Hamel, Pierre

Pierre Hamel, S.J. was born in Ste-Claire, Quebec on February 23, 1832 and entered the Society of Jesus in September of 1851. He taught at St. John’s College in Fordham, New York, where he then took up his own studies. He was ordained a priest in July of 1865.

In 1870, Father Hamel was assigned minister at St. Francis Xavier School in New York. He then proceeded to teach at Collège Saint-Marie in Montreal before being appointed assistant pastor in Guelph, Ontario. He ministered at Sault-au-Récollet before returning as dean to Collège Saint-Marie in 1872. From 1875 to 1883, he worked as a pastor in Guelph; he moved on to take charge of the parish in Port Arthur, Ontario, including establishing a new church.

In 1887, Father Hamel became the first-ever Canadian-born Jesuit to become Superior of the newly-created Canada Missions, and immediately became embroiled with the Jesuit Estate affair. He left office in 1891 after launching the English Canadian edition of the Canadian Messenger of the Sacred Heart and overseeing the formation of many young Jesuits. He asked for assignment in Northern Ontario and was named pastor at the Parry Sound district; in 1900 he left for Sudbury and in 1903 transferred to the Loyola College in Montreal. He died in 1905.