Jean-Baptiste de La Croix de Chevrières de Saint-Vallier
| Jean-Baptiste de La Croix de Chevrières de Saint-Vallier | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Quebec | |
 |
|
| Diocese | Quebec |
| Installed | 1685 |
| Term ended | 1727 |
| Predecessor | François de Laval |
| Successor | Louis-François Duplessis de Mornay |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
November 14, 1653 Grenoble, France |
| Died | December 26, 1727 (aged 74) Quebec City, Canada, New France |
Jean-Baptiste de la Croix de Chevrière de St. Vallier (November 14, 1653 – December 26, 1727) was most acknowledged for his role as Quebec’s second bishop. Born in the southeastern French city of Grenoble in 1653 (died in 1727), to a wealthy land owning family, Saint-Vallier swiftly became a community figure, as he is well known for his own founding of a hospital in St. Valier. His officious and self-dominant attitude, led him to see the New World and accept the position of bishop in 1685 at the call of Louis XIV and François de Laval, former bishop of Quebec. Often referred to as Abbé Saint-Vallier, he retained a controversial aspect as a member of the community while being the centerfold Bishop of Quebec, as he lacked the qualities of adhering to the advice of his associates. While claiming himself to be something other than a people-pleaser, as bishop and for what he believed to be necessary, he spent huge amounts of money that inadvertently left the seminary to be in great debt upon his death in 1727. He was deeply involved in the Catholic reform tradition and promoted several missions throughout Canada.
He was seen as a very strict leader for most of his reign. His many refusals of resignations demanded by both the King and the religious sub-authorities of New France, as well as the shadowy investigations of the presence of Jansenism in his administration and his works, led to population revolts and further struggles with different religious groups. He is undoubtedly shaded of all the positives during his 42-year reign as bishop. These include: the founding of the Hôpital-Général de Québec (1692), the edifice for the bishop (1688), and the installations of religious reformist communities in the Montreal area. The development of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec and Roman Catholic faith was his utmost priority and interest; he was particularly sensible on the point of morality, which he believed was failing in his see. He was also greatly involved with the Society of Foreign Missions of Paris as an intermediary an expansionist during assignments regarding the new world.
Born from Jean de La Croix de Chevrières de Saint-Vallier and Marie de Sayve, Jean-Baptiste was part of the La Croix family, known to be ranked among the best in Dauphiné with prestigious posts such as country noblemen, officers, magistrates and ambassadors. Jean-Baptiste's father was a Grenoble magistrate and worked for the diplomatic services and his grandfather was a lawyer and poet then a judge at the Parliament of Grenoble until the death of his wife. Besides that, the La Croixs owned a large amount of lands including the castle of Saint-Vallier in the Rhone, which previously belonged to King Henry II's mistress, Diane de Poitiers.
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