Louis-François Richer Laflèche
| Louis-François Richer Laflèche | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Trois Rivières | |
 |
|
| Diocese | Trois-Rivières |
| Installed | April 30, 1870 |
| Term ended | July 14, 1898 |
| Predecessor | Thomas Cooke |
| Successor | François-Xavier Cloutier |
| Other posts | Coadjutor Bishop of Trois Rivières |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | January 7, 1844 |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
September 4, 1818 Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade, Lower Canada |
| Died | July 14, 1898 (aged 79) Trois-Rivières, Quebec |
Louis-François Laflèche, (September 4, 1818 – July 14, 1898), was a Catholic bishop of the diocese of Trois-Rivières, in the province of Quebec, Canada.
He was born on September 4, 1818 in the village of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade to Louis-Modeste Richer dit Laflèche and Marie-Anne Richer dit Laflèche (née Joubin dit Boisvert). His family held the secondary surname of Laflèche because their ancestor, Jean Richer, was from an area in France called La Flèche, near Anjou.
Laflèche studied at the Nicolet Seminary College in Nicolet, Quebec from 1831 to 1839. Following his education, he taught classics and science while continuing courses in theology. He was ordained a priest on January 7, 1844.
In 1844, he headed a mission near the Red River of the North. With Father Alexandre-Antonin Taché he founded the famous mission of Île-à-la-Crosse in 1846 where he remained until 1849 when Pius IX nominated him to be bishop of Arath. However, an illness had left him with an infirmity in his limb, and he asked to be withdrawn from the nomination and be replaced by Alexandre-Antonin Taché.
As a missionary Oblate Laflèche educated himself in three Native American languages spoken in the North-Western Territory: Cree, Chipewyan, and Anishinaabe. He was the first to reduce the Chipewyan language to grammatical form.
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