Sainte-Marie among the Hurons () was a French Jesuit settlement in Huronia or Wendake, the land of the Wendat, near modern Midland, Ontario, from 1639 to 1649. It was the first European settlement in what is now the province of Ontario. Eight missionaries from Sainte-Marie were martyred, and were canonized by the Catholic Church in 1930. Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1920. A reconstruction of the mission now operates as a living museum. A nearby historic site, Carhagouha, marks the spot where an earlier Récollet missionary to Wendake, Father Joseph Le Caron, presided in 1615 over the first Catholic mass conducted in present-day Ontario. Another related site of historical interest is Saint-Louis Mission National Historic Site, located in present-day Victoria Harbour, Ontario. It was at Saint-Louis that Jesuit missionaries Jean de Brébeuf and Gabriel Lalement were captured when the Wendat village was attacked by the Iroquois on March 16, 1649. History Sainte-Marie among the Hurons was established in 1639 by French Jesuits, Fathers Jérôme Lalemant and Jean de Brébeuf in the land of the Wendat. The fortified missionary settlement acted as a centre and base of operations for Jesuit missionaries on the outskirts of what is now Midland, Ontario as they worked amongst the Huron. It also provided an example of a functioning European community to the Huron. The mission was built near the Huron settlement of Quieunonascaranas, led by chief Auoindaon. The mission was initially founded by 18 men. Arriving in November 1639, the priests erected a makeshift shelter out of cypress pillars and a birch bark roof, using clay to build the interior walls. After the arrival of carpenter Charles Boivin, further construction resulted in a chapel, a residence for the Jesuits, a cookhouse, a smithy and other buildings. Sainte-Marie became the Jesuit headquarters in Huronia, from which the Jesuits travelled among the Iroquoian-speaking Huron and Petun, and the Algonquian-speaking Nipissing, Ottawa and Ojibwa peoples, whose languages were distinct but related to each other. Missionary life A small group of religiously devoted men, also known as donnés (offered, given or gifts), worked at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, in return for food, clothing, and shelter. The Jesuits hired engagés, labourers, and non-clerical Jesuits known as "lay brothers". The Jesuits preached the Christian Gospel to the Huron, often adapting the story to local customs and symbols. One of the most famous examples