, founder of the Oblate

Order. Never before had they asked that revered cleric for intercession. Anxieties were

such, however, as to justify the unusual route of appeal.

Preparations had begun for the twenty-fifth anniversary celebrations of

Monseigneur Breynat's reign in the Mackenzie. At each convent, mission school, and

priestly residence, speeches had been memorized, plays rehearsed, and songs rehearsed at

length. The vicariate's four new churches were decked out in special decorations. All

mission buildings were scrubbed and the grounds spruced up for the episcopal visit.

Important ecclesiastic visitors from Canada and Europe would soon arrive for the

ceremonies. It would be awful if Monseigneur Breynat were to get sick now, exhausted

by his long voyage.cxxxii

Celebrations in the Mackenzie

On May 28, Monseigneur Breynat crossed the sixtieth parallel and entered his

own domain. At Fort Smith, joyous celebrations erupted. "All hearts," wrote Breynat,

"vibrated in unison at the joy of being reunited."cxxxiii He let it be known that his health

was still not all that it should be, but that hardly dampened the joy.cxxxiv A few days later,

Father Duport arrived on the St. Gabriel, a small mission vessel, to take him further

north. Together, they made their way north. On June 4, 1926, a jubilant crowd of priests,

nuns, and children waited on the Resolution dock to see Bishop Gabriel Breynat stand

ever taller as the St. Gabriel approached the shore.cxxxv The heavenly Gabriel had

answered their prayers. "The happy day so long desired," had finally arrived.

The bishop celebrated mass in a packed church the next day. He looked happy,

but everyone knew that illness still made his life difficult. Dr. Bourget, the local Indian

agent and physician, had divulged the details. Perhaps, Father Duport suggested,

Monseigneur would get better now that he was surrounded by his own flock.cxxxvi But, it

was improper to pin hope on that remedy. Heaven alone could effect a complete

eradication of symptoms.

"May the Sacred Heart of Jesus," invoked the nuns, "through the intermediary of

our little sister Saint Theresa, heal our beloved Father." They promised to make

sacrifices in their daily lives and to offer up good works to that purpose. For three days,

between June 6 and 8, their supplications continued. There was much cause for concern.

Breynat had become "terribly troubled" by the delayed arrival of outside dignitaries.

Among them was Father Belle, who, once again, had traveled from Oblate headquarters

in Rome.cxxxvii

At five in the morning, on June 9, out of the mists appeared the vessel bringing

Father Belle and Monseigneur Joussard, the assistant bishop to Monseigneur Grouard.

Breynat, the "happy Jubilaire," at once celebrated a packed thanksgiving service. Two

hours later, a formal outdoor procession led to the pontifical mass. Father Planet,

Breynat's traveling companion, stood in the chancel. Elderly Father Dupire, who had had

left the North but once in his whole life, was at his side.cxxxviii

Father Belle, delivering the sermon, spoke of the love of a pastor for his sheep.

That love had lent the twenty five years of Breynat's episcopacy its particular grandeur; it

had been the driving force behind his incessant travels in the vicariate and around the

world. Indeed, that love had pushed the bishop to "sacrificing all" to the point of the

complete breakdown of his health. That love, he had shown, included the willingness to

lay down his life for the Mackenzie should God demand it.cxxxix

As the Magnificat burst forth from the congregation, Breynat was escorted to his

residence. There, deeply touched, he bestowed paternal blessings on the religious

community. A banquet for visitors and staff followed. Confirmation of twenty five

youngsters by Monseigneur Joussard, all but two of them pupils at Resolution, then took

place in front of the assembled visitors. Fatigue had forced Breynat to take a brief nap,

but he arose in time to attend the five o'clock mass, and to occupy the seat of honour at

the evening's entertainment by the children. Overwhelmed with emotion at the display of

affection, he could but stammer a few gracious words in response. Monseigneur Joussard

had to deliver the "thank-you" speech.cxl

The celebrations had been arranged so that as many Indians as possible could

attend. It was "treaty time" at Resolution, and native families from around Great Slave

Lake had come for their annual gathering, socializing and trading while they waited for

Dr. Bourget to distribute the annual five dollar payment. As the ecclesiastic visitors from

the South strolled outside with their host, they witnessed the Indians "surround Mgr.

Breynat and bend to their knees as they pressed their lips to his ring." The bishop, Father

Duport noted, "knew each one by name, and showed an interest in all matters that

concerned them. Here was truly the good Pastor among his flock."cxli The next day, on

June 15, Breynat and his guests took the steamer northward to other missions and further

celebrations.

The New Mission in the Mackenzie Delta

For the first time in his life, Breynat traveled the Mackenzie River beyond Arctic

Red River. As the boat arrived at Aklavik, he and his companions saw the newly built

Catholic convent school, hospital, and mission residence high up on the bank. For three

years, the woodmill at Resolution had worked almost daily to provide the lumber. Priests

and brothers had laboured fiercely to build the barges to take the lumber north.

Throughout the Mackenzie Vicariate, missionaries had skimped on foods and goods in

order to save money for the Aklavik undertaking. For more than twelve months, a

handful of nuns and priests, despite great material difficulties, had lived in the remote

setting.

Proudly, Breynat showed the establishment to his fellow travelers. As Pius XI

had urged mission leaders in an encyclical that very summer, the bishop was pressing

past the boundaries of past victories. Indeed, as all could see, his mission had now begun

its final onslaught "on the ends of the earth." cxlii

Breynat remained in good spirits during the voyage southward. "Instead of

exhausting him, as everyone expected," observed Father Duport at Resolution on July 10,

"the hard work of the trip has made him stronger." Content with the state of his missions,

"enchanted" by what he had seen, the bishop appeared entirely happy. It all augured well

for the future. But the sisters, perhaps more attuned to sensing discomfort, noted that "a

little fatigue" showed through.

