Flavian Laplante (1907-1981) was a

religious brother A religious brother is a member of a Christian religious institute or religious order who commits himself to following Christ in consecrated life of the Church, usually by the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. He is a layman, in the sense o ...

of the Congregation of Holy Cross and a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

who worked in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

from 1932 until 1981. He was a teacher and then a headmaster in different Catholic schools in the districts of

Barisal Barisal ( or ; bn, বরিশাল, ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central Bangladesh. It is the largest city and the administrative headquarter of both Barisal Dist ...

Noakhali Noakhali ( bn, নোয়াখালী, , New canal), historically known as Bhulua ( bn, ভুলুয়া), is a district in southeastern Bangladesh, located in the Chittagong Division. It was established as district in 1821, and officia ...

and

Chittagong Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...

. Later he was involved with the socio-economic development of the Jolodash community. He founded Miriam Ashram at Diang, on the 1 Karnaphuly River. He also built a grotto with the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes and turned it into a shrine.

Life

Flavian Laplante was born on 27 July 1907 in St.-Louis-de-Richelieu,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

to Honoré Laplante and Louise Théroux. He was the seventh child of nine. Flavian joined Congregation of Holy Cross at the age of 16. He took the name, Brother Flavian, on 15 August 1923. He professed Final Vows on 16 August 1928. He served at the

Notre Dame College Notre Dame College (Notre Dame College of Ohio or NDC) is a private Roman Catholic college in South Euclid, Ohio. Established in 1922 as a women's college, it has been coeducational since January 2001. Notre Dame College offers 30 majors and ind ...

in Quebec as a teacher and dorm supervisor. Flavian was assigned to the Congregation's mission in

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

in 1932. André Bessette remarked when he was leaving for his mission, "How fortunate you are in becoming a missionary. I envy you." He arrived

in East Bengal on 1 December 1932. His first assignment was at a high school in Padrishibpur. Besides construction of the school he also taught at the school and later on was appointed as a Principal. He reached Chittagong in May 1942 to help people, when Japan was conducting air raids. He stayed there even at the time of famine. He started a project for fisherman to get new boats after World War II. He also started an orphanage at Diang. he was sent to

from 1957 to 1962. In Diang he renamed the settlement there Miriam Ashram or the “Marian Hermitage." He also started Women's Promotion Center with the help of the Holy Cross sisters. “Kalidaha Fishing Project” was started in 1975 to help fisherman motorize their boats and founded a technical school to give them the skills to build and repair their own boats. On 24 December 1976 he retired to the life of a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

. He installed a statue of Our Lady on 1 October 1978 and organized the feast day on 11 February 1979. Laplante died in

on 19 June 1981 after prolonged illness.

Beatification process

Flavian Laplante was declared a

Servant of God "Servant of God" is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression "servant of God" appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in th ...

by Patrick D’Rozario on 13 February 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:LaPlante, Flavian 20th-century Canadian Roman Catholic priests Canadian Servants of God Canadian Roman Catholic missionaries Canadian hermits Congregation of Holy Cross 1981 deaths 1907 births Roman Catholic missionaries in Bangladesh