Lalemant entered the Jesuit
novitiate in Paris on 20 October 1610, after which he studied philosophy at
Pont-à-Mousson (1612–15) and theology at the
Collège de Clermont (1619–23). In the following interval, while he fulfilled his period of
regency, he served as a
prefect of the Jesuit
boarding school at
Verdun (1615–16) and teacher at the Collège in Amiens (1616–19). After finishing his study of theology he taught philosophy and the sciences at the Collège de Clermont (1623–26), and did his
tertianship, a third probationary year of the Society of Jesus, at
Rouen (1626–27), after which he was allowed to profess the
fourth vow specific to the Society of Jesus. Following the completion of his formation period, Lalement became the
chaplain of the Collège de Clermont (1627–29) and head of the boarding school of this same college (1629–32), and then
Rector of the college in
Blois (1632–36). From 1636 to 1638 he was again at the Collège de Clermont, this time as chaplain. Few Jesuits had had as wide experience as Lalemant before he was allowed to go to Canada, an evidence of the high esteem in which he was held by his superiors. This was during this period that all eight of the
Jesuit missionaries from
Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, known as the
Canadian Martyrs were killed. His own nephew,
Gabriel Lalemant and Jean de Brébeuf died together in 1649. In 1650, he
venerated their remains in
Quebec. The
Wendat nation were little match for the Iroquois, who used their trade alliances with the Dutch to gain firearms. On June 16, 1649, the missionaries chose to burn Sainte-Marie rather than risk it being desecrated or permanently overrun by Iroquois in further attacks. Later in 1650, Lalemant went to France and taught at La Flèche college. Father
Paul Ragueneau succeeding him as Superior in Canada. On his return to Canada the following year, he served under Ragueneau until 1656, when he was recalled to France to be rector of the Royal College of La Flèche. He returned in 1659 and served a second term as Canadian Provincial Superior from to 1665, at the urgings of Bishop
François de Laval. He helped resettle Huron refugees near Québec, and continued to solidify the Jesuit mission in Canada and his writings give us verifiable information about the social, political, and religious life of Canada during that period. ==References==