“A shock to the nervous system.”

Had the bishop remained in his vicariate, that small residuum of illness might

soon have flared into a full storm of disabling symptoms. There was, however, no need

to take such a chance. That fall, Breynat had to attend another Oblate Chapter General in

Rome. Breynat thought it best to take the entire year for a final attempt at recovery.

Although the Vatican had not renewed Duport's official appointment as administrator, the

bishop used his own powers to put him in charge for another year. Fellow priests,

however, gave the hard-working priest a break. By voting him their rank-and-file

representative to the Oblate convocation, they allowed him his first trip outside the

Mackenzie since his arrival in 1904.

After the meeting, in early December, Father Duport traveled to France, where he

saw his family for the first time in twenty-three years. A week or so later, he spent

several some time with Breynat, who had settled in for a winter's solitude and rest at

Béliet with Mademoiselle Romégoux. As always, the bishop noted, Duport appeared

happy, animated, and eager to take on further projects. His many years of labour in the

North had done him no harm. Fifty two years old, he "radiated good health."

The father spoke of plans to spend time with close relatives in Ardèche.

Thereafter, as soon as possible in the spring, he hoped to return to the Mackenzie, and to

"redouble his efforts among his beloved Indians."

Leaving Breynat, he traveled to Lourdes, where he spent time at the famous

grotto, praying for the Eskimo towards whose conversion he had spent so much effort the

past two years. Then, inexplicably, he fell ill. Transported to a friend's home nearby, he

failed to respond to medical help. On December 24, Father Duport passed away.

Breynat was with friends in a little village near Thier. On Christmas day, he

relished the "intimacy of the occasion" as he worked his way through a gourmet meal.

Just then a messenger arrived with the telegram announcing Father Duport's demise.

"You can imagine," Breynat recalled afterwards, "what a shock that was to my poor

nervous system." Given the distance and "the difficulties in communication," he found it

impossible to attend Father Duport's funeral or to visit his family. Remaining at Thier,

Breynat sought balm for the unexpected "blow to heart and mind" while the mortal

remains of his faithful deputy were laid to rest in a vault at Aix-en-Provence, on the

grounds of the national headquarters of the Oblate fathers.cxliii

i Breynat's illness reveals much about the power politics of mission organizations. The story also illustrates the enormous distance that sometimes separates rhetoric from fact in mission documents. ii CA I 40. Should the son carry through, the doctor warned, the patient would certainly die. Gabriel gave in, but, as was often the case, still got his way. A devout believer, the mother felt guilt at keeping her son from God. For a while, "heart and nerves" prevented her from granting consent. Finally, when Gabriel's only sister agreed to forego convent life, she made the "sacrifice." Her health never recovered. The boy's departure sapped what strength she had left. As she pined away, friends and family alike accused him of selfishness. Hopes of continuing the Breynat family line depended on him. An older son had entered a seminary; a daughter would soon begin her novitiate in a convent. Gabriel last saw her on the day of his consecration when, in the hometown church, he pronounced God's blessing on his parents. Almost at once, he left for the remote Apostolic Vicariate of Athabasca-Mackenzie in the Canadian North. His mother died within the year, as did his father and sister. iii This was a variant of the Kneipp system of hydrotherapy. iv CA I 53, 59-60. v CA I, 60. Driven from France by anticlerical laws, the seminary had resettled in Holland. In the wet climate, already hard on the students' health.. vi CA I, 61-63.vii Vicariate of the Mackenzie stretched, as Breynat was fond of pointing out, for thirty degrees of latitude, from the 60th parallel all the way to the North Pole. Within very few years, the new prelate's feats became well-known in church and lay circles in Canada and France alike. Constantly on the move from post to post, from mission station to government headquarters, from diocese to church council, Breynat began to seem ubiquitous. His work, according to a revered historian of the North, was "a classic illustration of how to adapt a religious organization to local conditions and opportunities." The bishop's central sawmill supplied other missions with lumber; his boat carried freight and garnered revenue; his farm sent produce to needy stations. A genius at organization, Breynat created an integrated system of churches, schools, and hospitals. Untiringly, he pursued government and private donors to make it all possible. Morris Zaslow, The Northward Expansion of Canada, 1914-1967 (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1988), 158. viii Not until the early 1940s did he hand the reins to a successor. Between World War II and 1954, the bishop lived a comfortable retirement in his home country, basking in praise. France made him a member of the Legion of Honor and placed his image in the carved-glass window above the entrance to its new Ottawa consulate. At age 88, he left this world. By then, he had become a legend. Despite his limited health, he had offered himself to the missions. Exhausted by the rigors of his remote diocese, he had suffered greatly. But, despite his medical Golgotha, he had accomplished a great deal. ix Breynat at Mission des Sept Douleurs, at Fond du Lac, on Lake Athabaska: Article: "Christmas at MSD": Because food was running low and the caribou wouldn't wait for them, the hunters came for the Night of Prayer three few weeks early. Not that I'm complaining: had they all come at the same time, my fragile state of health would not have been able to handle the stress. There were only a few, but it was enough to force me to take a week's rest afterwards. One Caribou Eater causes as much work as ten whites out in civilized society (lots of talk, etc.)."G. Breynat, "Noël a la Mission des Sept Douleurs," Missions O.M.I. 39 (1901): 141-145. x CA I, 267. xi CA I, 276-7. xii Father Drummondxiii R.P. Simoni, "Sacrée de Mgr Breynat," (extract of a letter to R.P. Gandar) Missions O.M.I. (1902): 227-232. xiv CA I, 338. xv Breynat showed remarkable ease in relating to the powerful francophone bishops that had come to witness his installation. Almost at once, he became their spokesman on the matter of Indian missions.

