OUR  NAMESAKE

Archbishop Placide Louis Chapelle

"Such was the great Archbishop of New Orleans, a man of highest integrity and honor, of noble and generous impulses, a pure and upright citizen, a fearless upholder of the truth, a true and holy priest of God, a bishop who had but one thought, the eternal good of his flock, a father and friend to all who needed his help." 

 - Cardinal Parocchi , 1905

In 1842, Placide Louis Chapelle was born in Fraissinet-de-Lozère to Jean Pierre and Sophia (née Viala) Chapelle.  His mother died in childbirth in 1847, when Chapelle was five years old.  Chapelle began his classical studies at Mende, France, and concluded them at Enghien, Belgium. At age 17, he was brought to the United States by his uncle Jean Chapelle, a missionary priest in Haiti who worked on the Vatican's concordat with the Haitian government and was on the eve of being appointed Archbishop of Port-au-Prince before his death in 1861.

After a brilliant course of philosophy and theology at St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore, he received the degree of S.T.D. Ordained priest, June 28, 1865, he was sent as pastor to St. John's Church, Rockville, Maryland, and four years later was named pastor of St. Joseph's in Baltimore. In 1882, he was appointed to St. Matthew's, Washington, where he soon became the leading Catholic clergyman. Dr. Chapelle was consecrated in November 1891 in Baltimore, the titular bishop of Arabissus and coadjutor to Archbishop Salpointe of Sante Fé, New Mexico, with the right of succession; he succeeded to that see, January 7, 1894.  He was transferred to the Archbishopric of New Orleans on December 7, 1897.

The Holy See appointed him, October 11, 1898, Apostolic Delegate to Cuba and Porto Rico and Envoy Extraordinary to the Philippine Islands. He proved himself equal to this important and delicate mission. He spoke French, Spanish, and English, was thoroughly acquainted with the laws of the Church and the spirit of the American Constitution, and rendered valuable services to the Holy See and to the United States. Being in Paris during the negotiations for the treaty of peace between the United States and Spain, he obtained the insertion therein of the clause which confirmed to the Catholic Church the possession of all properties to which she had a right under the Spanish Government. He was appointed by Leo XIII Apostolic Delegate to the Philippines, August 9, 1899, and arrived at Manila, January 24, 1900. His first act was to persuade General Otis to liberate the priests and religious held prisoners by Aguinaldo. After reorganizing the affairs of the Church, he helped greatly in the general pacification of the country.

Pope Leo XIII acknowledged and highly praised in a pontifical Brief the work of Archbishop Chapelle. His mission in the Philippines being at an end, Leo XIII retained him as Apostolic Delegate to Cuba and Puerto Rico and named him Assistant to the Pontifical Throne and Count of the Holy Roman Empire. Pius X, in an autograph letter of October 8, 1904, said to Archbishop Chapelle: "You have rendered most signal services to the Church in Cuba and Porto Rico." Though having an auxiliary bishop, he wished to visit personally all the parishes of Louisiana, and he returned from Havana on May 30, 1905, to fulfil this pastoral duty. Yellow fever had just broken out in New Orleans, and he started without delay for the city, to be with his stricken people. He took the fever himself, and died, August 9, 1905, after having in a pastoral, written four days before his death, offered to God his life for his people.

Taken in part from: APA citation. Orban, A. (1908). Placide-Louis Chapelle. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03579a.htm

Archbishop Placide Louis Chapelle's coat of arms features the

term "Deus Providebit."  Using this as their motto, Archbishop

Chapelle High School continues to celebrate their namesake daily

in prayer by reciting "Deus Providebit . . . God Will Provide."