Pope Francis held a mass on Canada's Thanksgiving weekend, for the canonization of two 17th-century missionaries who spread Catholicism through what is today Canada, alongside Quebec Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix, and dozens of other nuns and priests who made the pilgrimage to Rome.

Vatican Pope

Francis said in his homily Sunday that St-François-de-Laval and Ste-Marie-de-l'Incarnation spread their faith 'to the smallest and most remote.' (Andrew Medichini/Associated Press)

During his homily at St. Peter's Square in Vatican City on Sunday, Francis said St-François-de-Laval and Ste-Marie-de-l'Incarnation spread their faith "to the smallest and most remote."

The two missionaries were elevated to sainthood last April 3.

"Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the great gift that you have given of two new saints," said Cardinal Lacroix, Archbishop of Quebec.

Here are the two saints honoured Sunday:

  • François de Laval (1623-1708), who became the first Roman Catholic bishop of Quebec in 1685, and founded the Séminaire de Québec.
  • Marie Guyart (1599-1672), a single mother who became a missionary, and in 1639 established the first French-language school for girls in North America, the Ursuline Convent of Quebec.
With files from Associated Press