In steadily increasing numbers, whites were invading areas of the Canadian Northwest. Money and staff were needed to cater to these newcomers. Moreover, many of the immigrants were Godless or Protestant and posed a threat to long-established missions. Extra effort would be needed to keep believers in the fold. Breynat drafted a letter to the Oblate superior general, asking for increased help. G. Breynat, "Adresse des évêques de la province ecclésiastique de Saint-Boniface au très révérend Père Général," Missions O.M.I. (1902): 233-5. xvi BCL Dec 1902. xvii That fall, Breynat went to Ottawa to twist the arm of the prime minister, Sir Wilfred Laurier. The government's monthly contribution of a dollar per child at the mission schools, he pointed out, came far short of expenses. In Montreal, he planned a new school with the Grey Nun mother general. After a stay with clerical friends in New York, he left for an Oblate conference in Rome, followed by a visit to his parents' grave in France. Then it was on to Belgium and his old seminary at Liège. The students gave him a rousing reception. Not only was Breynat the first priest to "graduate" from the school; he was also the first bishop from among its ranks. In a touching ceremony, he concentrated several new priests, one of whom he would take back to the Mackenzie. Later, at a lavishly decorated gathering, the students presented plays and accolades to the visiting prelate. Then, they let him talk for hours on end about his work in the North. CA II BCL 74-75. Anon., "Mgr. Breynat a Liège." Missions O.M.I. (1904): 143-146. Breynat arrived at the seminary on April 4, in time for the Easter celebrations. He consecrated priests on two separate days, the last on the "Tuesday of Easter." He "left us charmed...under the spell of his goodwill." xviii It was the sort of evening Breynat would come to experience often. A cherished and much admired guest, his hosts catered to his every whim. Whether at home in his diocese or abroad in his travels, these celebrations of his fame gladdened his heart and made him forget his medical problems. Indeed, on many an occasion, he found it possible to put his ailment aside in order to attend such events. His main goal on that 1903 voyage was to get to Rome. He felt "a strong need" for a papal benediction, and hoped for the advice of Leon XIII in avoiding mistakes in his new pastoral charge. Unaware the pontiff's health had deteriorated to the point where he no longer granted audiences, the young bishop accosted the Major-Domo. Did the man not realize from how far Breynat had come? He had traveled "all the way from the Arctic Ocean," having promised his Indians that he would speak to what they called "The Great Chief of Prayer." How could he possibly explain to them that he had not been able to accomplish his mission? Only a few seconds at the venerable patient's bedside would do; if admitted, he promised not to cause the Pontiff the least disturbance. And so Gabriel Breynat gained access to a presence that had seemed extremely remote just a few years earlier. In showering his visitor with blessings for the Indians and for missionaries, their parents and friends, the senior statesman of the Church accorded the young Bishop of the Mackenzie a mechanism whereby his prestige would be greatly enhanced. "It was all I desired," a happy Breynat wrote subsequently. In his subsequent travels, the Bishop of the Mackenzie would be able to dispense the Papal blessing, an extremely meaningful ritual to Catholics of the day, to many of those he visited. By placing himself, at this early stage of his career, in the limelight of papal authority, Breynat practiced a form of career enhancement that would serve him well. On this visit to Rome, as on many subsequent occasions, Breynat's superb manipulation of the symbolism of the Far North provided him with an access he might otherwise not have had. CA II 76-7. xix Res. Cod., 8 June, 1903. xx That winter, Breynat spent several months at Fort Providence with its orphanage-school and hospice for the debilitated. Food was scarce, and the bishop himself sometimes tended the rabbit traps in the bush. Seeing him leave for the water's edge in a driving storm, a doting sister noted that "nothing stops him." In that early phase of his career, the young prelate still participated, when necessary, in the daily work routine. But such events would soon become rare.Prov. Chr., Oct. 6, 1903. xxi CA II, 135.

xxii In Rome, Breynat also attended the fiftieth anniversary of the proclamation of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. At a meeting of bishops from around the world, the Pope exhorted his fellow clerics to stand on guard against the threat of independent ideas. Modernism had made serious attacks on the church. "You all know," the pontiff reminded them, "how a murderous wind of independence is sweeping the world -- it has that has found its way into our very sanctuaries -- it questions not only authority, but doctrine." CA II, 140. Breynat learned the lesson well. Already, from the day he assumed the episcopate, he had made most of his decisions alone, imposing them brusquely on his underlings. Throughout the remainder of his career, he would be even more authoritarian. And in the context of those times, when young men came to the North to take upon themselves what continued to be thought of as "the most difficult missions in the world," that approach seemed entirely appropriate. Whatever he told them to do, they would try to accomplish. Nor would they ever question the propriety of his repeated travels to Europe while they manned his lonely outposts in the North. And whenever, a temporary remission of his illness permitting, he came to see them, they were ecstatic. xxiii BCL, Jan 14. xxiv Health of Breynat's missionaries: "Thank God, the Fathers are in good shape. Nevertheless, there are a few exceptions. Father Brochu is obliged, to the enormous regret of his flock at Ste Anne, to seek a gentler climate in Quebec. Father Gourdon has suffered for long from a heart ailment and other infirmities, which not only put his life in constant danger, but prohibit all priestly activity. Finally, two or three are used up before their time by the excess of hard work and lack of food." Father Lecorre leaves for another vicariate; Father Séguin died. That year, got 4 new fathers from the gen. adm. and one brother. G. Breynat, "Mackensie," Missions O.M.I. (1905): 192-206. xxv Prov. Chr., 1906. xxvi Father Duçot: "I've left my dear mission at Saint-Therese where I labored for 27 years, to go to Good Hope to take the place off Father Seguin, who died in France in 1902." Because of my age, I don't hear too well, which makes hearing confessions increasingly difficult. This land of urgent needs and cruel deceptions. ("ce pays de nécessités urgentes et de cruelles déceptions")Father Duçot, "Mission de N.D. de Bonne Esperance," Missions OMI (1906): 394-397. xxvii The Oblate Superior General had resigned, forcing an unscheduled Chapter General. Leaving the Mackenzie in January 1906, Breynat stayed away more than eleven months. A successor had to be elected. Breynat recalled how the reverend father, on first taking the position, had almost predicted the humiliation. "Positions of power," Father Auger had mused, "provide less a pedestal for pride than an altar for sacrifice... one way or another, I will be victim." Sudden death had struck the newly elected official, and yet another Chapter General had to be convened. Traveling on the Roma, the bishop had the pleasure of spending large amounts of time with fellow prelates from the Canadian West. For over a week, they shared problems, offer advice, and plan for the future. CA II, 150. xxviii CA II, 154. He came back to the North in time to spend Christmas at Fort Chipewyan, just outside his own diocese. xxix In 1906 (Probably) Father Moisan arrives from France, goes to Fort Liard. F. Moisan, "Mission St. Raphael," Missions OMI. #177 (March 1907): 78-80. xxx FPC Feb 19-21, 1907. In February 1907, Breynat left his home base of Fort Resolution for the annual winter trip to Fort Providence. The visit, which aroused great anticipation on the part of mission residents, always lasted until the anniversary of his priestly ordination. Three days of special events marked the occasion. That year, the sisters covered the convent with banners. The children came by in procession to offer congratulations; in the evening, they entertained the prelate. A magnificent angel, "St. Gabriel" appeared on the stage and gave the bishop the students' gift, a gold-colored miter. A play about a young martyr received loud applause. The next day there was singing at mass in the "magnificently" decorated church. The school got a holiday; the boys, the thrill of a picnic in the woods. Dinner was

