Date Published:
July 2007

L’Encyclopédie de l’histoire du Québec / The Quebec History Encyclopedia

Modeste Demers

Demers, Modeste (1809-1871), first Roman Catholic bishop of Victoria (1847-71), was born at St. Nicolas, Lower Canada, on October 11, 1809. He was educated at the Quebec Seminary, and was ordained a priest in 1836. In 1837 he was sent as a missionary to Fort Vancouver; and in 1847 he was consecrated the first bishop of Victoria. In 1858 he imported a printing-press, and established a journal at Victoria, entitled Le Courrier de la Nouvelle Caledonia. He died at Victoria, British Columbia, on July 21, 1871.

Source: W. Stewart WALLACE, The Encyclopedia of Canada, Vol. II, Toronto, University Associates of Canada, 1948, 411p., pp. 195-196.