August 25: The Royal Hydrographer

Welcome to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Today is August 25th, and our story is The Royal Hydrographer. Louis Joliet thought at first that God had called him to the priesthood, but God had a different plan in mind. Born in 1645 in a French settlement near Quebec, the young Joliet grew up in a bustling community of fur traders, Jesuits, and Native Americans. While still a boy, Joliet enrolled in the Jesuit small school in Quebec and spent his adolescence studying theology, philosophy, and music.

He showed talent as an organist and harpsichordist, and took minor orders in 1662. But five years later, he decided the priesthood wasn't for him, and left the community. After that, Joliet pursued the fur trade. He also befriended a young Jesuit missionary, Father Jacques Marquette, who, in 1673, joined Joliet on an expedition to explore the Mississippi, a possible water route to the Pacific Ocean, and bring the gospel to Indian tribes along the river. Throughout the spring and summer, the pair conducted the first extensive exploration of the Mississippi River Valley by Europeans.

Although it disappointed them to learn that the river emptied into the Gulf of Mexico, not the Pacific, their findings still proved invaluable. On their return journey, Joliet and Marquette paddled north along the Mississippi for six weeks until, on August 25, 1673, they turned east and entered the Illinois River, which Joliet described as, the most beautiful and most suitable for settlement. The river is wide and deep, abounding in catfish and sturgeon, he wrote. Game is abundant there. Oxen, cows, stags, does, and turkeys are found there in greater numbers than elsewhere.

After that first legendary expedition, Joliet married, became a father of four, and continued his explorations of the waterways of eastern Canada. His reward for his work was an appointment as New France's royal hydrographer and an expansive island in the St. Lawrence River.

In 1700, while returning to that island from Quebec, Joliet disappeared. Presumed dead, he was never seen again. Joliet's life reminds us that God's call often diverges from our plans. Step beyond your comfort zone today. Learn, explore, or reach out to someone new, trusting God's guidance in unexpected paths.

Thank you for listening to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Join us tomorrow, August 26th, for another story of faith and courage in America.