Born in France, Frederic supported his Flemish family after his father’s death, then entered the Franciscans in 1864. Following ordination, he served as a chaplain in the Franco-Prussian War, established a friary in Bordeaux, served at a school in Egypt, and in 1876 began working in the Holy Land to preserve Christian holy sites and assist Palestinian Christians. To raise funds for this work, he went on a mission to Canada in 1881-82. He left the Holy Land permanently in 1888, moving to Quebec, where he re-established the Franciscan movement and ideals, promoted three local shrines, and drew many to the practice of contemplative prayer. He died of stomach cancer and was beatified in 1988.
