The Shattered Cross - by Linda Carol Jones (Hardcover)

About the Book

"In "The Shattered Cross," Linda Carol Jones explores the lives and work of five priests of the Sâeminaire de Quâebec, the first French Catholic missionaries to serve along the Mississippi River between 1698 and 1725. Using an array of archival holdings in Quâebec and France, Jones provides deep insight into the experiences of these pioneer priests and their interactions with regional Native peoples and cultures. Encounters between early French Catholic missionaries and Native peoples were always complex, often misunderstood, and typically fraught with an array of challenges. As Jones demonstrates, these priests faced a combination of environmental, personal, economic, and leadership difficulties that, along with cultural misunderstandings and poorly designed strategies, made their missionary work arduous. Nevertheless, their efforts led, in some instances, to assimilation of select Christian elements into Native cultures, albeit through creative, mutual adaptation, not solely through Catholic efforts. In describing the challenges the Sâeminaire priests faced in their Christianization efforts, Jones reveals patches of middle ground that served to transform both missionary and Native cultures when least expected. She relates the story of Father Marc Bergier, who took the openness and compassion he felt for the Native peoples he encountered in Quâebec with him as he descended the Mississippi River and worked among the Tamarois. Bergier revealed a willingness to reject certain aspects of Catholic teaching in order to accept various Native traditions. Jones also investigates the case of Father Jean-Franðcois Buisson de Saint-Cosme, strongly suspected by church leaders of having an inappropriate interest in women while serving as a priest in Acadie, several years before his departure down the Mississippi. Jones suggests that Father Saint-Cosme's subsequent sexual relations with the sister of the Great Sun of the Natchez may have been an attempt to step into a middle ground with her so as to end the Natchez tradition of human sacrifice upon the death of a Great Sun. Expectations of Sâeminaire leaders in Quâebec and Paris meant that those with the best chance for success on the Mississippi were internally driven, acknowledged a sense of calling to be a part of the overarching mission of the seminary, and adhered to the advice of its leadership. The missionary experiences of these five men-their varied encounters with Native peoples, Jesuit missionaries, and French coureurs de bois-align and diverge in unexpected ways, presenting a mosaic that adds to our understanding of both the tribulations French Catholic missionaries faced and the consequences of their efforts along the Mississippi River in the early eighteenth century"--

Book Synopsis

In The Shattered Cross, Linda Carol Jones explores the lives and work of five priests of the Séminaire de Québec, the first French Catholic missionaries to serve along the Mississippi River between 1698 and 1725. Using an array of archival holdings in Québec and France, Jones provides deep insight into the experiences of these pioneer priests and their interactions with regional Native peoples and cultures.

Encounters between early French Catholic missionaries and Native peoples were always complex, often misunderstood, and typically fraught with an array of challenges. As Jones demonstrates, these priests faced a combination of environmental, personal, economic, and leadership difficulties that, along with cultural misunderstandings and poorly designed strategies, made their missionary work arduous. Nevertheless, their efforts led, in some instances, to assimilation of select Christian elements into Native cultures, albeit through creative, mutual adaptation, not solely through Catholic efforts.

In describing the challenges the Séminaire priests faced in their Christianization efforts, Jones reveals patches of middle ground that served to transform both missionary and Native cultures when least expected. She relates the story of Father Marc Bergier, who took the openness and compassion he felt for the Native peoples he encountered in Québec with him as he descended the Mississippi River and worked among the Tamarois. Bergier revealed a willingness to reject certain aspects of Catholic teaching in order to accept various Native traditions. Jones also investigates the case of Father Jean-François Buisson de Saint-Cosme, strongly suspected by church leaders of having an inappropriate interest in women while serving as a priest in Acadie, several years before his departure down the Mississippi. Jones suggests that Father Saint-Cosme's subsequent sexual relations with the sister of the Great Sun of the Natchez may have been an attempt to step into a middle ground with her so as to end the Natchez tradition of human sacrifice upon the death of a Great Sun.

Expectations of Séminaire leaders in Québec and Paris meant that those with the best chance for success on the Mississippi were internally driven, acknowledged a sense of calling to be a part of the overarching mission of the seminary, and adhered to the advice of its leadership. The missionary experiences of these five men--their varied encounters with Native peoples, Jesuit missionaries, and French coureurs de bois--align and diverge in unexpected ways, presenting a mosaic that adds to our understanding of both the tribulations French Catholic missionaries faced and the consequences of their efforts along the Mississippi River in the early eighteenth century.

Review Quotes

Linda Carol Jones has painstakingly investigated dozens of civil and ecclesiastical archives and libraries in France, Italy, Canada, and the United States and produced a unique book revealing the labors of Roman Catholic missionaries, particularly those of the Séminaire de Québec, among the Indians of the Mississippi Valley. Jones's remarkable work is a gift to those whose interests lie in the early history of French Louisiana and the role the church played in the French colonial effort.--Morris S. Arnold, author of "Colonial Arkansas, 1686-1804: A Social and Cultural History"

This wonderfully researched and clearly written book breaks new ground in understanding the very important missionaries of the Séminaire de Québec in the eighteenth-century Mississippi Valley. Told with an exciting and evocative narrative voice, this history brings to life the priests' actions and their little-known writings, while also paying close attention to the indigenous people whose ideas shaped complex new conversations in the missions.--Robert Michael Morrissey, author of "Empire by Collaboration: Indians, Colonists, and Governments in Colonial Illinois Country"

Through close reading of primary texts, Jones provides a fascinating account of the struggles faced by early French Catholic missionaries as they worked to convert indigenous communities along the Mississippi River, while the Indians sought to sustain their cultural and spiritual traditions. Essential reading for anyone interested in Native American encounters with Europeans.--George Sabo III, director, Arkansas Archeological Survey

About the Author

Linda Carol Jones is associate professor of language area studies in the Department of World Languages at the University of Arkansas.