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How did the Quebec literary movement of 1860 connect literature with Roman Catholic beliefs and patriotism?

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Canadian literature Canadian writer Alice Munro was lauded as a “master of the contemporary short story” by the Swedish Academy when it awarded her the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2013.

The literary movement of 1860, also known as the École Patriotique de Québec (Patriotic School of Quebec), connected literature with Roman Catholic beliefs and patriotism by positioning French Canadian identity as a spiritual mission.1

Members of this group, who often gathered at the bookstore of poet Octave Crémazie, shared conservative and strongly Roman Catholic convictions regarding the survival of French Canada. Their spokesman, Henri-Raymond Casgrain, promoted a messianic view of the role of French Canadians in North America, arguing that while post-revolutionary France had succumbed to materialism and godlessness, French Canadians were tasked with preserving their spiritual heritage.1

This ideology was reflected in the movement's literature, which was characterized by nostalgic and didactic themes. Works such as Philippe Aubert de Gaspé’s Les Anciens Canadiens (1863) and Louis-Honoré Fréchette’s La Légende d’un peuple (1887) emphasized these patriotic and conservative values, reinforcing the group's commitment to the cultural and religious survival of their people.1