Editing Norbert Provencher (section)

==Life==
Provencher was born in [[Nicolet, Quebec]], in 1787 to Jean-Baptiste and Élisabeth Proulx Provencher. His parents were farmers.<ref name=omi/> Provencher was educated at the Nicolet College Classique and the Quebec Seminary.<ref name=Goldsborough>[http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/people/provencher_jn.shtml Goldsborough, Gordon. "Memorable Manitobans: Joseph Norbert Provencher (1787–1853)," Manitoba Historical Society, March 22, 2011]</ref> He was ordained a [[priest]] in 1811. For several years he served as curate in various parishes. In 1818 he and two other priests were sent by [[Joseph-Octave Plessis]], Bishop of Quebec, to open a mission on the [[Red River of the North|Red River]] in present-day Manitoba, where the majority of settlers were Irish and Scottish Catholics. He was tasked with converting the scattered Indian nations and to care for the "delinquent Christians, who have adopted there the customs of the Indians."<ref name=dcb>[http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/provencher_joseph_norbert_8E.html  Lemieux, Lucien. "Provencher, Joseph-Norbert," ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'', vol. 8, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003]</ref> At the time, Provencher did not speak English.{{cn|date=February 2021}}

They arrived at [[Fort Douglas (Canada)|Fort Douglas]] in mid-July. [[Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk]], a main share-holder in the [[Hudson's Bay Company]] gave the missionaries land on the east bank of the [[Red River of the North|Red River]]. They immediately set to work to build a house before winter. Part of the building served as a chapel, which Provencher dedicated to famous missionary, [[Saint Boniface]]. The mission at [[Saint Boniface, Manitoba|Saint Boniface]] was highly successful; he baptized many of the local [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] and [[Métis people (Canada)|Métis]] residents as well as many European settlers. In 1819, Provencher was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Quebec with the titular title of [[Juliopolis|Bishop of Juliopolis]], and vicar general for the northwest. He was consecrated at [[Trois-Rivières]] in 1822.<ref name=dcb/>

He returned to St. Boniface and built the school that is now known as the [[Université de Saint-Boniface]] and in 1832 [[Saint-Boniface Cathedral]]. In 1838, he founded a school to teach the weaving of wool provided by sheep brought into the colony. The Canadian settlers resisted his efforts to regularize concubinage with Indian and Metis women and preferred "this liberty of being able to get rid of their wives."<ref name=dcb/>

In 1844, Provencher was appointed head of the newly-formed Vicariate Apostolic of James Bay, which was elevated to the Diocese of Northwest in 1847, and he was appointed its first bishop. It was renamed the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Boniface|Diocese of Saint Boniface]] in 1851.<ref name=omi/>

In 1843, Provencher went to Europe to recruit some religious men and women. In 1846, despite the misgivings of the superior in Canada, [[Eugène de Mazenod]], [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Marseille|Bishop of Marseille]] and founder of the [[Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate]] dispatched two priests to the vicariate. In 1850, [[Alexandre-Antonin Taché]] O.M.I. was named coadjutor bishop to Bishop Provencher. He established Indian missions at [[Lac Ste. Anne (Alberta)|Lac Sainte-Anne]] not far from Fort Edmonton, and Saint-Jean Baptiste in [[Île-à-la-Crosse]].<ref name=hsjbp>[http://www.jkcc.com/rcfirst.html "Religious History of St. John Baptiste Parish", Île-à-la-Crosse]</ref> He brought the [[Grey Nuns]] to the Canadian Northwest.<ref name=Mullens/> In 1860 three [[Grey Nuns]] arrived Saint-Jean Baptiste, and founded a school and a hospital.<ref name=hsjbp/>

Provencher stood six feet four inches, and had a noble bearing. He is described as "moral, humble, tenacious, and devout."<ref name=Mullens>[http://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.rel.040 Mullens, James G., "Prevencher, Joseph-Norbert (1783–1853)," ''Encyclopedia of the Great Plains'', University of Nebraska-Lincoln]</ref>

Bishop Provencher died at Saint Boniface, Manitoba, on June 7, 1853, at the age of 66.<ref name=omi>[https://www.omiworld.org/lemma/provencher-bishop-joseph-norbert/ "Provencher, Bishop Joseph Norbert", OMI World]</ref><ref>[https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/roman-catholic-church-200th-anniversary-1.4746707 Geary, Aidan. "On its 200th anniversary, a glimpse at the birth of the Roman Catholic Church in Manitoba," CBC, July 15, 2018]</ref> He is commemorated by Provencher Boulevard in Winnipeg and the Provencher Monument in the St. Boniface Cathedral Cemetery. His papers are in the Archives of the Archdiocese of Quebec and in the Archives of Manitoba.<ref name=Goldsborough/>