Léon Joseph Doucet was born in France on January 7, 1847. He was one of five children and entered the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate on September 8, 1867.
Being very timid, he joined Bishop Grandin in the Northwest (St. Albert), a five-month trip. He completed his studies there in 1870 and became the first priest to be ordained in Alberta. As a missionary, he worked with the Cree First Nations in northern Alberta under Bishop Grandin, and was later assigned to Our Lady of Peace, the "old mission"up the Elbow River, on May 15, 1875.
When the North West Mounted Police arrived in September 1875, Father Doucet was the first to welcome them. He spent the remainder of his active life as a missionary in the South, primarily on the Blackfoot, Blood and Peigan reserves. He spent many years at Blackfoot Crossing and baptized Chief Crowfoot on his deathbed.
Father Doucet retired in 1938, in his 96th year and 72nd year in the priesthood. Four thousand First Nations people, priests and friends paid tribute to him as they attended the last rites of this quiet, peaceful man who was often referred to as “God’s Little Lamb.”
Sources: Dictionary of Canadian Biography; Suzanne de Courville Nicol - President of Bureau de Visibilité de Calgary; Denis Perreaux - Historian and Director of Société Historique Francophone de l'Alberta. Photo: Glenbow Archives (NB-16-164, undated) Portrait of Father Doucet.