Jesuits’ Estates Act (1888)

By virtue of the right of escheat, the government of Lower Canada seized the properties belonging to the Society of Jesus when the last Jesuit died in 1800. In the 1850s the Jesuits, who had returned to Canada in 1842 and were now backed by the ultramontanes, demanded compensation as despoiled owners. This issue, which was poisoning the political climate and dividing Catholics, was resolved when the government of Honoré Mercier reached an agreement with the Jesuit order in Canada. The Jesuits’ Estates Act was passed in July 1888, and Pope Leo XIII portioned out the compensation deemed equitable by both parties.