Louis-Zéphirin Moreau

Biography

Louis-Zéphirin Moreau (1 April 1824 – 24 May 1901) was a Canadian Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Saint-Hyacinthe from 1875 until his death in 1901. He was also the cofounder of the Sisters of St. Joseph of St. Hyacinthe with Élisabeth Bergeron, and the founder of the Sisters of Sainte Martha.

Moreau was a frail child due to being born premature and so could not help his farmer parents work on their land. He dedicated himself to his studies and later his ecclesial studies despite the fact that illness forced him to slow down his studies which impeded on his progress to ordination. But a benefactor, Jean-Charles Prince, Coadjutor Bishop of Montreal, saw him advance towards his ordination and he served as an aide to several bishops in the diocesan secretariat and later as a diocesan vicar general.

In his role as a bishop he revitalized his diocese and erected several new parishes to further bolster the diocese's strength. He was known for his piousness and for his dedication to the religious life as evident in the foundation of two religious congregations he set himself.

After his death, Moreau's beatification was celebrated in 1987.