Father Alexandre Ferigault was a Jesuit priest who spent the final years of his life evangelizing the Mohawk people.
Personal History[]
Father Alexandre lived with the Huron for two years, and converted many to Christianity, before a Mohawk chief invited him to his village and, being prideful, Alexandre relished the rare opportunity to preach among those who were notoriously wary of conversion; and that while among the Mohawk, Alexandre fell in love with one of his converts, and sired a child with her. When he refused to baptize the child – given that he had always required for baptism that both parents were Christian and in a state of grace, the latter of which he himself failed to be – the Mohawk chief Kennyanisi-t'ago was offended and horrified. When Alexandre would not comply with the chief's insistence that the child be baptized, he ordered Alexandre to be tortured. The whole affair had caused a rift in the village, and it was decided that an impartial council would determine how to restore harmony.
Outlander series[]
Drums of Autumn[]
After returning from a hunting trip with the Mohawk, Roger MacKenzie is suddenly thrown into a hut with a French priest, who introduces himself as Père Alexandre Ferigault. The priest explains that while he has lived among the Mohawk for several years, he has not been formally adopted into the tribe. He intimates that he is awaiting some judgment by the Mohawk as to whether he lives or dies, and asks Roger to pray for him if they take him away.
The Mohawk do take the priest, and he is returned hours later. Smelling blood, Roger finds that Father Alexandre's ear and part of his scalp have been cut off. Roger stanches the wound and offers water to the priest, who is shaking and moaning with cold and pain. Knowing neither of them will sleep if this keeps up, Roger lays down beside the priest and takes him in his arms, rubbing his arms and back to warm and comfort him.
Later, Roger wakens to find Father Alexandre sitting up across the hut. Alexandre asks Roger to hear his confession, and he proceeds to tell his life story: how he fell in love with a woman, and their union resulted in a child. Upon clarifying a point to Roger, he ends his confession, deciding that he cannot achieve absolution, in any case, because in order to do so, he must reject the sin he committed, and since he still loves the mother of his child, he cannot.
Late in the afternoon, the sachem of the village comes to the hut, escorted by several warriors, and paints Alexandre's face black. They leave, and around twilight, Alexandre makes his final request to Roger – that he pray, not for Alexandre's life or his soul, but that he might die well, without crying out. Some time later, the Mohawks return, and Alexandre strips off his clothes and leaves the hut.
Roger cannot see the execution, but becomes alert to the fact that some sort of commotion is erupting. Desperate to see what is going on, Roger widens a cracked panel in the wall of the hut, and upon hearing voices yelling in Gaelic, he frantically tears at the panels in order to escape. Failing this, he wrenches a piece of the bed frame free and, having armed himself with this makeshift spear, charges out of the hut. Chaos ensues, and a blow to the head takes Roger out for the count for a time, until he revives inside the hut once more and notices the presence of Jamie Fraser. Once Fraser is conscious and they establish their current situation, he explains to Roger what happened that caused the commotion: not that the priest, after being tortured, was bound to a long pole and burned alive; but that his lover, having handed her child to Claire, turned and walked straight into the flames, embracing the priest and being consumed herself.
Personality[]
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Physical Appearance[]
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Name[]
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Trivia[]
TV Series[]
French actor Yan Tual portrayed Father Alexandre in Season Four of the Outlander television adaptation.[1]
