CHAMPION DE CICÉ, LOUIS-ARMAND (baptized Louis), priest, Sulpician, missionary in Canada, vicar apostolic to Siam (Thailand); baptized 24 Sept. 1648 at Bruz, France; son of Charles Champion de Cicé, a member of the parlement of Brittany, and Judith Thévin; d. probably 1 April 1727 in Juthia (Ayutthaya, Thailand).

While still young Louis-Armand Champion de Cicé showed an inclination for missionary work. In 1672 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, François de Salignac* de La Mothe-Fénelon, at the mission to the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) at Kenté (Quinte, Ont.). In collaboration with Claude Trouvé, the mission superior, Joseph Mariet, Ranuyer, and some others, he worked to evangelize the Cayuga who lived in the 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 Asia. He founded numerous charitable works and maintained good relations with the ruling dynasty. He died in April 1727, leaving behind the memory of an active, esteemed priest.

Armand Yon