CHAMPION DE CICÉ, LOUIS-ARMAND, priest, Sulpician, missionary in Canada, vicar apostolic to Siam; b. 24 Sept. 1648 at Bruz, in the diocese of Rennes, son of Charles Champion de Cicé and Judith Thévin; d. 1727 in Siam.

While still young he showed an inclination for missionary work. He entered the seminary of Saint-Sulpice in Paris and asked to be sent to Canada, where he arrived in 1674. He replaced his confrère, Salignac* de La Mothe-Fénelon, at the mission to the Iroquois at Kenté (Quinte). In collaboration with Claude Trouvé, the mission superior, Joseph Mariet, Ranuyer, and some others, he worked at evangelizing the Cayugas who hunted and fished in this region.

In 1681 he was recalled to France by family matters. He left the Society of Saint-Sulpice to enrol in the Société des Missions Étrangères, which entrusted him with an important mission in China. In 1699 he was back again in France, when the famous quarrel of the “Missions d’Orient” broke out. He took sides with his congregation against the Jesuits, who tolerated the survival of pagan rites among their converts. On being informed of his abilities and his zeal, the pope appointed him vicar apostolic to Siam. He was consecrated in 1701 at Saint-Brieuc, with the title of bishop of Sabula, and left immediately for the Orient. He founded numerous charitable works and always maintained good relations with the ruling dynasty. He died in April 1727, leaving behind him the memory of an active priest who was esteemed by all.

Armand Yon

PAC, FM 17, A 3, 21, f. 12. Henri Gauthier, Sulpitiana (Montréal, 1926). Olivier Maurault, Nos Messieurs (Montréal, 1936). Comte E.-L.-M.-A. de Palys, Un Breton en Indo-Chine au XVIII^e siècle: notice sur Monseigneur de Cicé (Vannes, 1892).