A native of Brélidy, France, Francois LeVézouët was born in that village of Brittany into a wealthy agricultural family to parents Jean and Madelaine Bolloret Le Vezouet on August 10, 1833. He was baptized at the local Church of St. Columba. He attended the Seminary of St. Brieuc, which he entered on October 1, 1852, where his intellect and gift for languages helped him excel in his studies. In October of 1854, LeVézouët accompanied Bishop Auguste Martin, Fr. Louis Gergaud, and seminarian Jean Pierre from the port of Havre to come to Louisiana. The young LeVézouët had met Bishop Martin of Natchitoches, Louisiana, on a recruitment mission in 1854. With apostolic zeal for the salvation of souls, he journeyed to the wilderness of northern Louisiana.
Ordained a priest in Natchitoches on May 3, 1856, his rapid grasp of the English language and intellect made him a most trusted and valued assistant to Bishop Martin who normally kept him close. He worked in growing mission areas around Natchitoches and Central Louisiana and established the first church building and cemetery in Many, Louisiana, which today is the Parish of St. John the Baptist.
Fr. LeVézouët became President of St. Joseph's College and the Diocesan Director of the Propagation of the Faith, all while serving with zeal and joy the poor, spread out in the communities between the Red and Sabine Rivers. He instructed the people, validated marriages, built churches, and administered the sacraments.
Bishop Martin received the message from Fr. Biler in Shreveport asking for priests to come at once to relieve the suffering of Shreveport during the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1873. Bishop Martin passed the request to Fr. LeVézouët, along with a desperate plea contained in a separate letter from Mother Mary Hyacinth at the Daughters of the Cross Convent who feared that Shreveport and its suffering people would soon be without the Sacraments as there would be no clergy left. Documented in Bishop Martin's correspondence is an exchange with Fr. LeVezouet. Bishop Martin related that Fr. LeVézouët unfolded and examined the papers. Bishop Martin asked him what he wished to do and LeVézouët responded, "I want to go so much that, if you left the decision up to me, I would believe that in going I was acting according to my own will. I do not want to do anything but the will of God."
Fr. LeVézouët then spent the following day putting his personal affairs in order and visiting a few friends and families dear to him in his adopted home of Natchitoches. He was much beloved, and those who heard of his imminent departure could not help but express concern that he was going to his death, such was the fearful mortality rate of the Shreveport epidemic. Word of his determination to depart for Shreveport traveled fast, and many approached him as he was preparing to leave, begging him not to go.
"You are going to your death," someone in a gathered crowd told him. Fr. LeVézouët responded: "I believe it, but I know that I am taking the surest and shortest path to heaven."
His selfless sacrifice is documented and noted in many primary sources, the most important of which include the accounts of Bishop Auguste Martin, Mother Mary Hyacinth, and also the necrology in the Archives of the Diocese of St. Brieuc et Treguier. News sources also reported the circumstances of his arrival in Shreveport and his ensuing personal sacrifice and death.
After administering the final Sacraments to Fr. Louis Gergaud on October 1, 1873, and serving the sick and dying of Shreveport, Fr. LeVézouët soon fell ill with Yellow Fever himself. Bishop Martin, unable to send any more priests to Shreveport, specifically requested priests from New Orleans, over 300 miles away, who had been exposed to the illness previously and would therefore presumably have more immunity. Two priests from New Orleans, Fr. James Duffo, S.J. and Fr. Charles Ferec, arrived on October 8, just hours before Fr. LeVézouët passed away and just in time to provide Fr. LeVézouët with the final Sacraments. A New Orleans newspaper declared the Yellow Fever epidemic in the city in the northwestern corner of the state to be "fourfold worse" than anything seen in decades. "God help and relieve them," the editors pleaded.
Fr. Francois LeVezouet is buried at St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery at the foot of the large Calvary monument in memory of all five martyrs to charity.
On December 8, 2020, Shreveport Bishop Francis I. Malone opened the Diocesan Inquiry for the 5 priests who gave their lives in Shreveport and they were all given the title "Servant of God." On October 8, 2023, the Diocesan phase of the Cause for the Beatification and Canonization of the 5 Shreveport Martyrs was officially opened by Bishop Malone with a Mass and ceremonies at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, which was the only Catholic Church in Shreveport in 1873.
