Fr. Davignon was one of the last Franco-American pioneer priests dedicated to the establishment of missions in the New England area serving the emigrating Canadians. He was born on April 12, 1848 at Saint Alexandre d'Iberville, the first of six children. He was ordained on September 8, 1873 by Msgr. Charles Larocque, Bishop of Saint-Hyacinthe and served that diocese until 1879.
Fr. Davignon answered the call for missionary priests in New England. He was appointed associate vicar to Msgr.Hevey in Lewiston, Maine and remained there for four years. In 1883, a few months before the founding of the Diocese of Manchester New Hampshire, Fr. Davignon was appointed the pastor of Saint John the Baptist in Suncook, New Hampshire.
In the eleven years he served St. John the Baptist he built a school and invited the Sisters of the Holy Cross to teach. He remodeled the parish buildings including the rectory and at the end of his tenure the parish was debt-free.
Bishop Denis Mary Bradley, the first bishop of Manchester, recognized the ability of Father Davignon and in 1894 appointed him to the new parish of St. George in Manchester, NH where he served until called to be the third pastor of Ste. Marie on October 1, 1909. He was 61 years old.
In 1911, for the sum of $30, 000 he built the existing parish rectory. The following year he built a parish school for boys to replace the existing L’ecole Sainte Marie. As a testimony to Msgr. Hevey, he named the new school Hevey School. It cost $100,00 to construct.
Father Davignon bought real estate on Notre Dame Ave. to house the Cercle Ste. Marie to be a parish recreational hall for the young people of the parish. It also served as bank space for the Caisse Populaire Ste. Marie.
On October 2, 1921, at age 73, after years of suffering with rheumatism Father Davignon announced his retirement. He went to Cambridge Mass for a few months before being admitted to Notre Dame hospital when he had a relapse of the disease. He left for Saint Hyacinthe after a few weeks and lived at Saint Bernard de l’Hotel Dieu of Saint Hyacinthe, Quebec.
After years of suffering he died on January 19, 1927. He was 79 years old and had been a priest for 55 years. Father Davignon is buried in a crypt under the Calvary monument at Mt. Calvary Cemetery.