Francis-Xavier de Montmorency-Laval, commonly referred to as François de Laval (French pronunciation: [fʁɑ̃swa də laval]; 30 April 1623 – 6 May 1708), was a French Catholic prelate who served as Apostolic Vicar of New France from 1658 to 1674 and as Bishop of Quebec from its creation in 1674 until he retired due to poor health in 1688.

[2] Often described as destined for an ecclesiastical lifestyle, Laval was recognized as a clear-sighted and intelligent boy and he was admitted into the "privileged ranks of those who comprised the Congregation of the Holy Virgin.

"[4] This was a society founded by the Jesuits, who aimed to inspire young people to adopt religious lifestyles, and encouraged regular prayer and spiritual practices.

There Laval came into contact with reports of the Jesuit missions to the Huron in Canada, which inspired him to become a missionary, like his patron saint Francis Xavier.

[5] Once he completed his classical education at the age of nineteen, Laval left La Flèche to study philosophy and theology at the College de Clermont in Paris.

[6] Instead Laval helped his mother settle the family's affairs and renounced his rights of primogeniture, which then passed to his brother Jean-Louis.

[8] The Bishop of Évreux, regretting his earlier attempt to persuade Laval to change his career path, appointed him archdeacon of his diocese in December 1647.

[3] In the following years, he devoted himself to establishing order in the parishes, providing relief for the poor, caring for the sick, and engaging in various charitable activities.

In 1654, presented with the possibility of serving as a missionary in Asia, he resigned as archdeacon,[9] but the project was abandoned and he was left without a clerical position.

[12] The former were quite accustomed to working independently[13] and they believed a Sulpician bishop would make the Church in the colony subordinate to the Crown.

[15] The Holy See remained reserved regarding Laval's nomination, as the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith wanted to assert papal authority in the colony[3] rather than allow the Jesuits to exercise control in a new diocese that was part of the ecclesiastical structure of the Catholic Church in France.

[16] On 3 June 1658, the papal bulls were signed appointing Laval vicar apostolic of New France and titular bishop of Petra in Palestina.

[15][b] On 8 December 1658, in the church of the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris, Laval received his episcopal consecration from Cardinal Celio Piccolomini, Apostolic Nuncio to France, assisted by Bishop Hardouin de Péréfixe de Beaumont of Rodez and Bishop André du Saussay of Toul as co-consecrators.

[3] He began work immediately and on the day he arrived he baptized a young Huron and gave a dying man his last sacraments.

[3] He found himself having to make concessions where he never thought to before to a population that, while scarce, was spread out, and was less inclined to continue under strict church discipline.

[18] Additionally, he had to deal with the Sulpician de Queylus, who had been managing Church affairs in the colony as vicar general under the authority of the Archbishop of Rouen, who continued to claim ecclesiastical jurisdiction over New France.

De Queylus continued to assert his authority for nearly two years, while Laval repeatedly appealed to the king and the Holy See for support.

[20] D’Argenson soon resigned and was replaced by d’Avaugour, who, in order to avoid any conflict with Laval, decreed harsh penalties against anyone caught selling alcohol to the natives.

[22] In the developing Sovereign Council, which held its first session 18 September 1663, Mézy represented the first figure of authority, followed by Laval, and Gaudais-Dupon, commissioner.

[27] Laval wanted these teachers to spread the word that his institution was to establish a sense of charity and love for religion in the colony and not another source of law or authority.

Moreover, since his institution was expected to pay off all priests, Laval thought it would be normal to receive the incomes levied by their parishes.

His original goal of demanding a tax worth one-thirteenth of the produce of farms was met with violent resistance, which forced him to reduce it to one-twenty-sixth.

Laval eventually realised that his health was declining and that he could no longer run his large diocese, which extended from Acadia to Lake Michigan.