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In 1634 Father Jean de Brebeuf led three priests and five domestics to do missionary work among the Huron. At its busiest in 1648 the Jesuit community there included 19 priests, 4 lay brothers, 23 donné, 4 boys, 7 domestics and 8 soldiers.
 Construction of Ste-Marie was begun in 1639 by Brébeuf's replacement Father Jérôme Lalemant. The mission included a chapel, a hospital, stables for animals, and residences for the French and for Huron converts. Father Jean de Brébeuf returned in 1644.
Between 1645 and 1655 the Five Nation Iroquois confederacy destroyed all their Iroquoian rivals including the Huron. The Iroquois killed Jesuits Fr. René Goupil in 1642, Fr. Isaac Jogues and Fr. Jean de Lalande in 1646. Fr. Antoine Daniel died as a result of the attack on the mission 4 July 1648. Fr. Jean de Brébeuf and Fr. Gabriel Lallemant were captured and taken to St-Ignace where they were tortured to death in March 1649. Fr. Charles Garnier was killed 7 Dec 1649 and Fr. Noël Chabanel was killed 8 Dec 1649.
On 15 May 1649 the mission was withdrawn and on June 16, 1649 the missionaries chose to burn the mission rather than risk seeing it desecrated.
The eight missionaries martyred in the Iroquoian wars were canonized by Pope Pius XI on 29 June 1930.
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 Jesuit Relations (Relations des jéuites) were the annual documents sent from the Canadian mission of the Society of Jesus to its Paris office from 1632 to 1672. It includes the journals and letters of Jérôme Lalemant and Jean de Brébeuf documenting their attempts to convert the Indians and the tribal warfare in Huronia.
 Gabriel Lalemant (October 3, 1610 – March 17, 1649) was a Jesuit missionary at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, and one of the eight Canadian Martyrs.
In 1630 he joined the Jesuits and spent 16 years in France before coming to Canada. He arrived in Quebec in September, 1646. His uncle Jérôme Lalemant was the former Sainte-Marie superior and his uncle, Charles Lalemant, was the superior of Jesuits in Canada.
In September, 1648 he was sent to Sainte-Marie as a missionary and assistant to Father Jean de Brébeuf. He had only been at the mission for six months when he was captured by the Iroquois along with Brébeuf. He was taken to St Ignace and tortured before he too was killed on March 17, 1649.
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