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Monday night, September 7, St. Landry Catholic Church was the site of the memorial mass of Lt. Father Verbis Lafleur. It was the sixty-fifth anniversary of his death.
The main celebrant and homilist for the mass was Lt. Cmdr. Father Richard Vidrine, CHC, USNR. Father Vidrine is a retired military chaplain and brought everyone a little closer to understanding what life as a chaplain was like for Father Lafleur. To listen to his homily, click here.
Concelebrants included our own pastor, Monsignor J. Robert Romero as well Father Mark Ledoux, who has worked hard in the beatification process, Father Conley Bertrand, and Father Jason Vidrine. Deacon John Miller, Deacon of the Eucharist, Deacon Tom Lindsey, Deacon of the Word, and Deacon Jerome Collins, Deacon of the Gospel, participated. Attending in choir were Father Brad Guillory and a seminarian from the Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana, Taj Glodd.
Vernon Broussard Sr. helped to bring the offering gifts. Mr. Broussard attended seminary with Father Lafleur. He has put together a book describing the great men associated with the Church that touched his life including Father Lafleur. Please contact the parish office for information on getting a copy.
To see photos of the event in our photo gallery, please click here.
It was wonderful seeing such a large crowd at St. Landry Catholic Church. After the mass, many attending came together to pray the rosary using the meditations from Father Lafleur's life. Each Monday evening at 6:15 PM, parishioners gather together for a rosary at the Father Lafleur monument. Please try to join us.
2 comments:
Just a few days ago I was telling a priest here in Chicago about Fr. LaFleur! I learned his story from my grandmother's neighbor, Edna LaFleur Delery (New Orleans). Mrs. Delery told me about her brother and gave me a self-published booklet with his story. The title was from a message that another Gold Star family sent, I believe, to the LaFleurs: "The Roses have crossed to the other side of the wall." Mrs. Delery told me that her brother actually traded places with someone in order to be among the P.O.W.s in the Philippines, since they would "need a chaplain," and that they were bombarded as part of the Pearl Harbor attacks. Only in the Philippines, it was the feast of the Immaculate Conception. He was last seen, I was told, in the hold of the sinking Japanese ship, helping the men escape--although only a handful survived, since they were being picked off by the Japanese as they emerged. I would love to know more... and to receive one of the souvenirs of the memorial Mass.
I forgot to mention, the book said that in the seminary, Fr. LaFleur was nicknamed "Frenchy" because of his accent!
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