Gabriel Sagard, baptized Théodat, was a Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Recollect order (French: Récollet) who arrived in New France June 28, 1623 to join four other members of his order who had arrived in 1615. Sagard travelled to a Huron village on the southern shore of Lake Huron in August where he began his missionary work and study of the Huron language . In July 1624 at Quebec he was ordered by his superior to return to Paris. Some time around 1636, Sagard left the Recollect order and may have died living with the Franciscans.

Sagard is remembered for his writings on New France and the Hurons - Le grand voyage au pays des Hurons (Paris, 1632), L'histoire du Canada (1636), which includes a revised and expanded Le grand voyage, and Dictionnaire de la langue huronne. An English translation of Le grand voyage by historian George M. Wrong was published by the Champlain Society in 1939 under the title Sagard's long journey to the country of the Hurons and is available online at the Champlain Society website.

His origins, dates of birth and death are obscure. Some historians say he was christened Théodat; others say Théodat was his religious name.

External links

• Biography at the Canadian Dictionary of Biography Online
• Champlain Society Digital Collection