Life Of Father Lafleur Has Relevancy
BOBBY ARDOIN
Editor/Consulting Writer
The life lessons and religious aura displayed by an imprisoned World War II Catholic military chaplain now considered for canonization, are still evident eight decades after his death, according to a homilist who spoke Saturday morning during an annual anniversary mass.
Father Francis Lowe, told a large crowd at St. Landry Catholic Church that the life of Father Joseph Verbis Lafleur contains inspirational messages that in many cases has changed the directions of lives.
Lafleur and hundreds of other prisoners presumably died Sept. 7, 1944 aboard the Shinyo Maru which sank after it was torpedoed by a U.S. Navy submarine.
The anniversary of the death of Lafleur is celebrated each year at St. Landry, where he performed his ordination mass after becoming a priest.
After becoming a priest, Lafleur volunteered to become an Army Air Force chaplain. Lafleur however refused to be evacuated from the Philippines after it became evident the island would be captured by the Japanese.
Lowe said the impactful message that Lafleur left continues its pertinence.
“He teaches all of us by example and as his story continues to spread, he has demonstrated the ability to change lives,” said Lowe, who for 20 years served as a Catholic chaplain.
Lowe said that his father, William Lowe, was an individual who while imprisoned by the Japanese with Lafleur in the Philippines in 1944, became astonished by the demeanor of the young priest, who continued to administer to the religious and daily needs of the other prisoners, despite the harsh conditions.
“After he came back from the war, my father would tell me stories about Father Lafleur. As a prisoner, my father would watch (Lafleur) from a distance. My father always said that he was impressed by the way (Lafleur) handled himself, performed a number of good works in the camps and obtained the respect of his men,” Lowe added.
William Lowe admitted to his son that observing the way Lafleur sacrificed his own personal welfare in order to protect the other prisoners left an indelible imprint that led to his conversion to Catholicism, Francis Lowe said.
“My father told me that he told God that if he survived the camps and the war that he would convert to becoming a Catholic. Many others who were familiar with Father Lafleur did the same,” Francis Lafleur said.
“I remember one thing my father said. He told me that he often asked himself whether this guy (Father Lafleur) was for real.” My father said that he concluded that, “Yes, I believe that (Lafleur) is for real,” Lowe said.
Francis Lowe said after reading about the actions that Lafleur took both as a prisoner and an active responder during the Japanese bombing of Clark Field on Dec. 8, 1941, that he changed his prior ambivalence about the military.
“Seeing the forgiveness that Father Lafleur demonstrated and his bravery changed my life. He has also inspired a large number of priests. Some of those became chaplains,” Lowe said.
Investigating the way Lafleur conducted his life continues to send a message, Howe added.
“Father Lafleur taught us that we become what we practice and that we practice through our service to others,” Howe said.
