He was born Joseph-Louis-Conrad Kirouac to Cyrille Kirouac, a flower merchant, and Philomène Luneau in Kingsey Falls, Quebec. Prior to taking religious vows and becoming Brother Marie-Victorin, he was known as Conrad. Noted American writerJack Kerouac was his fifth cousin, once removed. Although Brother Victorin is on record as having suggested that Montreal build its own botanical gardens as early as 1919, the Garden was authorized by Montreal MayorCamillien Houde only in 1929, with construction beginning in 1931. Subsequent administrations, both municipal and provincial, opposed the Garden as a boondoggle; however, Brother Victorin continued to champion its cause, promoting it at every opportunity, leading specimen-collection expeditions, recruiting Henry Teuscher as its designer, and even protecting it from being converted into a military flight school. Brother Victorin is also known for his writings: his Flore laurentienne is a botanical record of all species indigenous to southern Quebec, and was the first such record to be compiled. He also penned the preface to an historical biography of another fifth cousin, Zephirin Paquet. Sa famille, sa Vie, son Oeuvre. Essai de Monographie Familiale, par frère Alcas. Brother Victorin died in Montreal in a car accident in July 1944 and he was entombed at the Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery in Montreal. A building at the Université de Montréal, where he had taught botany, was subsequently named for him.
Legacy
The Marie-Victorin rose, developed by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, was named in his honour. To honor the centennial of his birth in 1985, a park was established in his hometown of Kingsey Falls, named Parc Marie-Victorin. Originally 3 acres, it has expanded to nearly 30 acres, and volunteers and a small permanent staff. The park has been a leading in the province for horticultural development in the green movement. In the early 1990s, a private high school in Montréal was opened and named for him. The school is still open but its name has changed in 2006. Brother Victorin has been inducted as a member of the Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame He is fictionalized as a central character in André Forcier's 2019 film Forgotten Flowers , in which he is portrayed by Yves Jacques.
