Louis-Honoré Pâquet
Encyclopedia
Biography
Pâquet was born in 1838 in Saint-NicolasSaint-Nicolas, Quebec
Saint-Nicolas is a district of the city of Lévis, Quebec, Canada on the St. Lawrence River.-History:The history of Saint-Nicolas goes back to 1694. It is one of the oldest parishes in Canada...
, near Lévis
Levis
-People:*François de Gaston, Chevalier de Lévis , French soldier best known for his command in Canada in 1760*George Levis , American college basketball player and coach*Georges Lévis , French adult comic artist-Places:Canada...
, in what was then Lotbinière County, on the southern shore of the Saint Lawrence River
Saint Lawrence River
The Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...
opposite Québec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
. The son of farmers Étienne Pâquet and Ursule Lambert, he was descended from an old, pious family of the area, and was closely related to theologian Louis-Adolphe Pâquet
Louis-Adolphe Paquet
Louis-Adolphe Paquet was an influential French-Canadian theologian from the late 19th early 20th century, and a major North American proponent and actor in the rebirth of Neo-Scholasticism...
as well as to provincial MLA
Member of the Legislative Assembly
A Member of the Legislative Assembly or a Member of the Legislature , is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to the legislature or legislative assembly of a sub-national jurisdiction....
Étienne-Théodore Pâquet
Étienne-Théodore Pâquet
Étienne-Théodore Pâquet was a French-Canadian civil law notary, and provincial politician and civil servant. In 1879, he was one of four Liberal Members of the Legislative Assembly who crossed the floor in the middle of a parliamentary crisis, causing the Joly de Lotbinière government to...
(both nephews). His studies, like those of his older brother Benjamin
Benjamin Pâquet
Benjamin Pâquet was a French-Canadian Roman Catholic priest and educationist. He was an extremely influential and controversial figure in 19th century Quebec religious politics, making numerous enemies amongst the French-Canadian ultramontane elite of the period...
, were financed by their uncle (also named Benjamin), a wealthy merchant.
At the Petit Séminaire de Québec
Petit Séminaire de Québec
Le Petit Séminaire de Québec is a private French-language Roman Catholic secondary school in the Vieux-Québec area of Quebec City which was originally part of the Séminaire de Québec...
, he was an excellent student, and a frequent contributor to the resurrected student newspaper, writing on the Montalembert
Charles Forbes René de Montalembert
Charles Forbes René de Montalembert was a French publicist and historian.-Family history:He belonged to a family of Angoumois, which could trace its descent back to the 13th century. Charters carry the history of the house two centuries further...
and Mortara
Edgardo Mortara
Edgardo Levi Mortara was a Roman Catholic priest who was born and raised Jewish. Fr. Mortara became the center of an international controversy when he was removed from his Jewish parents by authorities of the Papal States and raised as a Catholic...
affairs. His studies completed, he immediately enrolled at the seminary proper. He was ordained on September 21, 1862. The following years he was amongst three priests (the other two were Benjamin and future archbishop Louis-Nazaire Bégin) chosen to completed advanced studies in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. He made easy friends and was generally tagged as a "charmer".
His studies were quick and he came back to Canada a Doctor of Theology
Doctor of Theology
Doctor of Theology is a terminal academic degree in theology. It is a research degree that is considered by the U.S. National Science Foundation to be the equivalent of a Doctor of Philosophy....
just in time to succeed Thomas-Étienne Chandonnet (himself leaving to study in Rome) as professor of philosophy at Université Laval
Université Laval
Laval University is the oldest centre of education in Canada and was the first institution in North America to offer higher education in French...
. In 1869 he had to spend six month in the Southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
due to health problems. He was in general of frail health: he had gotten very ill in Rome, and his brother had promised to build a chapel (now Notre-Dame de Grâce Chapel
Saint-Nicolas Heritage Site
The Saint-Nicolas Heritage Site is a small municipal historic district located in the western part of Lévis, Quebec. It encompasses a group of a half-dozen properties and their dependencies that developed around the estate of a major family. Most of the buildings date from the 19th century, with...
