Thierry Beschefer was born at
Châlons-sur-Marne on 25 May 1630 and entered the
Society of Jesus at
Nancy on 24 May 1647. He studied philosophy and theology at
Pont-à-Mousson,¸and taught humanities and rhetoric for seven years at various colleges in
France. He was ordained in 1661. He returned to
Pont-à-Mousson to teach rhetoric and then classics at
Metz. He made his profession as a Jesuit in August 1664. The following year, Beschefer went to
Canada. Upon his arrival at
Quebec, the Jesuit superiors set him to learn the
Huron language. He remained in Quebec for three years. In July 1666, he was part of a delegation sent by Governor
Alexandre de Prouville de Tracy to the English at New York, but a sudden outbreak of Indian hostilities compelled them to turn back. In 1670–1671, however, he was sent to assist
Jean Pierron at a mission among the
Mohawks. During his stay in Canada, he was the spiritual director of the Ursulines at Quebec, and their annals describe him as "a man of distinguished merit, and a director of great wisdom and experience." He died in
Reims on 4 February 1711 at the age of eighty. ==References==