Lionel Groulx

Lionel Groulx was a Roman Catholic priest, Canadian historian, and Quebec nationalist. Born in Quebec in 1878, he entered the priesthood and went on to teach at the University of Montreal. His study of Canadian history led him to become an outspoken advocate for Quebec self-government within a Canadian confederation. He successfully advanced his view that the Roman Catholic nature of French Canada was essential to improving the lot of the French Canadian nation, whereas it had previously been widely accepted that Catholicism hindered Quebec nationalism. Groulx’s ultramontanism, emphasizing papal power, also gained popularity. He helped inspire a revival of the French language in Quebec and created a history curriculum that instilled a sense of Quebec national pride. During the 1930s, he was the spiritual leader of a short-lived political party, Action liberale nationale, which enshrined his Catholic social teaching and held that Quebec should aim to be a model society by Christian standards. He died in 1967, having profoundly influenced the intellectual elite of Quebec.