Bélanger, Alexis

Alexis Bélanger (1808-1868), Catholic priest, was born at Saint Roch des Aulnaies, Québec, on 18 January 1808, the son of Marie Talbot and Pierre Bélanger. He was educated at the College de Sainte Anne de la Pocatierre and the Grande Seminaire de Québec. Bélanger was ordained a priest in 1835 by Joseph Signay, Bishop of Québec.

From 1835 to 1839, Rev. Bélanger served as an assistant priest in the parish of Sainte-Marie de Beauce, Québec. In that year, he was sent by his bishop as a missionary to the Roman Catholic population on the Iles-de-la-Madeleine, Gulf of St. Lawrence. During the 1840s, he traveled throughout the Gulf of St. Lawrence region, spending winters at Rustico, Prince Edward Island, Caraquet, New Brunswick, and as far north as Blanc Sablon on the Labrador Coast.

In 1850, Rev. Bélanger was sent by the Bishop of Québec to minister to the French population along the west coast of Newfoundland. Most likely, this appointment was requested by John Thomas Mullock, Bishop of St. John's, who had been endeavoring for a number of years to have a Francophone priest minister to the inhabitants of that region of Newfoundland. Bishop Mullock appointed Rev. Bélanger as his vicar general for the district, with his residence at Sandy Point, St. George's Bay.

In the community, Rev. Bélanger also acted as a doctor, dentist, carpenter, teacher, farmer, and logger. During his residency in St. George's Bay, he helped build the first church at Sandy Point, under the patronage of the Immaculate Conception, on a site staked out by Bishop Mullock during his visit to the area in 1848. The wooden church, measuring 13.7 m by 6.7 m (45 ft. by 22 ft.) was replaced by a much larger one in the 1870s. In 1904, it became the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, headquarters of the newly created Diocese of St. George's.

In addition to Sandy Point and the surrounding area, Rev. Bélanger's parish included the coastline of western Newfoundland and the Bay of Islands area. After 1854, he also began regular visits to the Codroy Valley area to minister to the Roman Catholic population there. Rev. Bélanger died at Sandy Point on 7 September 1868. In accordance with his wishes, his remains were embalmed and returned to his home town and were buried under the parish church at Saint Roch des Aulnaies on 29 September 1868.

Created - May 3, 2013

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