Moreau, Louis-Zéphyrin, Bl.
MOREAU, LOUIS-ZÉPHYRIN, BL.
Bishop of St. Hyacinthe, Québec, Canada; b. April 1, 1824, Bécancour, Canada; d. May 24, 1901, St. Hyacinthe, Canada. Born and raised in a Catholic community in Québec, Louis-Zéphyrin was ordained priest in 1846 after completing his seminary studies locally. Following a variety of pastoral assignments, he was appointed secretary to his bishop (1852). On January 16, 1876, he was consecrated the fourth bishop of Saint-Hyacinthe. During his twenty-five years as bishop, Moreau oversaw the building of the new cathedral and promoted charitable, educational, and religious organizations. Additionally, he founded two religious communities: one dedicated to Saint Joseph; the other to Saint Hyacinthe (religious sisters). The latter, with the unique apostolate of administration to relieve the burden from priests and other religious, spread to the United States in 1929. Bp. Moreau was beatified by Pope John Paul II, May 10, 1987.
Feast: May 24 (Canada).
Bibliography: j. houpert, Monseigneur Moreau, quatrième Évêque de Saint-Hyacinthe (Montréal 1986). r. litalien, Prêtre québécois à la fin du XIXe siècle: style de vie et spiritualité d'après Mgr Louis-Zéphryn Moreau (Montréal 1970). Acta Apostolicae Sedis (1987): 690. L'Osservatore Romano, Eng. ed. 21 (1987): 18–19.
[k. i. rabenstein]