The patron saint of anesthetists
      Because he was the first canonized health worker in North America, some American nurse anesthetists designated René Goupil as the patron saint of their profession, around 1955.

The patron saint of deaf
     After 1990, some American deaf people started designating saint René Goupil, himself partially deaf, as the patron of deaf and hard of hearing. They see St François de Sales rather as the patron saint of those ministering to them.

His life
     Born in May 1608 near Angers (France), René Goupil was already a surgeon when he entered the parisian Jesuit noviciate in 1639. After some months, he had to quit because of bodily indispositions.
     The next year, he was a servant of the Jesuits in New France. During 2 years, he also practiced surgery at the hospital recently opened by the Hospital Sisters of Dieppe at Sillery near Quebec (Canada).
     In war against the Frenchmen and their allied Indians, Mohawk Warriors captured René Goupil and brought him into their territories situated in the north section of the actual State of New York (USA), in August 1642.
     These same Indians killed him the next month.

The surgeon
     As a surgeon at Sillery between 1640 and 1642, Goupil was taking care of sick and wounded Indians.
     He even went into the forest and resuscitated, with great success, an Indian woman in hemorrhagic shock.

Hard of hearing
     When at the Jesuit noviciate, René Goupil was hard of hearing or «surdaster». This is the main reason why he had to quit.
     But he kept his great desire to be a Jesuit and did not give up this goal.
     He was persevering.

The Jesuit
     When prisoner of the Mohawks and knowing he was in great danger of death, René Goupil asked another prisoner, the Jesuit Father Isaac Jogues, to take the vows of the Society of Jesus in his presence. Jogues accepted.
     Later, when he was in France, Father Jogues explained to his Superior what happenned to him and to René Goupil. He then asked him to acknowledge René Goupil as a member of the Society of Jesus. What happened later on.
     The perseverance of René Goupil was still there... even after his death.

The martyr
     During his short captivity, René Goupil suffered all the tortures inflicted to their prisoners of war by the Indians. His right thumb was even severed with an oyster shell when he entered the first Iroquois village, Ossernenon.
     Then he was killed because he traced the Sign of the Cross over an Iroquois young boy.

Sign of the Cross
Jean Quintal, 2001
Paper - Private Collection

The saint
     In 1930, René Goupil was canonized with seven other Jesuits. All are now known as the Jesuit Martyrs of North America and also as les saints martyrs jésuites de la Nouvelle-France.
     Since 1940, they are the secondary patron saints of Canada.
     Their feast is on October 19 (on September 26 in Canada).

     More informations on St René Goupil are found at the web site of the National Jesuit Brothers Committee http://www.njbc.com.