Information from https://shreveportmartyrs.org and from personal knowledge. Edited and submitted by Angela, Member #48520699.
Ordained a priest in Natchitoches on May 3, 1856, his rapid grasp of the English language and intellect made him a most trusted and valued assistant to Bishop Martin who normally kept him close. He worked in growing mission areas around Natchitoches and Central Louisiana and established the first church building and cemetery in Many, Louisiana, which today is the Parish of St. John the Baptist.
Fr. LeVézouët became President of St. Joseph's College and the Diocesan Director of the Propagation of the Faith, all while serving with zeal and joy the poor, spread out in the communities between the Red and Sabine Rivers. He instructed the people, validated marriages, built churches, and administered the sacraments.
Bishop Martin received the message from Fr. Biler in Shreveport asking for priests to come at once to relieve the suffering of Shreveport during the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1873. Bishop Martin passed the request to Fr. LeVézouët, along with a desperate plea contained in a separate letter from Mother Mary Hyacinth at the Daughters of the Cross Convent who feared that Shreveport and its suffering people would soon be without the Sacraments as there would be no clergy left. Documented in Bishop Martin's correspondence is an exchange with Fr. LeVezouet. Bishop Martin related that Fr. LeVézouët unfolded and examined the papers. Bishop Martin asked him what he wished to do and LeVézouët responded, "I want to go so much that, if you left the decision up to me, I would believe that in going I was acting according to my own will. I do not want to do anything but the will of God."
Fr. LeVézouët then spent the following day putting his personal affairs in order and visiting a few friends and families dear to him in his adopted home of Natchitoches. He was much beloved, and those who heard of his imminent departure could not help but express concern that he was going to his death, such was the fearful mortality rate of the Shreveport epidemic. Word of his determination to depart for Shreveport traveled fast, and many approached him as he was preparing to leave, begging him not to go.
"You are going to your death," someone in a gathered crowd told him. Fr. LeVézouët responded: "I believe it, but I know that I am taking the surest and shortest path to heaven."
His selfless sacrifice is documented and noted in many primary sources, the most important of which include the accounts of Bishop Auguste Martin, Mother Mary Hyacinth, and also the necrology in the Archives of the Diocese of St. Brieuc et Treguier. News sources also reported the circumstances of his arrival in Shreveport and his ensuing personal sacrifice and death.
After administering the final Sacraments to Fr. Louis Gergaud on October 1, 1873, and serving the sick and dying of Shreveport, Fr. LeVézouët soon fell ill with Yellow Fever himself. Bishop Martin, unable to send any more priests to Shreveport, specifically requested priests from New Orleans, over 300 miles away, who had been exposed to the illness previously and would therefore presumably have more immunity. Two priests from New Orleans, Fr. James Duffo, S.J. and Fr. Charles Ferec, arrived on October 8, just hours before Fr. LeVézouët passed away and just in time to provide Fr. LeVézouët with the final Sacraments. A New Orleans newspaper declared the Yellow Fever epidemic in the city in the northwestern corner of the state to be "fourfold worse" than anything seen in decades. "God help and relieve them," the editors pleaded.
Fr. Francois LeVezouet is buried at St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery at the foot of the large Calvary monument in memory of all five martyrs to charity.
On December 8, 2020, Shreveport Bishop Francis I. Malone opened the Diocesan Inquiry for the 5 priests who gave their lives in Shreveport and they were all given the title "Servant of God." On October 8, 2023, the Diocesan phase of the Cause for the Beatification and Canonization of the 5 Shreveport Martyrs was officially opened by Bishop Malone with a Mass and ceremonies at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, which was the only Catholic Church in Shreveport in 1873.
Information from https://shreveportmartyrs.org and from personal knowledge. Edited and submitted by Angela, Member #48520699.
