St. Landry Catholic Church
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  • Sacraments
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    • Reconciliation
    • Confirmation
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    • Contact St. Landry Church
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  • Lieutenant Father Lafleur
    • Biography of Fr. Lafleur
    • About The Monument
    • Prayers and Meditations
    • Contact Us About Fr. Lafleur
    • Lt. Fr. Joseph Verbis Lafleur Memorial High School Freshman Scholarship
  • Events
    • 2022 Cemetery Tours
    • 2019 Appreciation Breakfast
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Biography of Fr. Lafleur
About The Monument
Prayers and Meditations
Contact Us About Fr. Lafleur

Biography of Fr. Lafleur

​Born on January 24, 1912 in Ville Platte, Louisiana. In 1926, his family moved to Opelousas, Louisiana.
 
From early in his life, he felt a calling to the priesthood. Father Colliard made arrangements for young Verbis to enter St. Joseph’s Minor Seminary in St. Benedict, Louisiana in 1927.
 
For 11 years, he prepared for the priesthood at St. Joseph’s Seminary and at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was ordained as a priest on April 2, 1938.
 
He celebrated his First Solemn Mass in St. Landry Catholic Church in Opelousas, Louisiana on April 5, 1938.
 
Father Lafleur’s first assignment was St. Mary Magdalen in Abbeville, Louisiana.
 
He joined the Army Air Corps in the summer of 1941, nearly one half year before the U. S. became involved in World War II. Father Lafleur was assigned to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
 
He arrived at Clark Field in the Philippine Islands just a few weeks before it was attacked on December 8, 1941. For his bravery in action, he won the Distinguished Service Cross and was later awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star.
 
He became a Prisoner of War for approximately two and one half years including stays at O’Donnell, Cabanatuan, Davao, and Lasang. On September 7, 1944, Father Lafleur gave his life while aboard a torpedoed “hell ship” carrying over 700 American Prisoners of War.
 
In 1945, Father Verbis’ classmates and family members gathered in Ville Platte for a Memorial Service in his honor.
 
The Knights of Columbus in 1946 held a parade in his honor from the Opelousas Court House to St. Landry Catholic Church.
 
Notre Dame Seminary Alumni dedicated a bronze plaque in his memory on November 27, 1951.
 
On May 21, 1989, he was honored at the dedication of the Chaplain Hill monument at Arlington National Cemetery.
 
On December 7, 2005, a dedication of the Father Lafleur Shrine in St. Landry Catholic Church, Opelousas, Louisiana, was held.
 
On September 7, 2007, the Father Lafleur Monument was dedicated at St. Landry Catholic Church, Opelousas, Louisiana.
​
St. Landry Catholic Church
​​1020 N. Main Street

Opelousas, LA  70570


​​​Phone:  (337) 942-6552
Email:  stlandrychurch@diolaf.org
Facebook:  
http://www.facebook.com/stlandrycatholicchurch/

Office Hours
Monday: 1:00pm-4:00pm
Tuesday-Thursday: 8:30am-4:00pm
Closed Friday, Saturday & Sunday
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Pastoral Staff
    • Welcome From the Pastor
    • Mission Statement / Community Outreach
    • Parish History
    • Our Patron, St. Landry
  • Sacraments
    • Baptism
    • First Communion
    • Reconciliation
    • Confirmation
    • Holy Matrimony
    • Anointing of the Sick
  • Bulletins
  • Forms
    • Baptism Registration Forms
    • Religious Education Forms
    • Wedding Forms
    • Online Registration Form
    • Additional Parish Forms / Records
  • Contact Us
    • Contact St. Landry Church
    • Parish Life Contacts
  • Lieutenant Father Lafleur
    • Biography of Fr. Lafleur
    • About The Monument
    • Prayers and Meditations
    • Contact Us About Fr. Lafleur
    • Lt. Fr. Joseph Verbis Lafleur Memorial High School Freshman Scholarship
  • Events
    • 2022 Cemetery Tours
    • 2019 Appreciation Breakfast
  • Links