BAZIN, Eric, Charles, Gabriel, Hervé, and Jean-Francois, 2008 Étienne Bazin, Oblat de Marie Immaculée: Pionnier des Missions en Pays Inuit, Dijon, Editions Clea, 89, Foreword by Bernard Saladin d’Anglure, 255 pages.

The ways of life of the Inuit have always fascinated people around the world. Christian missionaries who went to live and work among them have likewise fascinated people, in particular in their home countries. That is why the relatives of the French Oblate Father Étienne Bazin (1903-1972) issued a little booklet in 1974 that contained the letters from their “uncle Étienne” about his missionary work among the Inuit: Les letters d’Oncle Etienne. The present book, a biography of Bazin illustrated with numerous unique historic photos, may be seen as a sequel to the family booklet. This book (only available in French) is also largely based on Bazin’s letters, but personal recollections and historical and anthropological studies are used to provide us with a fuller portrait of his life and work. His personality, childhood, education, religious devotion, and work are elaborated upon. His missionary work is placed within its historical context, as attention is paid to aspects of the culture of the Iglulingmiut, the people he came to live with in the 1930s and whose culture his work in turn would affect. A critical assessment of Christianity’s position in present-day Inuit culture completes the book and reveals that we are not dealing with some sort of hagiography. Despite some clear admiration for their uncle’s work, the book originated far more from the uniqueness of his life and the significance of his missionary work than from a wish to make a saint of him. The authors, five of his nephews, have not written a scholarly work; there is, for instance, no theoretical content whatsoever and the sources of the quotes from his letters are nowhere specified. But the book is nevertheless of relevance to scholars interested in (Canadian) Arctic history and in the practice and history of Christian missions. The book informs us about Bazin’s family, his early childhood years, his education, and his vocation, which he embarked on in 1921. Convinced—with support from his parents—that becoming a priest was to be his life goal, he wanted to join the Order of the Oblate Fathers or “Oblates of Mary Immaculate” (O.M.I.). This missionary order was founded in 1816 and “specialised” in what Pope Pius XI in 1938 called “difficult missions.” After years of study and taking the vows of poverty, obedience, and chastity, Bazin, not a brilliant student but highly devoted and motivated, was ordained on January 25, 1929. He was ordered to join the Oblates’ Hudson’s Bay Vicariate in March of that year and arrived on September 2, 1929 in Pond Inlet. The story of Bazin’s life illustrates the strictness of the Oblate Order. In March 1948, he was ordered to leave his mission right away with no time to say goodbye to his flock. He returned to France and became a priest for the parish of Corgoloin (Burgundy), where he stayed until his death in 1972. Unfortunately, we do not learn why Bazin had to leave his mission; all we get are some hints at monetary issues relating to his involvement in Inuit trading. Bazin’s mission of almost 30 years in the Canadian north (from 1929 to 1948, with the year 1946-1947 spent in France) consisted of preaching God’s word to the Inuit of Pond Inlet (1929-1931), Repulse Bay (1945-1946), and Igloolik (1931-1948). The last mission originated entirely from Bazin’s initiative. He alone decided to move to the Igloolik area in northern Foxe Basin to establish a church there. His superior, Mgr. Turquetil, could do nothing but approve the mission when he learned about it, several years after it had been established. Obviously, this was not in line with …