Ep. 2: Canoeing Into the Unknown

In this second episode of the Church History series on westward Catholic expansion, the Msgr. Michael Witt and Teresa Holman explore the early stages of the 1673 Joliet-Marquette expedition. Father Jacques Marquette and explorer Louis Joliet set out in two canoes, navigating through harsh river conditions and visiting Native American tribes along the way, including the Illinois and the "Wild Rice People." The episode delves into the Jesuits' complex role in missionary work, their tensions with colonial authorities, and their influence among Native tribes. It concludes with the explorers just two miles from the Mississippi River, as they prepare to push into unknown territory despite dire warnings.

*Saint Louis: The Story of Catholic Evangelization of America's Heartland originally aired on Covenant Network Catholic Radio. These podcast episodes are being released in anticipation of the Bicentennial Celebrations of the founding of the Archdiocese of St. Louis as the Diocese of St. Louis on July 18, 1826.