Father Lafleur Mass Set Saturday
BOBBY ARDOIN
Editor/Consulting Writer
A Saturday morning mass at St. Landry Catholic Church is scheduled to commemorate the 80th anniversary death of Servant of God, Father Joseph Verbis Lafleur.
The 10 am mass celebration will be preceded by a 9:30 am rosary.
Retired U,S, Air Force chaplain Father Francis Lowe is the scheduled homilist. Father Neil Pettit, pastor of St. Landry Catholic Church, will be the homilist for the commemorative mass held annually at the church.
Lafleur, a native of Ville Platte, whose family was living in Opelousas at the time of his 1944 death aboard a Japanese prisoner of war ship, has been designated by the Catholic Church as a candidate for canonization
Church leaders opened Lafleur’s cause for canonization in 2020. A year later after reviewing provided documents and testimonies attributed to Lafleur, the Church advanced the cause for canonization further by declaring Lafleur a Servant of God.
Lafleur, who volunteered to become a U.S. Army Air Corps chaplain, is credited with initiating numerous conversions to Catholicism, according to interviews conducted after his death.
One of those converts was Bill Lowe, who was imprisoned with Lafleur for nearly two and a half years.
Bill Lowe is the father of Saturday homilist Francis Lowe.
The Church has referenced numerous accounts of selfless acts performed by Lafleur, who often traded his personal items to the Japanese in order to help the men under his care during his imprisonment in the Philippines during World War II.
Lafleur was last seen assisting men trying to escape the sinking Japanese vessel that was mistakenly sunk by an American warship
It is presumed by military officials that Lafleur was killed in action when he died aboard the ship.
The U.S. military has honored Lafleur with a pair of Distinguished Service Cross commendations. Lafleur has also received a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star which indicates valor.
