Napoléon-P. Landry
Napoléon-P. Landry was a Canadian Roman Catholic priest and writer from New Brunswick, born in the late nineteenth century. He grew up in a family of five and pursued his education at the Notre-Dame du Sacre-Cœur School and later at Université Saint-Joseph. Landry's passion for the priesthood led him to Eudist Fathers' College Sainte-Anne in Nova Scotia, where he earned his bachelor's degree in 1909. After his ordination in 1914, he served in various parishes, including Bouctouche and Sackville, eventually settling in Sainte-Marie parish for nearly thirty years.
Landry became known for his historical writings and poetry, contributing to the Arcadian paper L'Evangeline and publishing collections like *Poèmes de mon pays* and *Poèmes acadiens*. His works often reflected his deep faith and love for his culture and people, resonating with the French Canadian literary scene of his time. Recognized for his literary contributions, he received several accolades throughout his life, including an honorary diploma from the Société des Poètes Canadiens-Français. Napoléon-P. Landry passed away in 1956 after being struck by a train, leaving behind a legacy of faith-infused literature that continues to be part of his cultural heritage.
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Subject Terms
Napoléon-P. Landry
Poet
- Born: December 30, 1884
- Birthplace: Memramcook, New Brunswick, Canada
- Died: September 28, 1956
- Place of death: Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
Biography
Napoléon-P. Landry, son of Philippe Landry, grew up in the late nineteenth century in New Brunswick, Canada, with one brother and two sisters, and he attended the Notre-Dame du Sacre-Cœur School in his hometown of Memramcook. Following his early education, he enrolled at the Université Saint-Joseph. During his studies there, he developed an interest in the priesthood, so he transferred to Nova Scotia’s Eudist Fathers’ College Sainte-Anne, where he received his bachelor’s degree in 1909. He proceeded to seminary studies at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Halifax and was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest on June 29, 1914.
Landry began his career as a vicar in Bouctouche, a rural New Brunswick village whose history soon piqued the interest of the soon-to-be writer. Landry began researching the local history of the towns of Chipoudie, Beauséjour, and Louisbourg and recording his findings, publishing them first as articles in local newspapers and then as historical essays in the Arcadian paper L’Evangeline, which featured Landry’s writings regularly between 1914 and 1927 and 1937 and 1953.
Never faltering in his devotion to the priesthood, Landry remained focused on that career. He moved from Bouctouche to his next post in Sackville, New Brunswick, in 1917, then moving in 1925 to his final congregation in Sainte-Marie parish, where he remained for nearly thirty years. He was popular among parishioners, who affectionately nicknamed him “Le Père Nap.”
Soon, he was writing historically based poetry as well, and those works were collected in 1949 and 1955, in Poèmes de mon pays and Poèmes acadiens, respectively, works that secured Landry’s literary status. Through the poetry Landry expressed his faith, his love for his country, culture, and people, and his commitment to the Catholic church and its cultural role. Though the fervent religious nature of his poetry has since fallen out of favor, it was in keeping with current sentiment and style in a sect of French Canadian literature during the time it was composed.
He was presented an honorary diploma from the Société des Poètes Canadiens-Français in 1953, an Académie Franczise French-language prize in 1955, and a diploma and fourth prize for a poem he submitted to an international competition of the Académie des Jeux Florimontains de Lyon-Savoye-Provence. He retired in 1954 to the town of Moncton, and his death came just two years later, one day after he was struck by a train. Upon his death, he was at work on a third collection of poetry, which was never published.