Portrait of Henri-Marie du Breil de Pontbriand

Henri-Marie du Breil de Pontbriand was born in Vannes (France), probably in January 1708. He arrived in New France on August 29, 1741 and became the sixth bishop of Quebec. He reorganized parishes, missions and the lifestyle of religious communities. In 1747, he restricted membership in the Congregation to eighty. In 1759, after the fall of Quebec into the hands of the British, he retired to the Sulpicians in Montreal where he died the following year on June 8, 1760.