Postcard of Father Allouez Monument
Father Jean Claude Allouez was a Jesuit Priest who helped established a mission here in the 1680s with the intent of bringing Catholicism to Native people. He was one of the most influential missionaries in New France. Born in France in 1622, Father Allouez studied at Toulouse and was ordained in 1655, setting set sail for Quebec just three years later. During his time in New France, Father Allouez travelled extensively and established several missions in the western Great Lakes region. A few years prior to the land grant, Father Allouez arrived in the area now known as Fort St. Joseph from Illinois Country with potential Miami converts. He died in 1689 and was buried near this spot, a wooden cross marking his grave site. In 1918, the Women’s Progressive League marked the site with a more permanent granite cross.
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