Louis Riel believed that on 8 December 1875 he received a divine commission authorizing him to save the M tis and reform the Catholic Church. He was a prophet, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and the M tis were the new chosen people. A new branch of the Catholic Church would be founded in North America, with its first Holy See in Montreal, and its second in Riel's birthplace of St. Vital. When Riel expressed these views in 1876, he was committed...