outstanding, the cake the best the nuns had seen all year. Early the next morning, the bishop left for Resolution. The celebrations continued into the third day, with song at early mass. xxxi That summer, Father Duçot worked up the courage to talk to Mgr. Breynat. It had hurt him deeply, after having spent twenty-seven years at lovely mission of St. Therese at Fort Norman, to be transferred without any consultation to Fort Good Hope. CA II, 161. xxxii Returning from the summer round of missions, Breynat proceeded at once to Eastern Canada. In Ottawa, he spoke with the Hon. Frank Oliver, Minister of the Interior, to discuss the mishandling of the dwindling buffalo herds near Fort Smith. It was the wolves, and not the Indians, the bishop insisted, who were making kills. It was wrong to punish the former. In Montreal, Breynat thought it necessary to introduce father Lefebvre, recently transferred from the Yukon to Edmonton, where he would function as économe (chief steward and business manager) for the vicariate. Then, returning North, he arrived at Fort Chipewyan on Dec 21, just in time to get to his old mission, Fond-du-Lac, for Christmas. A few days later, he returned to Fort Chipewyan. "Monseigneur was so tired," noted the local superior, "he spent a week in bed." Not until three weeks later did the bishop undertake the single days' travel required to reach his own domain. The summer inspection trip over, Breynat spent the fall in Eastern Canada. On his way north, as he approached the borders of his own domain, he made a side trip to spend Christmas at his old post at Fond du Lac, in Monseigneur Grouard's diocese. Traveling homeward, fatigue overwhelmed him, forcing a rest at Fort Chipewyan. "Monseigneur was so tired," noted the local superior, "he spent a week in bed." Not until twenty one days later did the bishop undertake the brief trip required to reach one of his own missions. CA II, 165. xxxiii Moisan "Mission St. Raphael, Fort des Liards" Missions OMI (1909): 378-388xxxiv In 1907 Brother Rio drowns on the Liard River. CA II, 171. In 1908 two priests drown at Fitzgerald: Fathers Brémont and Brohan. February (1908) once again, was spent at Providence. As before, he stayed long enough to celebrate his birthday and the anniversary of his ordination, then left for Resolution. Breynat may have feared financial problems. Perhaps, he wanted to retain the "Far North" aura of his own vicariate. Possibly, he dreaded taking on the more accessible Athabasca region, with its rapidly growing immigrant population. Whatever his reasons, he was determined not to see it come about. Grouard decided to ask Rome for an assistant.xxxv CA II, 177. xxxvi The Lyon physician was a certain Dr. Choleet. xxxvii CA II, 180-2xxxviii With him was a new priest, Father Bézanier, whom Breynat himself had ordained at Liege in December, and three Oblate Brothers. Everywhere he traveled, construction was proceeding apace, the new buildings at Providence, in particular looking most impressive. xxxix Spending the first months of 1910 at Providence, .. conversion of Johnnie Corbie... (Feb 21). Mgr sick March 8... SS and Sr. Bourcier go to care for him at the bishop's house. Prov. Chr. 1910, Mar. 17-18. Mar 17, prepare for St Gabriel. in evening grande séance... tableau vivant... l'apparition de Lourdes...Mgr announces that the next day, a Friday, will be a "jour gras" a flesh-day. g Mar 18... first time Mgr has been here... breakfast: chocolate Mgr has given us. Steak for dinner; poached eggs for supper. Children go out for a sleigh ride drawn by the oxen; afternoon, games.. running in sacks, etc. Breynat leaves March 21. The children go back to bed after saying goodbye. April 8, (Pr.) Brother Marc returns, reports Mgr not well. xl A letter soon informed them that the prelate, profoundly grateful for their intercession, felt better. June-July 1910, Breynat makes summer visit with the Hon . Frank Oliver on mission boat. CA II, 206-7. xli Res. Cod., Oct. 8-14, 18, 1911.xlii CA II, 222xliii CA II, 224-6. Res. Cod., March 3, 1912.

