Charles Hubert Le Blond (November 21, 1883 – December 30, 1958) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

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. He served as bishop of the Diocese of St. Joseph in Missouri from 1933 to 1956.

Biography

Early life

Charles Le Blond was born on November 21, 1883, in

Celina, Ohio Celina ( ) is a city in Mercer County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 10,935 at the 2020 census. Located about northwest of Dayton, Celina is situated on the northwestern shores of Grand Lake St. Marys. History ...

. He was one of three children of Charles McGinley and Anne Marie (née Brennan) Le Blond. Charles McGinley was a member of the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

from 1886 to 1890. Charles Le Blond was a grandson of U.S. Representative Francis Le Blond and a cousin of Judge

Frank Le Blond Kloeb Frank Le Blond Kloeb (June 16, 1890 – March 11, 1976), also known as Frank L. Kloeb, was a Democratic United States Representative from Ohio, serving two terms from 1933 to 1937. He was also a United States district judge of the United States ...

. When Charles Le Blond was age five, the family moved to Cleveland, Ohio. He received his early education at the

parochial school A parochial school is a private school, private Primary school, primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathem ...

of St. John's Cathedral. He then attended St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland for six years, graduating in 1903. Le Blond studied for the priesthood at St. Mary's Seminary, also in Cleveland.

Priesthood

Le Blond was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

a priest for the

Diocese of Cleveland The Diocese of Cleveland () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in northeastern Ohio in the United States. , the bishop is Edward Malesic. The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, located in Clevelan ...

on June 29, 1909. His first assignment was as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

at St. John's Cathedral, where he remained for two years. In 1911, he was named director of St. Anthony's Home for Boys. From 1912 to 1933, he served as the first diocesan director of Catholic Charities and Hospitals. During his tenure as director, he laid a foundation for the many charitable Catholic institutions in the diocese. In 1930, he was one of the delegates sent by the

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to the Pan-American Conference on Child Welfare in

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. He also represented the

National Catholic Welfare Council The National Catholic Welfare Council (NCWC) was the annual meeting of the American Catholic hierarchy and its standing secretariat; it was established in 1919 as the successor to the emergency organization, the National Catholic War Council. It c ...

at the international conferences on social work in

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(1928) and in

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(1932).

Bishop of St. Joseph

On July 21, 1933, Le Blond was appointed the fourth Bishop of St. Joseph,

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

. He received his

episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United States ...

consecration Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

on September 21, 1933, from Bishop

Joseph Schrembs Joseph Schrembs (March 12, 1866 – November 2, 1945) was a German-born prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Grand Rapids in Michigan for five months in 1911, as bishop of the Diocese of Toledo i ...

, with Bishops James A. McFadden and Thomas O'Reilly serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churche ...

. He took an interest in welfare work in the city, and was active in the annual Community Chest campaigns. During his tenure as bishop, the number of priests in the diocese increased by 30%, and the Catholic population of the diocese increased by more than 3,000. Due to his failing health, he received Bishop

John Cody John Patrick Cody (December 24, 1907 – April 25, 1982) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Kansas City–Saint Joseph (1956–1961), Archbishop of New Orleans (1964–1965), and Archbishop of Chicago (1965–1982). He wa ...

as a

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...

in 1954 to manage the daily affairs of the diocese.

Retirement and legacy

After governing the diocese for twenty-three years, Le Blond resigned as Bishop of St. Joseph on August 24, 1956. Following his resignation, the Diocese of St. Joseph was merged with the Diocese of Kansas City to create the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. Charles Le Blond died on December 30, 1958, at St. Joseph's Hospital in St. Joseph, Missouri, at age 75.

Bishop LeBlond High School Bishop LeBlond High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in St. Joseph, Missouri. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient ...

in St. Joseph is named in his honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Le Blond, Charles Hubert 1883 births 1958 deaths People from Celina, Ohio Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland Roman Catholic bishops of Saint Joseph 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Catholics from Ohio