LaPointe, on Madeline Island at the western end of Lake Superior, was the first mission Father Baraga established in the upper region. It was an Indian village where Canadian traders sometimes resided to traffic with the Indians. On his first arrival, Baraga was greatly pleased by the warmth of his welcome, for the Indians had long longed for a priest and had often requested that one be sent to them. Seeing their desire for and need of a priest, he encouraged priestly vocations and wrote, “Truly the want of priests in our diocese is sad. Would it not pay to work and suffer much in order to save even one soul and thus forever make it happy.” He urged the people of the village to build a house of worship, and under his direction and with his help, they built a rough-hewn log building in just seven days. On August 7, 1835, Father Baraga blessed and dedicated the first church to the patronage of St. Joseph.