xliv Res. Cod. Year? , March 9, 17, 20, 22, 24. CA II 229. The attendance surpassed all expectations; Indians had come from far and wide. Two hundred and eighty communicants presented themselves before the altar. The bishop felt xlv Res. Cod., Year? Oct. 31; Dec. 4-5, 25. xlvi J. Rymer, "Fête de Noel passée avec Mgr, Breynat, o.m.i. au pays des Indiens dans l'Extrême-Nord," Petites Annales #1 (Jan. 1912): 29-34. xlvii Res. Cod., Year? June 12. xlviii The bishop traveled with Doctor Macdonald, the Indian Affairs doctor from Fort Smith, who was making his own visits to the Mackenzie's northernmost posts. xlix Prov. Chr., Year? Aug 16-22; Res. Cod., Oct. 19, Dec. 15. l Prov. Chr. 1914, Jan. 22-25, 26 ; Feb. 12, 14-15, 22, 24 Feb. Res. Cod. 1914, March 13, July 7. Needing gifts for friends and benefactors, the bishop selected fine clothing and leather ware made by the children. Choosing gloves of soft white leather, belts, and a half-dozen pair of moccasins, he left orders for other items. li CA II, 271. After a visit to the French consul in Montreal (to protect his staff from mobilization orders), he spent the fall in Quebec, giving occasional talks in the hopes of finding brothers to labor in the Mackenzie. lii CA II, 273-274.liii CA II, 274-275. liv Prov. Chr. Year?, June 27. lv Over the next few years he would publish three books about the Mackenzie Vicariate. Their stories of unselfish devotion would capture the imagination of tens of thousands of European readers. Crowned with awards from the Académie Française, some would go through a dozen printings or more. While much of what they told related to the nineteenth century, at a time when the North was still very much a frontier, the mantle of heroism had clearly settled on Breynat.Circumstances helped the bishop foster this image during the voyage with Belle and Duchaussois. Crossing Great Slave Lake, Breynat chose to travel in the small mission workboat, rather than take the comfortable fur company steamer. Surprised by a storm, the vessel almost swamped. Drowning seemed a real possibility; in time, the exhausted clerics made their way to an island, dried out their clothes as best they could, and returned to their point of departure. In later years, Belle often retold the story as he fought for Breynat's interests in Europe.lvi Prov. Chr. 1915, Aug. 2-10; Res. Cod. 1915, Aug. 9, 19, 25. As the weakened Breynat passed through Resolution, the father superior prayed that "St. Joseph preserve him."lvii Traveling by dogsled near Lake Athabasca, Breynat liked to point out in later years, the temperature was minus forty-five degrees. In March, the bishop was off to eastern Canada. The voyage southward to transcontinental connections had suddenly become much easier. A train now ran between Fort McMurray, in Northern Alberta, and Edmonton. What had long been a tiring one-week trip on sled and horseback between those points could now be traversed in less than a day. Prov. Chr. 1916, Feb. 24. BCL, Mar. 3, 1916. Res. Chr. 1916, Mar. 7. CA II, 299. lviii Prov. Chr. 1916, June 26, Aug. 1, Aug. 11. CA II, 274-5. Res. Cod. 1916, Sept. 23, 29, Dec. 13, 14; 1917, Jan 14, 26. Prov. Chr. 1917, Jan. 31, Mar. 5. Res. Codex 1917, Mar. 18, 20, 27, 30; May 3, 5-6, 14. CA II, 339-40. In the spring he stayed busy with retreats, sermons, and the conversion of several white Protestants. In Ottawa, very quickly, he was able to convince Duncan Scott, the assistant superintendant general of Indian Affairs, to pay the salary for a registered nurse (a Grey Nun) at the Fort Resolution school.lix CA II, 339-341. As it happened, some matters relating to the French diplomatic corps also needed resolution. Cardinal Begin, in Quebec, had complaints against the French Consul in Montreal. Breynat, utilizing his contacts at the French embassy in the United States, would take care of it on his way to New York 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 offending Montreal diplomat found himself transferred to Ceylon. Having accomplished his task -- and demonstrated the effectiveness of his connections. lx CA II, 343-4. lxi To a physician reading the story seventy-five years later, the episode represents a simple faint, a benign process caused by a temporary decrease in the blood supply to the brain. Sudden assumption of the upright posture after a long sit allows blood to pool in the veins in the lower parts of the body. Exposure to heat worsens the problems as blood vessels in the skin dilate. A decrease in the amount of blood returning to the heart ensues, which in turn leads to less blood being pumped to the brain. Lying down solves the problem at once, and invariably brings about a full return of consciousness without any permanent effects on the brain. To those unacquainted with the phenomenon, however, it can be very frightening. Such was the case at Fort Smith when Breynat collapsed. lxii CA II, 348. lxiii CA II, 348-9. lxiv CA II, 358. lxv CA II, 358-60. lxvi The lady's husband had recently died. As a colonel in the Pope's personal bodyguard, the Zouaves, he had been active in the defense of the Vatican under Pius IX. That connection had obtained him an indult allowing the family to maintain the Eucharist in its private chapel. Breynat, it followed, could celebrate mass daily, as was his duty, without having to leave the comfort of the residence. lxvii CA II, 358-360.lxviii Duport to Breynat, 2 Feb., 1920, Duport. Corr. lxix Breynat to Clara 27 Feb, 1920, Clara Corr. lxx Res. Cod. 1920, Mar. 5. lxxi Breynat to Clara, 10 Apr. 1920, Clara Corr.lxxii Breynat to Van Rossum, May 21, 1921? lxxiii CA II, 360. lxxiv Res. Cod. 1920, June 18. lxxv CA II, 360-1.lxxvi Father Fallaize, assistant to Father Duport, at Resolution, and the économe or quartermaster for the mission, had learned to speak some Inuktitut through constant contact with a Copper family brought south to the school several years earlier. He was eager to go, but his departure from Resolution would increase the workload on Father Duport enormously. It was impossible to remove a priest from other posts. Most now had but a single missionary. Breynat had not obtained a new recruit for his vicariate in seven years. Indeed, Father Fallaize had been the last. In the meantime, four priests and two brothers had died; another cleric had retired to Quebec. When he boarded the S.S. Mackenzie at Resolution to occupy his stateroom, the entire population waved goodbye; gun volleys followed until the boat was out of sight.CA II, 362-2. Res. Cod. 1920, July 18. Res. Chr. 1920, July 18. lxxvii CA II, 362-3. lxxviii G. Breynat, "Vicariat des Missions du Mackenzie, Can.," Missions OMI 54 (Dec. 1920): 286-293. lxxix Res. Cod. 1921, Feb. 5, April 13. lxxx Duport: Report on fathers' health: "I've had news from all. They're all doing reasonably well, but several feel their legs getting weak on their voyages and their health is declining (alterer)." Alphonse Duport, "Mission Saint-Joseph, Fort Resolution, N.W.T.," Missions O.M.I. 55 (May 1920): 128-133. lxxxi CA III, 13. lxxxii On his way west across the country, the bishop stopped to visit Dr. Scott in the Dept. of Indian Affairs in Ottawa. The bureaucrats received him most cordially. The bishop's presence couldn't have been more timely. Oil discoveries near Fort Norman had led to a surge of mineral exploration. Whites were entering the North in greater numbers than ever. It had become a government priority to seek

