Today: Priestly Ordination of Grotto parishioner, Dcn Louis Lapeyre

On the day that Grotto's pastor must bury his mother, Grace, the people of Assumption Grotto can rejoice over the 'birth' of a priest today.  At 11:00 AM at St. Mary's in Monroe, Michigan, Deacon Louis Lapeyre will become Father Lapeyre at the hands of Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron.  Some parishioners will witness this great event on behalf of the many who would have otherwise been at the ordination, if not for the funeral; those at the funeral will witness the burial of a woman who gave us a such a fine priest, for those at the ordination.  It's what big families do.  Grace would have been at the ordination, no doubt, if God didn't have other plans.  I myself have waited many years to  see my fellow parishioner, and friend, Deacon Lapeyre, become a priest and will be in Monroe. Many who are going to the funeral are looking forward to witnessing his ordination through the lens of my camera.


The Michigan Catholic has a nice write-up.  Here is the beginning:

MONROE — As a child, Deacon Louis Lapeyre expected to become an Air Force pilot like Tom Cruise in “Top Gun.” 

But as a teenager, he began to grow closer to God through his activities at his parish, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Grotto), including singing in the choir.“And when you grow closer to God, he tells you things,” said Deacon Lapeyre, who will be ordained to the priesthood on Oct. 19. “He said, ‘why don’t you become a priest?’”“It became this invitation, this desire that didn’t go away, that I felt I had to pursue,” he said. 

Deacon Lapeyre was born in New Orleans but grew up in Royal Oak, and participated in the Civil Air Patrol as a teenager, where he learned a lot about the need for personal discipline and self-knowledge. 

He realizes now that it was not training him for the rigorous lifestyle of the Air Force, but rather for the equally rigorous lifestyle of the Catholic priesthood. 

“I was always thinking about what I could do for others, for the people around me,” he said. “It really dawned on me that this was connected with my faith. That’s something that came to me in prayer. I realized, ‘why not become a priest?’” 

Deacon Lapeyre comes from a long line of French Catholics, with several of them belonging to religious life: “It goes all the way back to the original French settlers,” he said. 

More recently, he had a great-aunt who was a religious sister with the Society of the Sacred Heart, and a late great-uncle who was a Jesuit. Additionally, his mother, Ruth Lapeyre, teaches at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. 

He said it can be hard for families when their son discerns a call to the priesthood, but the reasons vary according to the person. 

“They might say ‘I know this person, he’s not that holy; he might not make it.’ Or, ‘I don’t know how to support that,’” explained Deacon Lapeyre, admitting it can be somewhat overwhelming. “They know you, they know everything about you.” 

But at the same time, he said the best witness a man who’s becoming a priest can offer is in his humility, “in our care for others, and regarding others as individuals all working toward the kingdom.”

Please read the rest of the article at The Michigan Catholic

The newly ordained Deacon Lapeyre on Pentecost Sunday at a Solemn High Mass
in the Extraordinary Form, earlier this year, to Fr. John Bustamante's right.
Also in the photograph, to the left of Fr. John is Tim Ferguson,
now completing his final studies for the priesthood
for the Diocese of Marquette.  

Over the summer you may have seen Deacon Lapeyre in choir or as involved in the Masses at Assumption Grotto or preaching.

Some might wonder why this is not happening at the Cathedral.  I don't know the reasoning behind it, but I know that all of the priests who have been ordained after the minimum canonical requirement of 6 months in the transitional diaconate, have been at whatever parish to which they were assigned.  The bulk of ordinations take place after about one year and those happen the Saturday before Pentecost in the Archdiocese of Detroit.  We have a group coming up this Pentecost, so keep them all in your prayers.  I photographed their ordination to the diaconate earlier in the year.    Behind them is yet another group.  Brick-by-brick.

One thing I can say about this practice is that it gives many more people an opportunity, being so close to home, to witness a priestly ordination.

I know his First Mass will be celebrated at St. Mary's in Monroe on Sunday.  I don't know what time, so someone can leave a comment if they have it, otherwise I should know later today.  Watch for an update to this post on that.

Grotto parishioners note - Father Lapeyre will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving at Assumption Grotto, probably the following weekend and I hear Fr. Perrone is pulling out all the stops!  Details to come.

Please pray for the new Father Lapeyre on the day of his priestly ordination.

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