Bishop Laval (dodo Press)

Biography of Franois-Xavier de Montmorency-Laval (1623-1708) was the first Roman Catholic bishop of New France and was one of the most influential men of his day. He was appointed when he was 36 years old by Pope Alexander VII. He was a member of the Montmorency family. Born at Montigny-sur-Avre, Eure-et-Loir, France, he came from an illustrious part of the French nobility. As early as age 8 it was decided that he would have a career in the Church. Laval was inflexible and zealous but knew when to compromise, in exceptional circumstances. He waged continuous warfare against the liquor trade to the Amerindians and interfered constantly in other matters whenever he saw questions of morality and religion being trampled. In 1663 Laval founded the "Sminaire de Qubec," a theological school which eventually also had lay students and finally became Universit Laval, which was named in his honour in the 20th century.