extinction of aboriginal land rights through a treaty with the Mackenzie Indians. "We would be most grateful," said Scott, "if you would accompany the treaty party into the North. Your influence on the native people will help us tremendously in ensuring its success." Breynat was delighted. How could he possibly refuse? The request reflected the high esteem in which he was held by the Indians. The Anglican bishop garnered far less respect among Protestant natives. Even better, it declared openly that Ottawa recognized the Catholic Church -- and not the Protestants -- as holding sway among the Mackenzie tribes. CA III, 16-17.lxxxiii At Ottawa's invitation, he accompanied the government party that signed the first treaty with the Mackenzie's Indian tribes. There, the government treaty party soon joined up with him. He brought with him a young recruit, Father Joseph Trocellier. From Montreal, he brought two orphan boys for the St. Bruno farm. The northern climate, he assured them, would help overcome the tuberculosis that had begun to sap their health. CA III, 17. Prov. Chr. 1921, June 4, July 3. Res. Cod. 1921, July 3. Simpson Chr., July 12, Sept. 6. Res. Cod., Oct 24. lxxxiv Duport to Breynat, 6 Nov. 1921. lxxxv Duport describes his voyages out to the Indians plus the work at the mill which he directs and helps with: "And that's how I carry on day after day, from Jan. 1 to Dec 31. Let that tell you if I have any time to write poems!" A. Duport, "Mission Saint-Joseph, Fort Resolution, N.W.T.," Missions O.M.I. (March 1923: 212-217). The work describes his activities in 1921 and 1922. lxxxvi Res. Cod. 1922, Mar. 22. Duport to Breynat 15 Mar., 1922. P. Di Maria, Délégué Apostolique, to Breynat, 8 June 1922. CA III, 28. also a new priest (ceded by the Texas Oblates). As well, he brought with him a young priest, ceded by the Texas Oblates. Breynat's debilitated state, which reflected the intense need for help in his remote vicariate, no doubt influenced their decision. lxxxvii Aux Glaces Polaires wins the prix Montyan of the Académie Française, and is reviewed glowingly in Missions.Anon., "Notre Bibliothèque O.M.I.: Quelques Ouvrages récents," Missions O.M.I. 56? (1922) 449-450. lxxxviii In Canada, a highly laudatory article appeared in Messager Canadien du Sacré-Cœur, published by Jesuits in Montreal. Missions OMI reprinted it. See: Adélard Dugré, S.J., "Les Missionnaires O.M.I. aux Glaces Polaires," Missions O.M.I. 56 (1922): 371-381. lxxxix The first, about the charitable works of the Grey Nuns, had received wide attention. The second, Aux Glaces Polaires (to the Polar Ice), focusing on Oblate priests, had received the Prix Montyan, a prestigious award from the French Academy of Letters. The Catholic press gave the publication outstanding review.Rome (1922) Duch. gets to see Pius XI...Mgr Augustin Migliore gives copy of Aux Glaces Polaires to pontiff...gets permission to let Duchauss. in... Duchaussois, "Un Oblat aux Pieds du Pape," Missions O.M.I. 56 (1922): 851-855. Breynat sees the Pope on Oct. 17. xc xci P. Fallaize, "La Nouvelle Mission du Cercle Polaire," Missions O.M.I. 56 (1922): 717-721. xcii Duchaussois spoke on May 3, 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 del Polo Nord. xciii L'extrême désolation de ces parages, les extraordinaires difficultés des voyages dans ces régions immenses, désertes, et glacées -- les privations sans nombre éprouvées également par des hommes nés dans les pays civilises, accoutumes aux aises de la vie et auxquels, maintenant, manquent souvent les choses les plus nécessaires a l'existence, -- les dangers mortels provenant de ceux qui, encore païens, voient des ennemis dans les Messagers de la Bonne Nouvelle -- les périls des bêtes féroces, etc. révèlent a tous les yeux l'incroyable héroïsme des missionnaires dans ces lointains Vicariats, ou s'immolent tant de victimes ignorées, mais ou germent aussi tant de fleurs de vertus, si pures et si agréables a Dieu. Pendant deux heures l'orateur...Tous ceux qui eurent le bonheur, très apprécié, d'entendre le RP Duch. sortirent du PCA avec un double désir: l'entendre de nouveau et faire quelque

