Jacques de Lamberville

Jacques de Lamberville (1641 – 18 April 1710?) was a Jesuit missionary and the younger brother of Jean de Lamberville, also a missionary. He came to New France from France at the age of 34 and became part of the Iroquois missions. There, his most famous convert was Kateri Tekakwitha.

Life Jacques de Lamberville was born at Rouen in 1641. He joined the Society of Jesus in 1661, and taught at a number of colleges in France. In 1675 he proceeded to Canada and labored almost uninterruptedly on the Iroquois missions until his death. He instructed and baptized the Algonquin captive, Catherine Tegakwitha. Her family opposed her conversion. Eventually, with the help Lamberville and a letter of introduction, she and other converted Mohawks travelled to reach the St. Francis Xavier Mission at Sault St. Louis across from Montreal. Although he spent a year with his brother Jean among the Onondagas. Jacques worked principally among the Mohawks from 1675 to 1678; and then among the Onondagas until 1686.

During Governor Denonville's campaign against the Seneca in 1687, Lamberville served as chaplain to the garrison at Fort Cataracoui. His brother was there as well, since after Denonville's betrayal of the Iroquois sachems it became impossible for the priests to continue to work at the missions. Jean Lamberville occasionally travelled to Fort Conti at the mouth of the Niagara River. Jacques was appointed to teach at the Jesuit college in Quebec. In 1689 he was among the Mohawk at Sault-Saint-Louis, and in 1692 he was at Montreal.

Lamberville died in Montreal 1710.