Simon Le Moyne

Father Simon Le Moyne, S.J. (22 October 1604 – 24 November 1665) was a Jesuit priest in Lower Canada who was involved in the mission to the Hurons. His notability in Canadian history comes from his work as an ambassador of peace to the Iroquois.

Le Moyne had 16 years of education and experience in the priesthood in France before arriving in the New World in 1638 and heading out to his mission in Huron country. He was there until the Iroquois destruction of the Huron nation brought him back to Quebec in 1650.

Biography

Simon Le Moyne was born at Beauvais, France in 1604. He entered the Jesuit novitiate at Rouen on 10 December 1622 and studied philosophy at the Collège de Clermont in Paris (1624–27). Le Moyne was sent to Canada in 1638. He worked on the Huron mission with Pierre-Joseph Chaumonot and Francesco Giuseppe Bressani. Second only to Chaumonot in his mastery of the Huron-Iroquois language, he was unequalled in the knowledge of the character of the Indians their customs and traditions. This made him well-suited to serve as ambassador in difficult matters.