Msgr. DeBlanc memorialized on plaque

Thursday, 15 December 2011 12:17

LAKE CHARLES – A bronze plaque honoring Msgr. Irving A. DeBlanc, the longtime and beloved pastor of Our Lady Queen of Heaven Catholic Church who died in July 2006 and is interred on the church grounds, was blessed and dedicated in a ceremony at Villa Maria Retirement Center on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Dec. 8.    The program followed the noon Mass in the architectural award-winning church of which Msgr. DeBlanc oversaw construction. The site of the plaque at Villa Maria also honors Msgr. DeBlanc’s lifelong idea of making sure the needs of parishioners of Our Lady Queen of Heaven were cared for from “cradle to grave”.    Msgr. DeBlanc, born to L.C. and Eugenie Lacour DeBlan, received  a master’s degree in psychology and a doctor’s degree in sociology from the Catholic University of America and completed graduate courses at the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium. He was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Loyola University of the South.     Ordained on April 2, 1938, for the Diocese of Lafayette, he began a priesthood of total devotion to God’s people. His first assignment was as Associate Pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Ville Platte, where he was elected “Citizen of the Year” for the Ville Platte Community, and soon after to the post of State Chaplain of the Knights of Columbus. He was Chaplain-Pastor of Our Lady of Wisdom Student Center at the University of Southwestern Louisiana from 1945 to 1955. He also began the formation of the Junior Newman Clubs in the public schools of the diocese. In 1952, he was made a Domestic Prelate with the title, Right Reverend Monsignor.    In 1955, Monsignor DeBlanc was appointed the National Director of the Family Life Bureau, Catholic Welfare Conference in Washington, D.C. His work with the U.S. Armed Forces took him around the world, including behind the Iron Curtain. In 1961, Monsignor DeBlanc returned to Southwest Louisiana, being named Pastor of Our Lady Queen of Heaven Parish. He directed the growth of the parish for 31 years.    His appreciation of art can still be seen throughout the two former mission chapels, now Christ the King and St. Martin De Porres parishes, and at O.L.Q.H. Day Care Center, Kindergarten, Elementary School, and Regina Caeli Special Education Center, Crossroads Bookstore, Family Life Community Center, Villa Maria, Consolata Mausoleum and Cemetery, and all areas of the faith community.    Msgr. DeBlanc worked tirelessly in the community on the local, regional, and national levels, receiving many honors and titles along the way. He served as Vicar General of the Diocese of Lake Charles and Episcopal Vicar for the West Deanery. He was a charter member of the Lake Area Ministerial Alliance and on the board of directors of the Lake Charles chapter of the National Conference of Catholics and Jews.    In 1982, Pope John Paul II named him a Protonotary Apostolic, the highest rank of Honorary Prelate offered by the Catholic Church and usually not seen outside of the Vatican. Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans selected him as the Alumnus Who Best Exemplified the Role of Pastor Leader. In 1993, the National Federation of Priests’ Councils selected him from thousands of priests throughout the U.S.A. as “National Priest of the Year.” His legacy continues in the many wonderful ministries and facilities that he established and in the lives of those he mentored, always with a delightful sense of humor. The seminary burse he established is an extension of his commitment to God and his love of the priesthood.    The plaque was dedicated by persons honored to have been considered his friends.