Raymond W. Lessard
Raymond William Lessard was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the 12th bishop of the Diocese of Savannah in Georgia from 1973 to 1995.
Biography
Early life
Raymond Lessard was born on December 21, 1930, in Grafton, North Dakota, US to a largely French-Canadian family. Lessard was raised on a farm and educated at St. Aloysius Academy in Oakwood, North Dakota. He then attended St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota.Priesthood
Lessard was ordained to the priesthood at the chapel of the Pontifical North American College by Archbishop Martin O’Connor on December 16, 1956, for the Diocese of Fargo. Lessard later worked at the Vatican in Rome, both during and after the Second Vatican Council as an official of the Consistorial Congregation.Bishop of Savannah
On March 5, 1973, Lessard was appointed the twelfth Bishop of Savannah by Pope Paul VI. He received his episcopal consecration on April 27, 1973, at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Savannah from Archbishop Thomas Donnellan, with Bishops Justin Driscoll and Francis Gossman serving as co-consecrators.Lessard once served as liaison between Catholic bishops and married Episcopalian clergy seeking Catholic ordination. He once described racism as "the paramount social problem affecting our area". Within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Lessard chaired the Committee for Pastoral Research and Practices.