French-Canadian lawyer and member of the Assembly of Lower Canada, b. at Charlesbourg near Quebec, 13 November, 1762; d. at Three Rivers, 26 April 1829. He was the son of Pierre-Stanislas Bédard and Marie-Josephine Thibault. After he had completed the course of studies at the seminary of Quebec, where he proved himself an excellent pupil, he studied law and was admitted to the bar. In 1792 Bédard was elected member of the Assembly for Northumberland and continued a member of the Assembly until 1812. During these years he represented successively Northumberland, the lower town of Quebec, and Surrey and gave proof of his sterling qualities. He devoted himself, however, chiefly to the study of constitutional questions of which many of the government officials seemed to have but an imperfect conception. When the newspaper, "Le Canadien" was founded in 1806, he became a regular contributor and expressed his views concerning the constitutional government of the province of Quebec with such warmth that the governor Sir James Craig, in the spring of 1810 suppressed "Le Canadien" and threw Bédard into prison. Here Bédard remained some twelve months, although the governor offered him his freedom several times, so that he could take the seat in the Assembly to which he had been elected during his imprisonment. Bédard, however, demanded a regular trial, which the authorities were not willing to grant. Finally for the sake of peace Bédard left the prison. After Craig had resigned his position and gone to England, the new governor, Sir George Prevost, appointed Bédard a judge of the superior court at Three Rivers as compensation for what he endured. Bédard filled this position from 11 December, 1813, until March, 1827 when illness obliged him to absent himself from his duties for some months. After this his health failed steadily until his death. He was buried in the parish church at Three Rivers. Bédard had four children one of whom, Elzevir, became a distinguished judge.

The Catholic Encyclopedia is the most comprehensive resource on Catholic teaching, history, and information ever gathered in all of human history. This easy-to-search online version was originally printed in fifteen hardcopy volumes.

Designed to present its readers with the full body of Catholic teaching, the Encyclopedia contains not only precise statements of what the Church has defined, but also an impartial record of different views of acknowledged authority on all disputed questions, national, political or factional. In the determination of the truth the most recent and acknowledged scientific methods are employed, and the results of the latest research in theology, philosophy, history, apologetics, archaeology, and other sciences are given careful consideration.

No one who is interested in human history, past and present, can ignore the Catholic Church, either as an institution which has been the central figure in the civilized world for nearly two thousand years, decisively affecting its destinies, religious, literary, scientific, social and political, or as an existing power whose influence and activity extend to every part of the globe. In the past century the Church has grown both extensively and intensively among English-speaking peoples. Their living interests demand that they should have the means of informing themselves about this vast institution, which, whether they are Catholics or not, affects their fortunes and their destiny.

Copyright © Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company New York, NY. Volume 1: 1907; Volume 2: 1907; Volume 3: 1908; Volume 4: 1908; Volume 5: 1909; Volume 6: 1909; Volume 7: 1910; Volume 8: 1910; Volume 9: 1910; Volume 10: 1911; Volume 11: - 1911; Volume 12: - 1911; Volume 13: - 1912; Volume 14: 1912; Volume 15: 1912

Catholic Online Catholic Encyclopedia Digital version Compiled and Copyright © Catholic Online