René Goupil

René Goupil, (15 May 1608 – 29 September 1642), was a French Jesuit lay missionary (, "given" or "one who offers himself") who became a lay brother of the Society of Jesus shortly before his death. He was the first of the eight North American Martyrs of the Roman Catholic Church to receive the crown of martyrdom and the first canonized Catholic martyr in North America.

Life Goupil was baptized in St-Martin-du-Bois, near Angers, in the ancient province of Anjou, on 15 May 1608, the son of Hippolite Goupil and Luce Provost. He was working as a surgeon in Orléans before entering the novitiate of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in Paris on 16 March 1639. He had to leave the novitiate due to deafness.

Goupil volunteered to serve as a lay missionary working to assist the Jesuit Fathers. In 1640 he arrived in New France. and tortured. After teaching a Mohawk boy the sign of the cross, Goupil was killed on the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel, 29 September 1642, by a blow to the head with a tomahawk. He died uttering the Holy Name of Jesus, as he had practiced in case of martyrdom. Fr. Jogues was present and gave Goupil absolution before expiring. Before being martyred, Goupil had professed religious vows as a Jesuit lay brother before Fr. Jogues.

Veneration Goupil is venerated as the first Jesuit martyr of Canada and one of three martyrs of the present United States territory. He was canonized on 29 June 1930 by Pope Pius XI along with the seven other Canadian Martyrs or "North American Martyrs." He is the patron saint of anesthetists. Goupil is also honored at the Catholic youth camp Camp Ondessonk, where a unit is named after him.