Joseph La Rocque, also spelled Larocque, (28 August 1808 – 18 November 1887) was a Canadian

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

priest, professor, and bishop.

Life

Born in Chambly,

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

, Joseph La Rocque received a classical education at the Collège de Saint-Hyacinthe. He was ordained a priest on 15 March 1835 by Bishop

Jean-Jacques Lartigue Jean-Jacques Lartigue, S.S., (20 June 1777 – 19 April 1840) was a Canadian Sulpician, who served as the first Catholic Bishop of Montreal. Early life Lartigue was born to a noted Montreal family, the only son of Jacques Larthigue, a surge ...

. He taught calligraphy, stenography, and drawing as well as literature at Saint-Hyacinthe; and became director in 1840. When the college became a seminary in 1842, La Rocque was named Superior. In 1849 La Rocque became canon at

Saint-Jacques Cathedral (Montreal) Saint-Jacques Cathedral (''Cathédrale Saint-Jacques'') was the Roman Catholic cathedral in Montreal from 1825 to 1852, named for St. James the Greater. From 1825 to 1836, it was the seat of the auxiliary bishop of Quebec in Montreal. With the c ...

, and in 1849 editor of the diocese's ''Mélanges religieux'' (''Religious Miscellany''),"Laroque, Rt. Rev. Bishop Joseph", ''A Cyclopædia of Canadian Biography'', (George Maclean Rose, ed.), Rose Publishing Company, 1888, p. 712
/ref> until September 1851 when François-Magloire Derome took over. Canon La Rocque became spiritual director of the nuns of Notre-Dame de Charité du Bon-Pasteur and the

Sisters of Charity of Providence The Sisters of Providence are a religious institute of Roman Catholic sisters founded in 1843 by Mother Émilie Gamelin. They are headquartered in Montreal, Quebec with five provinces: Mother Joseph Province, Holy Angels Province, Philippines Vic ...

. In 1852, La Rocque accompanied Coadjutor Bishop

Jean-Charles Prince Jean-Charles Prince (13 February 1804 – 5 May 1860) was a Canadian Roman Catholic priest, teacher, seminary administrator, editor, and Bishop of Saint-Hyacinthe, Lower Canada from 1852 to 1860. Life Jean-Charles Prince was born 13 February ...

to Rome as his secretary. When Prince was named Bishop of the

Diocese of Saint-Hyacinthe The Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint-Hyacinthe ( la, Dioecesis Sancti Hyacinthi) (erected 8 June 1852) is a Latin rite suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Sherbrooke in Quebec, (predominantly francophone) Canada. Its cathedral episcopal ...

, La Rocque was appointed

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Cydonia and Prince's successor as Coadjutor Bishop of Montreal. In 1860, he was transferred to succeed Prince as Bishop of Saint-Hyacinthe. He later took on the administration of the diocese of Saint-Hyacinthe from Nov. 1856 to July 1857 during Bishop Prince's illness. During his tenure as bishop, La Rocque helped Catherine Aurelia Caouette found the congregation of the Sœurs Adoratrices du Précieux-Sang, and wrote the community's constitution. In poor health for many years, La Rocque resigned in 1866. As titular Bishop of Germanicopolis and vicar-general, he remained in his diocese, at the monastery of the Sisters of the Precious Blood (a community which honored him as its founder), until his death on 18 November, 1887, at the age of seventy-nine.Choquette, Charles. "Saint Hyacinthe." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 17 February 2019 He was buried in the sisters' cemetery. He was succeeded by his cousin,

Charles La Rocque Charles La Rocque, also spelled Larocque, (November 15, 1809 – July 15, 1875) was a Canadian Roman Catholic priest and third Bishop of Saint-Hyacinthe from 1866 to 1875. Charles La Rocque was born 15 Nov. 1809 at Chambly-sur-Richelieu, L.C ...

References

Catholic-Hierarchy entry
1808 births 1887 deaths 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Canada Roman Catholic bishops of Saint-Hyacinthe {{Canada-RC-bishop-stub