Career
He was ordained as a priest in 1739 and left for Canada in 1741 with another priest, Abbé René-Jean Allenou de Lavillangevin and the newly appointed bishop of Quebec, Henri-Marie Dubreil de Pontbriand, in whose service Briand would remain during Pontbriand"s nineteen years as bishop. He was consecrated as bishop of Quebec on March 16, 1766 in Paris and resigned in 1784 to make room for a younger bishop. He retained episcopal powers but seldom exercised them during his last years.
