The Msgr. Irving A. DeBlanc Papers
 

Ca. 1950-2004

4.52 linear feet

 Collection Number 195

 Prepared by Patricia A. Threatt
February 2006

CITATION: The Msgr. Irving A. DeBlanc Papers, Collection No. 195, Box number, Folder number,
Archives and Special Collections Department, Frazar Memorial Library, McNeese State University.

 

 Archives and Special Collections Department
Frazar Memorial Library
McNeese State University

 

Biographical Sketch

Monsignor Irving A. DeBlanc was born October 17, 1914 in New Iberia, Louisiana. He was educated by the Christian Brothers, the Benedictine Fathers, and the Marist Fathers. He continued his graduate education at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. where he earned a Master’s Degree in Psychology, a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Sociology, and was conferred an Honorary Doctor’s Degree in Law by Loyola University of New Orleans. He did postgraduate work at the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium.

DeBlanc’s first assignment was in Ville Platte where he served as associate pastor and director of Sacred Heart School. In 1949, the church transferred Father DeBlanc to Lafayette as pastor of Our Lady of Wisdom Catholic Student Center on the University of Louisiana at Lafayette campus. The Pope made DeBlanc a Domestic Prelate in 1952 with the title Right Reverend Monsignor.

In 1955, the Bishops of the United States selected Monsignor DeBlanc to become the National Director of the their Family Life Bureau in Washington, D.C. He served in that capacity for six years. While in Washington he worked with U.S. Armed Forces on assignments which took him to U.S. troops stationed in this country and around the world. The Air Force gave him the stature of Major General during a year of service in their ranks.

In 1961, Monsignor DeBlanc returned to his home Diocese of Lafayette. He was then appointed pastor of Our Lady Queen of Heaven Parish in Lake Charles. He continues to receive both religious and civic awards for his many service projects.
 

Scope and Content Note

The Monsignor Irving A. DeBlanc Papers consist of scrapbooks, photographs, and publications. The ten scrapbooks, ca. 1950 to 2000, contain photographs, letters, and mementos about DeBlanc’s work with parishioners. The publications consist of pamphlets and booklets DeBlanc wrote in support of his ministry.

In processing the scrapbooks, Archives staff photocopied each scrapbook to preserve the original order. The photographs were then removed from the acidic scrapbook pages and re-housed in envelopes. The scrapbook folders contain both the photocopied pages and the separated photographs. Approximately 50 digital images were cataloged and added to the LOUISiana Digital Library, available at http://louisdl.louislibraries.org .
 

Container List

Box

Folder

Description

1

1-3

[Scrapbook A] Scrapbook of materials ca. 1950-1988.

 

 

[Scrapbook B] See Box 2 below.

 

4-5

[Scrapbook C] Title:  Mementos: Holy Family Retreat Association / Western Retreat Tour / October 1957.

 

6

[Scrapbook D] Title: In gratitude for sixty-five years of generous and genuine spiritual direction, we dedicate this album of memories to you, Msgr. Irving A. DeBlanc 1938-2003.  From the Palma Family. Contains letters and photographs, ca. 1960-2003.

 

 

[Scrapbook E] See Box 3 below.

 

7

[Scrapbook F] 65th Anniversary Scrapbook, 2003.  Contains photographs and memorabilia, ca. 1970-2003.

 

8-9

[Scrapbook G] Title:  Journal on the High Way 1961-1992 Volume II. Contains photographs and memorabilia, ca. 1985-1992.

 

10-12

[Scrapbook H] Scrapbook of photographs and memorabilia, ca. 1988-1993.

 

13-14

[Scrapbook I] Scrapbook of photographs and memorabilia, ca. 1988-1993.

 

15

[Scrapbook J] Scrapbook about the Millennium Statue, 2000.

 

16

Photographs and clippings, ca. 1955-2003.

 

17

Pamphlets and booklets written by DeBlanc, ca. 1985-2000.

 

18

Louisiana Patron of Architecture Award presented to DeBlanc by the Louisiana Architectural Foundation, 2001.

 

19

DeBlanc resume, 2004

 

 

Books:  The Sculpture and Drawing of Charles Umlauf.  [Gift signature to DeBlanc]
The Passion:  Photography from the movie: The Passion of Christ. [Gift signature to DeBlanc]

2

 

Framed portrait of DeBlanc, ca. 1950.

 

 

[Scrapbook B] Title: SLI Newmanites 1955.

 

 

Scrapbook cover with a fabric frame and a photograph of DeBlanc, ca. 1970.

 

 

CDs of digital images made from photographs in the scrapbooks.

3

 

[Scrapbook E] Title:  Msgr. Irving A. DeBlanc No. 1 Trojan! Scrapbook assembled by Margaret R. Fontenot in 1988.  Contains materials about DeBlanc, Msgr. J. M. Bourgeois, and the Ville Platte Diocese, 1968-1988.

 

 

Framed portrait of DeBlanc, ca. 1970.

 

 

5 large 90th birthday cards, signed by school children, 2004.