Among the first missionaries sent by France to its colony, Viel traveled to Huron territory, arriving there with fellow Recollect Father Joseph Le Caron in 1623.

[1] Sagard and Le Clercq give accounts of Father Viel's missionary work, and of his death.

[3][4] French Jesuit priest Charlevoix could only conclude "Whether there was some miscalculation in the measures they took or whether it was brought about by design the canoe capsized.

"[1]: 285 The rapids were certainly dangerous enough to explain the outcome: Sagard wrote that "Time and again we ran the risk of losing our lives and of being swallowed up in the falls and whirlpools as were, since then, good Father Nicholas and a young boy Francis, our disciple.

"[5] A painting by Georges Delfosse in Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde, Montreal, Quebec, shows Viel holding aloft a cross as the canoe is about to capsize.