A native of Brélidy, France, Francois LeVézouët was born in that village of Brittany into a wealthy agricultural family to parents Jean and Madelaine Bolloret Le Vezouet on August 10, 1833. He was baptized at the local Church of St. Columba. He attended the Seminary of St. Brieuc, which he entered on October 1, 1852, where his intellect and gift for languages helped him excel in his studies. In October of 1854, LeVézouët accompanied Bishop Auguste Martin, Fr. Louis Gergaud, and seminarian Jean Pierre from the port of Havre to come to Louisiana. The young LeVézouët had met Bishop Martin of Natchitoches, Louisiana, on a recruitment mission in 1854. With apostolic zeal for the salvation of souls, he journeyed to the wilderness of northern Louisiana.
Ordained a priest in Natchitoches on May 3, 1856, his rapid grasp of the English language and intellect made him a most trusted and valued assistant to Bishop Martin who normally kept him close. He worked in growing mission areas around Natchitoches and Central Louisiana and established the first church building and cemetery in Many, Louisiana, which today is the Parish of St. John the Baptist.
Fr. LeVézouët became President of St. Joseph's College and the Diocesan Director of the Propagation of the Faith, all while serving with zeal and joy the poor, spread out in the communities between the Red and Sabine Rivers. He instructed the people, validated marriages, built churches, and administered the sacraments.
Bishop Martin received the message from Fr. Biler in Shreveport asking for priests to come at once to relieve the suffering of Shreveport during the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1873. Bishop Martin passed the request to Fr. LeVézouët, along with a desperate plea contained in a separate letter from Mother Mary Hyacinth at the Daughters of the Cross Convent who feared that Shreveport and its suffering people would soon be without the Sacraments as there would be no clergy left. Documented in Bishop Martin's correspondence is an exchange with Fr. LeVezouet. Bishop Martin related that Fr. LeVézouët unfolded and examined the papers. Bishop Martin asked him what he wished to do and LeVézouët responded, "I want to go so much that, if you left the decision up to me, I would believe that in going I was acting according to my own will. I do not want to do anything but the will of God."
Fr. LeVézouët then spent the following day putting his personal affairs in order and visiting a few friends and families dear to him in his adopted home of Natchitoches. He was much beloved, and those who heard of his imminent departure could not help but express concern that he was going to his death, such was the fearful mortality rate of the Shreveport epidemic. Word of his determination to depart for Shreveport traveled fast, and many approached him as he was preparing to leave, begging him not to go.
"You are going to your death," someone in a gathered crowd told him. Fr. LeVézouët responded: "I believe it, but I know that I am taking the surest and shortest path to heaven."
His selfless sacrifice is documented and noted in many primary sources, the most important of which include the accounts of Bishop Auguste Martin, Mother Mary Hyacinth, and also the necrology in the Archives of the Diocese of St. Brieuc et Treguier. News sources also reported the circumstances of his arrival in Shreveport and his ensuing personal sacrifice and death.
After administering the final Sacraments to Fr. Louis Gergaud on October 1, 1873, and serving the sick and dying of Shreveport, Fr. LeVézouët soon fell ill with Yellow Fever himself. Bishop Martin, unable to send any more priests to Shreveport, specifically requested priests from New Orleans, over 300 miles away, who had been exposed to the illness previously and would therefore presumably have more immunity. Two priests from New Orleans, Fr. James Duffo, S.J. and Fr. Charles Ferec, arrived on October 8, just hours before Fr. LeVézouët passed away and just in time to provide Fr. LeVézouët with the final Sacraments. A New Orleans newspaper declared the Yellow Fever epidemic in the city in the northwestern corner of the state to be "fourfold worse" than anything seen in decades. "God help and relieve them," the editors pleaded.
Fr. Francois LeVezouet is buried at St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery at the foot of the large Calvary monument in memory of all five martyrs to charity.
On December 8, 2020, Shreveport Bishop Francis I. Malone opened the Diocesan Inquiry for the 5 priests who gave their lives in Shreveport and they were all given the title "Servant of God." On October 8, 2023, the Diocesan phase of the Cause for the Beatification and Canonization of the 5 Shreveport Martyrs was officially opened by Bishop Malone with a Mass and ceremonies at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, which was the only Catholic Church in Shreveport in 1873.
Information from https://shreveportmartyrs.org and from personal knowledge. Edited and submitted by Angela, Member #48520699.
