Skip to main content
Go back

F.-X. A. Labelle, Priest and Curé of Saint-Jérôme

Sepia-tone photograph of a priest in his forties. The portrait shows his upper body; he is portly, with a double chin. He wears a cassock and clerical collar.

Photographer: H. N. Grenier
Date: Around 1876
Source: Société d’histoire de la Rivière-du-Nord, Collection Société d’histoire de la Rivière-du-Nord, P005,S06,SS01,D06,P01

Appointed curé of Saint-Jérôme on May 15, 1868, Antoine Labelle arrived in the small town of Saint-Jérôme in springtime. He was the eighth curé of the parish. His predecessor, Antoine-Fleury Groulx, had died in office. The story goes that when he first stepped through the door of his new presbytery, Labelle fell to his knees and gave thanks to God. At age 34, the young man of the cloth viewed his new ministry as a blessing. From the moment he arrived, Labelle appealed to his parishioners. After he celebrated the Office for the first time, the people of Saint-Jérôme were quick to praise his verve and eloquence.