Every missionary land has what are called "proto-martyrs", the first martyrs in that land. Today we celebrate North America's proto-martyrs. These French Jesuits went to the Native Americans of Canada and the northern United States area in the mid-17th century. They were missionaries to the Hurons, who were constantly being warred upon by the Iroquois.
St. Isaac Jogues was captured by the Iroquois, tortured, and forced to watch his Huron converts beaten and killed He escaped and went back to France. He desired to return to the missions and did so, but again was captured by a band of Mohawks, tomahawked and beheaded.
St. John de Brebeuf was the leader of the missionary group, due to his 20+ years experience in North America. He wrote catecheisms and a dictionary in the Huron language. He oversaw the conversion of 7,000 Hurons to Catholicism. Eventually, he was captured by the Iroquois, tortured for four hours, and died. The other six Jesuits suffered similar martyrdoms. They were canonized in 1930.
Many of these men knew that their lives would end in martyrdom. Some had vowed to stay in North America until their deaths as a sacrifice for the Native Americans. Death as a sacrifice comes to us directly from Jesus. He offered his life for our salvation. The North American martyrs knew the likelihood of their deaths as martyrs and they rejoiced at participating in the sufferings of Jesus. We can suffer a "white" martyrdom in that we offer our daily difficulties for the sake of the salvation of souls. We can be like the North American martyrs.
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