Flavian Laplante (1907–1981) was a

religious brother A religious brother (abbreviated Br. or Bro. as a title) is a laity, lay male member of a religious institute or religious order who commits himself to following Christ in consecrated life, usually by the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. E ...

of the

Congregation of Holy Cross The Congregation of Holy Cross (), abbreviated CSC, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men founded in 1837 by Basil Moreau, in Le Mans, France. Moreau also founded the Marianites of Holy Cross for women, n ...

and a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who 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.Thoma ...

who worked in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

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

Barisal Barisal ( or ; , ), 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 District and Barisal Divi ...

Noakhali Noakhali District (), historically known as Bhulua (), is a Districts of Bangladesh, district in southeastern Bangladesh, located in Chattogram Division. It was established as a district in 1821, and officially named Noakhali in 1868. The distr ...

and

Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

. Later he was involved with the socio-economic development of the Jolodash community. He founded Miriam Ashram at Diang, on the 1 Karnaphuly River. In 1978, he also built a grotto with the statue of

Our Lady of Lourdes Our Lady of Lourdes (; ) is one the Marian devotions, devotional names or titles under which the Catholic Church venerates the Mary, mother of Jesus, Virgin Mary. The name commemorates a series of Lourdes apparitions, 18 apparitions reported by ...

and turned it into a shrine of

Life

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

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

to Honoré Laplante and Louise Théroux. He was the seventh child of nine. Flavian joined

at the age of 16. He took the name, Brother Flavian, on 15 August 1923. He made his

perpetual vows Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views. In the Buddhist tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, many different kinds of re ...

on 16 August 1928 and served at the

Notre Dame College Notre Dame College (Notre Dame College of Ohio or NDC) was a private Roman Catholic college in South Euclid, Ohio. Established in 1922 by the Sisters of Notre Dame as a women's college, it was coeducational from January 2001 until its closure ...

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

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

in 1932.

André Bessette André Bessette, C.S.C. (born Alfred; 9 August 1845 – 6 January 1937), commonly known as Brother André () and since his canonization as Saint André of Montreal, was a lay brother of the Congregation of Holy Cross and a significant figure of ...

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

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. In May 1942 he helped people, when Japan was conducting air raids and 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. From 1957 to 1962 he was sent to

. In Diang he renamed the settlement there "Miriam ashram" ("Marian hermitage"). He also started a women's promotion center with the help of the

Sisters of the Holy Cross The Sisters of the Holy Cross are one of three Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Religious congregation, congregations of nuns, religious sisters which trace their origins to the foundation of the Congregation of Holy Cross by Basil Moreau in Le Ma ...

. The "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 LaPlante 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 Chr ...

. 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 ...

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