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Saint Francis-Xavier de Montmorency-Laval, M.E.P., commonly referred to as François de Laval (30 April 1623 – 6 May 1708), was the first Roman Catholic bishop of Quebec, appointed when he was 36 years old by Pope Alexander VII. He was a member of the Montmorency family and was one of the most influential men of his day. He was a candidate for canonization by the Catholic Church after his death and was beatified in 1980 by Pope John Paul II. On April 3, 2014 Pope Francis made him a saint by "equipollent canonization". ==Early life== Laval was born on 30 April 1623 at Montigny-sur-Avre in the ancient Province of Perche, now the Department of Eure-et-Loir. His father, Hugues de Laval, a member of the House of Laval, was the Seigneur of Montigny, Montbaudry, Alaincourt and Revercourt. His mother, Michelle de Péricard was from a family of hereditary officers of the Crown in Normandy. Despite his noble descent, his parents were not considered to be wealthy. Montigny was considered equivalent to a good-sized market-town. Laval had five other brothers and two sisters; two of these siblings would also pursue religious paths in life. His youngest brother, Henri, entered the Benedictine Order and his sister, Anne Charlotte, entered the Congregation of Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. Throughout his life, Laval’s mother continuously served as an example of piety and encouraged him to be charitable to those who were less fortunate. Often described as destined for an ecclesiastical lifestyle, Laval was quickly recognized as a clear-sighted and intelligent boy. As a result, he was admitted into the “privileged ranks of those who comprised the Congregation of the Holy Virgin.” This was a society founded by the Jesuits, who aimed to inspire young people to adopt religious lifestyles, and encouraged regular prayer and spiritual practices. At the age of eight, Laval received the tonsure and took minor orders, which then allowed him to enter the College of La Flèche in 1631. This institution was attended by the sons of the elite families in France; hence, Laval was guaranteed a good education. Moreover, it was during this period that Laval came into contact with reports of the Jesuit missions amongst the Huron in Canada, which influenced his desire to become a missionary, like his patron saint, Francis Xavier. In 1637, Laval was appointed a canon of the Cathedral of Évreux by the Bishop of Évreux. This position proved to be of key importance after the death of Laval's father in September 1636, which left his family in a precarious financial situation. It allowed him to receive revenue from the prebend attached to the position, without which he would have been unable to continue his education. Once he completed his classical education at the age of nineteen, Laval left La Flèche to further pursue his education in philosophy and theology at the college de Clermont in Paris. Laval’s plans were put on hold due to the death of his two eldest brothers; one having fallen at Freiburg and the other at Nordlingen, which effectively made him the head of the family At this point, Laval was faced with the decision of abandoning his ecclesiastical career to take over his father’s estate: “bringing him () together with a great name, a brilliant future.” In fact, his mother, the Bishop of Évreux, and his cousin all attempted to convince him to leave Paris and return home. Nonetheless, Laval would not succumb to his family’s pressure. Laval helped his mother set the family’s affairs in order and arranged for a full renunciation of his rights of primogeniture, which would then be transferred to his brother Jean-Louis. Once this was complete, Laval returned to Paris where he delved into his studies and began the process of preparing himself to receive holy orders. On 1 May 1647, at the age of twenty four, Laval was ordained a priest. Soon after this, the Bishop of Évreux began to feel remorse for his previous attempt to convince Laval to abandon his ecclesial path; hence, he decided to appoint him as the archdeacon of his diocese in December 1647. This post required Laval to oversee the affairs of 155 parishes and four chapels. Laval was said to approach this task with fervor and enthusiasm. In the following years, he devoted himself to establishing order in the parishes, providing relief for the poor, caring for the sick and engaging in different kinds of charitable activities. This same behavior would be seen later on in his life, on a completely different continent. Laval had dreamt of becoming a missionary to travel and preach the Gospel. When he was presented with the possibility of serving as a missionary in Asia, he resigned from his post as archdeacon in 1654. Indeed, the noted Jesuit missionary, Alexandre de Rhodes, was looking for the Pope’s permission to appoint candidates as Vicars Apostolic in Tonkin and Indochina. He was sent to Rome where he remained for fifteen months. Opposition by the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, which oversaw the missionary work of the Catholic Church, and that of the Portuguese royal court jeopardized the mission which led to the project being discarded in 1654. Laval was now freed from all responsibility, and thus made the decision to prepare himself “by prayer, for the designs which God might have for him.” He traveled to Caen to stay at a spiritual retreat known as the Hermitage, operated by Jean de Bernières de Louvigny, who, though a layman, was a leader in the reform of the Catholic Church in France. He also made the acquaintance of the founder's nephew, Henri de Bernières, who would later be an invaluable assistant in his work. Laval remained there for three years, devoting himself to prayer and charitable activity. It is also during this time that he took on the responsibility of reforming a monastery whose morals were thought to be too lax, as well as becoming the administrator of two monasteries of nuns. His dedication to these projects earned him commendation from François de Servien, the Bishop of Bayeux, who described him as a priest ''of great piety, prudent and of unusually great competence in business matters, (had set ) fine examples of virtue''. Laval was now well known in the religious community and ready to take the next step in his life. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「François de Laval」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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