, in Saint-Nicolas) should he recover. Returning from that travel he became a lecturer of dogma, a position where his oratory and teaching abilities began to be noticed. His voice was described as "sonorous and metallic, truly remarkable." His language was hailed as sound and composed, clearly expressing whatever idea he wanted to carry. He was equally at home in sermon
Sermon
A sermon is an oration by a prophet or member of the clergy. Sermons address a Biblical, theological, religious, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law or behavior within both past and present contexts...
, homilies
Homily
A homily is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture. In Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Eastern Orthodox Churches, a homily is usually given during Mass at the end of the Liturgy of the Word...
, lecture
Lecture
thumb|A lecture on [[linear algebra]] at the [[Helsinki University of Technology]]A lecture is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical information, history,...
and extemporaneous speaking. Although he spoke widely, he wrote little and most of his preserved speeches were written down by others. He was known enough that he was one of three speakers (the other two were Sherbrooke bishop Antoine Racine
Antoine Racine
Antoine Racine was a Canadian Roman Catholic priest and the 1st Bishop of Sherbrooke from 1874 to 1893. He is buried in the Cathedral in Sherbrooke.-External links:...
and Fr. Gustave Bourassa, brother of PM Henri Bourassa
Henri Bourassa
Joseph-Napoléon-Henri Bourassa was a French Canadian political leader and publisher. He is seen by many as an ideological father of Canadian nationalism....
) literary critic and historian Camille Roy chose to exemplify 19th century religious oratory style.
He taught at Laval for over twenty years, preaching and speaking on the sides on numerous occasions, such as eulogy
Eulogy
A eulogy is a speech or writing in praise of a person or thing, especially one recently deceased or retired. Eulogies may be given as part of funeral services. However, some denominations either discourage or do not permit eulogies at services to maintain respect for traditions...
for Charles-François Baillargeon
Charles-François Baillargeon
Charles-François Baillargeon was a Canadian Roman Catholic priest and archbishop.He was from Lower Canada and studied at the Collège de Saint-Pierre-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud and Collège de Nicolet followed by four years of theology at Quebec where his choice of the priesthood was confirmed...
and a speech on the occasion of the 600th anniversary of the death of Saint Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...
. In 1874 he was named chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
of the Franciscan Sisters
Franciscan Sisters
Franciscan Sisters can refer to:* Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity* Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist* Franciscan Sisters of Mary* Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration* Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart...
in Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
, before becoming chaplain of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary
Franciscan Missionaries of Mary
Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, or the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Mary is a Roman Catholic order founded by Sister Mary of the Passion, Helene de Chappotin, in 1877 at Ootacamund, India....
in 1895. The newly arrived order greatly benefited from the man's business sense and unshakeable confidence. He used that appointment to further his personal goal of establishing a location for the adoration of the holy eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
, to which the order's chapel was dedicated (the entire convent has since been converted in a retirement home
Retirement home
A retirement home is a multi-residence housing facility intended for senior citizens. Typically each person or couple in the home has an apartment-style room or suite of rooms. Additional facilities are provided within the building, including facilities for meals, gathering, recreation, and some...
complex). For that he founded a magazine and a fraternity.
In addition to these works, he was a major actor in bringing the Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
Brothers in Quebec City. In 1904, he traveled back to Europe with his nephew Louis-Adolphe
Louis-Adolphe Paquet
Louis-Adolphe Paquet was an influential French-Canadian theologian from the late 19th early 20th century, and a major North American proponent and actor in the rebirth of Neo-Scholasticism...
. It would be his second and last travel: his health definitely degenerated in 1914 and he died in September 1915. In his private life Pâquet was an avid hunter and fisher, as well as a skilled musician. As a man, he was skinny with early white hair, in stark contrast with his brother, an overweight man. In 1916, a volume compiling a number of his speeches and some biographical notes was published.
The Pâquet family home, in Saint-Nicolas, is a provincially designated historic monument, and the entire estate is a municipal-designated historic district, Saint-Nicolas Heritage Site
Saint-Nicolas Heritage Site
The Saint-Nicolas Heritage Site is a small municipal historic district located in the western part of Lévis, Quebec. It encompasses a group of a half-dozen properties and their dependencies that developed around the estate of a major family. Most of the buildings date from the 19th century, with...
.