Romeo Roy Blanchette

Romeo Roy Blanchette (January 6, 1913 – January 10, 1982) was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Joliet from 1966 to 1979.

The Coat of Arms of Bishop Blanchette

Biography

Romeo Blanchette was born in Kankakee County, Illinois, to Oscar and Josephine (née Langlois) Blanchette.^[1] After attending Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago from 1928 to 1931, he studied at St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein, from where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1934.^[1] He was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal George Mundelein on April 3, 1937, upon the recommendation of rector Reynold Henry Hillenbrand.^[2]

He continued his studies in Rome at the Pontifical Gregorian University, earning a Licentiate of Canon Law in 1939.^[1] Blanchette was a notary of the matrimonial court in the Archdiocese of Chicago (1938-1949) when Bishop Martin Dewey McNamara brought him to the newly established Diocese of Joliet, where he was made chancellor.^[1] In 1950, he was named vicar general of the diocese and a domestic prelate.^[1]

On February 8, 1965, Blanchette was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Joliet and Titular Bishop of Maxita by Pope Paul VI.^[2] He received his episcopal consecration on the following April 3 from Archbishop Egidio Vagnozzi, with Bishops William Aloysius O'Connor and Ernest John Primeau serving as co-consecrators.^[2] He attended the fourth session of the Second Vatican Council. Following the death of Bishop McNamara, Blanchette was named the second Bishop of Joliet on July 19, 1966.^[2] He served in this capacity until January 30, 1979, when he resigned after being diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease.^[2][3] He later succumbed to the illness and died at age 69.^[3]

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