Misje katolickie w rejonie Zatoki Hudsona (1912-1942)

Abstract

Catholic clergy began evangelization of the Indian tribes in the Canadian North-West in the middle of the 19th century. In the years 1845-1865 the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate who worked there, covered the vast area ranging from Hudson Bay to Alaska with a network of permanent residences, and in the north they reached as far as the border of the Arctic tundra. Working on consolidating Indian missions, they undertook to evangelize the Inuit in different areas of the Canadian Arctic, from Labrador (starting in 1844), through the Hudson Bay area (1868, 1901-1907), to the delta of the Mackenzie (from 1860), and even Alaska (1862, 1870, 1872-1873). However, this work, undertaken with a varying degree of success, did not turn into a lasting engagement until the beginning of the 20lh century, when in 1912 the first permanent Catholic mission was set up among the Inuit in the Hudson Bay area, namely, in Chesterfield Inlet (Father A. Turquetil OMI and Father A. Le Blanc OMI). After four years of difficulties and failures in 1916 the mission saw a group of catechumens who accepted baptism in the spring of 1917. The Inuit’s constant growth of interest in Christianity that was displayed from then on, made the Oblates establish further foundations in the region, and the Church authorities form a separate administration unit in the eastern and central Arctic. In 1925 an Apostolic Prefecture was established in the area and in 1931 the Hudson Bay Vicariate Apostolic. Its traditions are continued today by the Churchill-Hudson Bay diocese. From the moment when the mission in Chesterfield Inlet was established to 1942 the missionaries’ work in this area was managed by Father A. Turquetil OMI, who was appointed the Hudson Bay Prefect, and then the Vicar Apostolic. The isolation of the missionaries who were hundreds of kilometers from each other, difficulties in obtaining provisions as well as severity of the climate made their work one of the most fascinating chapters in the history of the missionary Church. The constant competition between Catholics and Anglicans was an important context of the mission among the Inuit. Positive reception of Christianity among the Inuit soon gave rise in the Arctic to young Churches that inherited the denominational conflicts of the old continent and stood face to face with the challenge of reconciliation of the new faith with their forefathers’ tradition and culture. This question seems to be gaining more significance nowadays, which should be taken into consideration when undertaking the issue of history of missions among the Inuit of the Canadian Arctic.