Père Pierre Maillard: Missionary, Priest, Linguist and Ambassador to Nova Scotia’s Mi’kmaq nation
Père Pierre Maillard was a young priest in his early 20s when those around him observed his proficiency for languages. By the age of 24, he was serving at the Séminaire des Missions Étrangères (Society of Foreign Missions) in Paris. Around that time, in 1735, a superior noted of Père Maillard, “He is a young priest… full of zeal and piety.”
“He is a young priest… full of zeal and piety.”
Perhaps it was his zeal or maybe it was his talent for languages that did it but within a year, Père Maillard was chosen to take part in the Mi’kmaq Missions on Île Royale, now Cape Breton Island. Within months of his arrival, Père Maillard had immersed himself in the Mi’kmaq culture. He quickly mastered the language, and expanded on an existing rudimentary visual system of writing it down.
It was said that Père Maillard’s skill with the Mi’kmaq language reached the point of speaking “with as much ease and purity as… the most skilled.” His mastery of their language was remembered by Mi'kmaq people well into the 18th century.
This helped him to translate the principal prayers and responses of the catechism so that his Mi’kmaq neighbours could fully celebrate their new Catholic faith. It also helped him earn the trust, respect and friendship of his new community. The young Priest’s language skills were also called upon by the officials at Louisbourg to train officers as interpreters.
Père Maillard travelled extensively in those early years, visiting native settlements throughout Île Saint-Jean (Prince Edward Island) and Île Royale as well as English Acadia (Nova Scotia). His travels made it difficult to fulfill his missionary duties on Île Royale, and although he persisted in asking authorities for a church where he could establish a regular mission, it did not happen until he funded and oversaw construction on Île de la Saint-Famille in the south of Grand Lac de La Brador, just off the shores of what is now known as Potlotek First Nation (formerly known as Chapel Island, Cape Breton).
Père Maillard spent more than 25 years living and working among Nova Scotia’s Mi’kmaq. His time in the province was not without conflict – both political and episcopal (apostolic, religious) in nature. He was at the siege of Annapolis Royal in 1744, the fall of the French regime at Louisbourg in 1745 and the military campaigns of 1746-47. He was demanding and critical of those around him when it came to furthering his mission and the cause of his Mi’kmaq community. Through all the conflict (including being taken prisoner and returned to France) Père Maillard continued to rise through the ranks. In 1754 Bishop Henri-Marie Dubreuil de Pontbriand confirmed him as sole vicar general for Île Royale.
After his death in 1762, Père Maillard was remembered for many things, largely among them, his tireless efforts toward creating and then maintaining peace between the Mi’kmaq and the English of Nova Scotia.
Père Maillard was a controversial but fascinating figure whose life was spent crafting peace and friendship between Nova Scotia’s Mi’kmaq communities and the province’s combatant French and British settlers. Today, he is recognized as one of the architects of the Mi’kmaq Treaty of 1752 which we celebrate each year on October 1st at Saint Mary’s Cathedral Basilica, and as the officiant of Nova Scotia’s first official Catholic mass which was held in a barn on the corner of Barrington and Tobin Streets in Halifax.
There is some question as to the actual site of Père Maillard’s final resting place. There is evidence to suggest he was interred in the Old Burying Ground in Halifax, the town’s original cemetery. There are also reports that his remains were exhumed and re-interred across (or possibly under) what is now Spring Garden Road. A third account suggests that he was buried at St. Paul’s in Halifax’s Grand Parade. To date, there is no definitive evidence that confirms Père Maillard’s final resting place but efforts are underway to solve this mystery.