Ordained a priest in Natchitoches on May 3, 1856, his rapid grasp of the English language and intellect made him a most trusted and valued assistant to Bishop Martin who normally kept him close. He worked in growing mission areas around Natchitoches and Central Louisiana and established the first church building and cemetery in Many, Louisiana, which today is the Parish of St. John the Baptist.
Fr. LeVézouët became President of St. Joseph's College and the Diocesan Director of the Propagation of the Faith, all while serving with zeal and joy the poor, spread out in the communities between the Red and Sabine Rivers. He instructed the people, validated marriages, built churches, and administered the sacraments.
Bishop Martin received the message from Fr. Biler in Shreveport asking for priests to come at once to relieve the suffering of Shreveport during the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1873. Bishop Martin passed the request to Fr. LeVézouët, along with a desperate plea contained in a separate letter from Mother Mary Hyacinth at the Daughters of the Cross Convent who feared that Shreveport and its suffering people would soon be without the Sacraments as there would be no clergy left. Documented in Bishop Martin's correspondence is an exchange with Fr. LeVezouet. Bishop Martin related that Fr. LeVézouët unfolded and examined the papers. Bishop Martin asked him what he wished to do and LeVézouët responded, "I want to go so much that, if you left the decision up to me, I would believe that in going I was acting according to my own will. I do not want to do anything but the will of God."
Fr. LeVézouët then spent the following day putting his personal affairs in order and visiting a few friends and families dear to him in his adopted home of Natchitoches. He was much beloved, and those who heard of his imminent departure could not help but express concern that he was going to his death, such was the fearful mortality rate of the Shreveport epidemic. Word of his determination to depart for Shreveport traveled fast, and many approached him as he was preparing to leave, begging him not to go.
"You are going to your death," someone in a gathered crowd told him. Fr. LeVézouët responded: "I believe it, but I know that I am taking the surest and shortest path to heaven."
His selfless sacrifice is documented and noted in many primary sources, the most important of which include the accounts of Bishop Auguste Martin, Mother Mary Hyacinth, and also the necrology in the Archives of the Diocese of St. Brieuc et Treguier. News sources also reported the circumstances of his arrival in Shreveport and his ensuing personal sacrifice and death.
After administering the final Sacraments to Fr. Louis Gergaud on October 1, 1873, and serving the sick and dying of Shreveport, Fr. LeVézouët soon fell ill with Yellow Fever himself. Bishop Martin, unable to send any more priests to Shreveport, specifically requested priests from New Orleans, over 300 miles away, who had been exposed to the illness previously and would therefore presumably have more immunity. Two priests from New Orleans, Fr. James Duffo, S.J. and Fr. Charles Ferec, arrived on October 8, just hours before Fr. LeVézouët passed away and just in time to provide Fr. LeVézouët with the final Sacraments. A New Orleans newspaper declared the Yellow Fever epidemic in the city in the northwestern corner of the state to be "fourfold worse" than anything seen in decades. "God help and relieve them," the editors pleaded.
Fr. Francois LeVezouet is buried at St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery at the foot of the large Calvary monument in memory of all five martyrs to charity.
On December 8, 2020, Shreveport Bishop Francis I. Malone opened the Diocesan Inquiry for the 5 priests who gave their lives in Shreveport and they were all given the title "Servant of God." On October 8, 2023, the Diocesan phase of the Cause for the Beatification and Canonization of the 5 Shreveport Martyrs was officially opened by Bishop Malone with a Mass and ceremonies at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, which was the only Catholic Church in Shreveport in 1873.
Information from https://shreveportmartyrs.org and from personal knowledge. Edited and submitted by Angela, Member #48520699.
Inscription
Reverend Father
François Lé Vezouët
Born in Brélidy
Brittany, France
August 10, 1833
Ordained in Natchitoches
May 3, 1856
Founding Pastor of
St. John the Baptist in Many
Member of the Bishop's Council
Died in Shreveport
In the Yellow Fever Epidemic
October 8, 1873
Servant of God
Martyr to his Charity
He gave himself first to the Lord and by the Will of God, to us.
cf 2 Cor. 8:5
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