Missionary, b. in France, 1602; entered the Society of Jesus at Rouen (1621); d. at Quebec, 1643. He was procurator in the Canadian mission when he was called to Quebec (1637). When the time came (1640) to give missionaries to the wandering tribes who frequently visited the Hurons, chiefly Nipissings and Algonquins, living east and north of Lake Huron and on the banks and islands of the Ottawa, Raymbault was sent with Father Pijart to follow them. This mission offered greater hardships than that of the Hurons, Neutrals, and Indians of the Tobacco Nation. The generosity of the Jesuits soon bore fruit. When the Sauteux Indians (1641) besought the "blackrobes" to visit them, Raymbault travelled, with the future martyr Jogues, as far the Sault St. Marie on a voyage of exploration and with a view to a more permanent apostolate. The missionaries, besides their desire to conquer souls, were interested in the discovery of the famous passage to the Western Sea. Shortly after his return, Raymbault intended to join the Nipissings in their winter quarters, but he fell exhausted with fatigue, and was brought to Quebec, where he soon died, the first Jesuit who died in Canada. He was buried besides Champlain. According to the Relation of 1643, he was a man of great stature, of ordinary talent and learning, of sound judgment, excellent heart, and experienced in temporal affairs.

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