chose pour les Missions... The Oservatore report was reprinted in the main Oblate mission journal. See: Anon. "Les Missions du Pôle Nord à Rome," Missions O.M.I. 57(1923): 486-488. xciv Mgr Grouard about to release his memoirs (out in 1924):Pope thanks Breynat for a copy. Le Devoir writes glowing stuff about Gr. Van Rossum applauds the book, and thanks Gr. : "..in a mission that can, without contradiction, count itself among the most difficult in the entire world and among those which cause the greatest suffering and the least satisfaction to human nature." E. Grouard, Souvenirs de mes soixante ans d'Apostolat dans l'Athabaska-Mackenzie (Lyon: Œuvre apostolique de Marie Immaculée, 1923). Anon. "Revue des Livres, I. Les Souvenirs d'Apostolat de Monseigneur Grouard," Missions O.M.I. (1929): 661-670. This contains the August 1924 letter of thanks from the Pope to Breynat for a copy the latter had sent him; a copy of an article that appeared in Le Devoir; and a letter of appreciation for the work to Grouard from Cardinal Van Rossum -- all, presumably in 1924. xcv On June twenty six, just two days after his arrival at Resolution, he began the mission tour. Three days later, he was at Providence, and the following morning at Simpson. There, he joined the government dignitaries who had not been able to complete the treaty journey the previous summer. Journeying to Liard and Nelson, Breynat stood by as the last northern Indians signed the requisite documents. By July 19, after traveling in the relative comfort of the speedy M.V. Lady McWorth, he had descended the Liard River to arrive once again at Simpson. Four days later, when the large Hudson's Bay vessel Distributor passed by, the bishop took a birth to the more northerly missions. Stopping at each post only as long as unloading of the vessel permitted, Breynat returned to Providence by the same means. Father Duport, at the bishop's home base, hoped that Monseigneur's long and fatiguing trip would not hurt his well-being. Happily, when Breynat arrived at Resolution the prelate showed no evidence of no fatigue. CA III, 8. Res. Cod. 1922, June 6. Prov. Chr. 1922, June 29. Simpson Chr. 1922, July 19, 23, Aug. 7, 9. Prov. Chr. 1922, Aug. 11. Res. Codex 1922, Aug. 19, 30. CA III, 36 (I must check exact page). xcvi CA III, 36.xcvii CA III, 36. Catching up on reports to the Propaganda, he pointed out that he had traveled more than 5000 miles in the brief period since the middle of June. Making detailed plans to use the novice brothers' labor, he finalized arrangements for new churches at Resolution, Rae, and Simpson. A fourth church was already underway at Smith.xcviii ?xcix Res. Cod. 1923, Jan 11. CA III, 39-40. Prov. Chr. 1923, Feb. 6, March 24, 30, Apr. 1. Res. Cod., Apr.7-9, 27, May 4, May 28. Leaving with Breynat were two teenagers who "hoped to become priests." A recent papal encyclical had called for the immediate development of indigenous clergy. c Passing through Fort Smith, the prelate officiated at the opening of the just-completed. Up to then, the Oblate fathers had had to serve mass in the tiny chapel attached to their coarse log residence. The settlement had changed in the previous two years from a small trading post to the administrative center of the Territorial government activity. Situated at the northern end of the long portage below Fort Fitzgerald (Smith's Landing), Fort Smith had always been an unavoidable (and much disliked) place. Now, every prospector and trapper entering the North had to stop at the government offices to obtain a licence. Here, at the doorstep into the North, Breynat's imposing church stood clear testimony to the importance of the Catholic church in the Mackenzie Valley. No Protestant spire graced the new skyline. ci "Thanks to the magnificent labours of my missionaries," he exulted, "I had the privilege of being the sole object of the kindly and fatherly attention of Christ's Vicar." The bishop explained how disappointing the work often proved to be; the number of new converts remained very small. "Oh, but don't ever discouraged!" answered the pope, "Tell your missionaries never to get discouraged!. God has his elect everywhere. Don't forget the Lord's words about those who sew and those who bring in the harvest. You are the one planting the seeds; others will sew."

