The French brought missionaries with them to the new land. Missionaries are men of God. These church people tried to make the Micmacs become Christians. There were missionaries on the Miramichi long before 1700. At that time the Miramichi Indians were using the sign of the cross. But it had no Christian meaning. The Missionaries began calling Micmacs lithe Cross-bearer Indians. The missionaries were able to make some of the Indians become Christians.

As far back as 1660, Father LeClercq made a kind of picture, writing to help the Indians understand the Bible and become Christians. This kind of picture-writing is still used by the Micmacs today.

English missionaries tried to work among the Indians as well. A mission school was opened in 1788 by the Protestant missionary, Reverend James Fraser. But the French Catholic missionaries were better liked. Today most Micmacs are Roman Catholic, mainly because of the work of these French missionaries.

When Richard Denys died about 1720, all white settlements on the Miramichi ended. The next settlement to grow was at Beaubear’s Island about 1755. The next year the Seven Year’s War broke out between England and France. The Micmacs remained allies of the French. In 1758, the English sailed up the Miramichi on their way to Quebec. They burned down a Micmac settlement. They also burned a large stone Catholic church on the North side of the river near Miramichi Bay. From that time on this place was called Burnt Church.