St. Isaac Jogues was a seventeenth-century Jesuit priest from France who served in the North American missions to Native Americans. He taught and served tribes, including the Ojibwa and Huron, in what is now Canada. In 1642, he was captured by the warring Iroquois with his companion René Goupil. Goupil was killed, while Jogues faced thirteen months of captivity and torture, from which he lost several fingers.
Aided by the Dutch in what is now New York, Jogues returned to France for a short time in December of 1643. His hands were too damaged to celebrate Mass, as required by Church law. The Blessed Sacrament must be held with the thumb and forefinger, which are known as the “canonical digits.” However, Pope Urban VIII, who considered Jogues to be a “living martyr,” granted his request for a dispensation to celebrate Mass, saying, “It would be shameful that a martyr of Christ not be allowed to drink the Blood of Christ.”
Jogues returned to North America in 1645 and worked to establish peace between the French and the Mohawk tribe. A year later, the Mohawks accused him of witchcraft because they believed he caused a deadly outbreak of European diseases. This accusation led to his murder at the age of 39. Jogues was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1930, alongside Goupil and several other North American martyrs.
He brought the sacraments, particularly Baptism and the Eucharist, to the indigenous people of North America. Ultimately his mission resulted in his martyrdom. Jogues's dedication to the Eucharist reminds us that the Blessed Sacrament is truly “the source and summit” of our faith.
Jogues reminds us that we can be missionaries for Christ in the world today by telling those around us about our faith and the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. We can receive Jesus at Mass with reverence, remembering that Jogues and other saints gave their lives so that we can freely celebrate the Eucharistic Feast. We also can serve as Eucharistic ministers in our parishes and to the hospitalized and homebound.
How will you live out your mission to bring Christ to others?