As Breynat kissed the pontiff's ring in parting, Pius XI gave him the papal blessing, asking that it be pronounced in turn over the heads of the faithful in the Mackenzie, over mission staff and their families, and over the mission's benefactors. cii Even privileges relating to Breynat's own devotional life had received full authorization. Cardinal Van Rossum reminded the pope that Breynat had obtained the same indults orally from Pius X. Only twice had the bishop taken advantage of them. "But Monseigneur Breynat is wrong," the new pope had protested, "Tell him that when we grant such dispensations it's in order to let him make full use of them!"At Oblate headquarters in Rome, Breynat received similar expressions of admiration. But, times were tough; not a single recruit could be spared for the Mackenzie. The disappointing news hardly touched Breynat's heady sense of accomplishment. CA III, 50-52.ciii CA III, 52-54.civ BCL, 17 April 1924. cv Surprisingly, given the serious symptoms that had precipitated the need for complete rest, Breynat continued to work on matters relevant to his vicariate. Following up on an initiative by priests in the Peace River region of Northern Alberta, he lobbied for official French recognition of the accomplishments of Monseigneur Grouard. Working closely with a long-time friend of that venerable pioneer, the Honourable Dr. Roy, Canada's ambassador in France, the bishop put pressure on the national government to award Grouard the cross of the Legion of Honour. The intended recipient had just published his memoirs, Sixty Years of Apostolate in the North; Breynat made sure a copy got into the hands of the appropriate dignitaries. The strategy worked; Grouard soon had his medal. CA III, 81. In the process, the prestige attached to being a senior missionary in the Mackenzie (and Grouard's successor) took a considerable boost upwards. cvi Res. Cod. 1924, June 8. Res. Chr. 1924, June 22, 26. cvii Duport Corresp. 18 July 1924. cviii CA III, 85-6. cix The doctor had urged him "to take a little more time to get him in shape once and for all." "Would it all really be worth the effort? God would determine that: Fiat!" Circular letter written by Father Duport, 12 Dec. 1924. Section beginning "news that Mgr. Breynat has asked me to pass on to you." cx Duport to Breynat, 16 Nov., 1924. cxi Like all medical men at Divonne-les-Bains, Dr. Vieux personally administered the shower regimes of his patients. Greatly sought after, he often cared for a hundred patients simultaneously. cxii Although Breynat had never come near such an animal, and had not traveled within several hundred of the arctic coast, the gift clearly fit his reputation as "the bishop of the polar wastes." cxiii Father Lemius had offered to come a few weeks later, and was willing to act in the capacity of secretary (the previous one, it seems, had left the prelate's service). cxiv CA III, 86-7. cxv CA III, 87-89. [I think the date given here for the feast day is March 24. I must check to make sure I use the same one consistently.] cxvi Res. Chron. 1925, Mar. 24. Res. Cod. 1925, Mar. 24. cxvii Res. Cod. 1925, Mar. 29. cxviii In Jerusalem, clerical connections opened doors everywhere and gave Breynat a role at major events during Holy Week, On Thursday he celebrated mass and holy hour at Gethsemani; on Friday, he followed the cross along the painful road once taken 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 where the Savoir was born." CA III, cxix "I am well aware," the bishop began, "of the generosity with which you responded to the sacrifice of not having me with you. Time and again, your letters have told me of your fervent prayers for my benefit. On this Easter Sunday, I want to let you know that your appeals to Heaven have been answered. My full recovery is certain to occur before long. And I am able to tell you this wonderful

news from Jerusalem itself, where I had the remarkable honour and great happiness of celebrating the mass in the Holy Sepulchre of Our Lord. Yes! From Jerusalem! ...It was at Nazareth that I felt, for the first time, the certainty that I would not have to spend another winter far away from you all. We had arrived there at the time of the first vespers of the feast of St. Gabriel, the Protector of our Vicariate. The following day I experienced the joy of celebrating mass in the very Grotto where the sublime mystery of the Incarnation took place. How gentle were the emotions that filled my soul. Your guardian angels, it seemed, were all about me, their arms filled with the supplications and prayers that I knew you had all offered, the previous day, for the recovery of the unworthy Pastor of the Vicariate. St. Gabriel took all those testaments of your filial devotion and presented them to our Immaculate Mother, who, in turn, placed them lovingly in the heart of her Divine Son...At that very moment there was born in my mind the firm conviction that all your wishes would be granted. Ever since, my confidence has grown -- so much so, that I feel confident in announcing that I will be back among you toward the middle or [at the most] the end of the summer. All that remains when I get back to Marseilles on May 10 is for me to return to Divonne-les-Bains. At the advice of my doctor, I need to submit myself to a few more weeks of shower therapy to consolidate the gains of the past year. A period of rest will follow, in order to let the body's response create the best possible result. But then, I am confident, the moment will have come when I can say goodbye to France and finally retrace my path to our dear Mackenzie. In the meantime, continue to offer me the precious assistance of your prayers and those of your flock. I will do all I can from this end. Still unable to read the breviary, I celebrate mass regularly. On each such occasion, I summon your guardian angels to come and enjoy the large portion of the Holy Sacrifice that I ask the Sacred Heart to reserve just for you." BCL, 12 Apr., 1925.He did celebrate mass regularly, and on each such occasion he summoned his staff's guardian angels "to come and enjoy the large portion of the Holy Sacrifice that I ask the Sacred Heart to reserve just for you." cxx BCL, 12 Apr., 1925.cxxi The pilgrimage had brought them experiences that were relived in frequent telling as their train took them away from the holy sites. Soon, they were in Egypt. CA III, 87-89cxxii CA III, 89-90cxxiii Res. Cod. 1925, June 11. cxxiv Res. Cod. 1925, June 31. cxxv CA III, page?cxxvi CA III, page?cxxvii Res. Cod. 31 Dec. 1925. cxxviii CA III, page? Employed at captain's rank with the allied armies during the Great War, the priest had been injured (perhaps more emotionally than physically) to the point of "total disability." As a result, he received a generous monthly pension cheque from the United States; it allowed him to cover extra expenses during the voyage. cxxix CA III, 95-101. cxxx Res. Codex 1926, Mar. 19 and 24. cxxxi Res. Cod. 1926, Apr. 6.cxxxii Res. Cod. 1926, May 13.cxxxiii CA III, 101. cxxxiv Res. Cod. 1926, June 2. cxxxv Res. Chr. 1926, June 4. cxxxvi Res. Cod. 1926, June 2. cxxxvii Res. Chr. 1926, June 6, 8. Res. Cod. 1926, June 8. cxxxviii Res. Cod. 1926, June 9. Res. Chr. 1926, June 9. cxxxix Res. Cod. 1926, June 9. cxl Res. Cod. 1926, June 9. cxli Res. Cod. 1926, June 14.

cxlii An Anglican hospital stood less than a mile down-river. Constructed the previous summer, at the very time that the Oblates were completing theirs, it presented strong evidence of the intensity of the Catholic-Protestant battle in the Mackenzie. Aklavik held the key to gaining a hold on the Inuit of the Mackenzie Delta and the Arctic Coast. The Catholic complex reflected Breynat's determination not to leave the field to the opposition no longer. cxliii CA III, 112-113.