Victor Emmanuel Laroche, university chaplain and special assistant to the president for Catholic identity at Xavier University of Louisiana, passed away on January 23. He was 66 years old.
Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Laroche earned his bachelor’s degree in agronomy from the State University of Haiti, a graduate diploma in epidemiology from the École Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort in Paris, a master’s degree in computer education and human resources from Barry University in Florida, and a master of divinity degree from Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, Missouri. He was fluent in English, French, Haitian Creole, and Spanish, and was able to read and speak in Italian and Portuguese.
Laroche was ordained a priest in the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) in 2002. He served in a wide range of ministries, including hospital chaplaincy in St. Louis and Memphis, Tennessee. In 2022, Laroche began his tenure at Xavier University of Louisiana, where he led Mass, prayers, rituals, and moments of reflection and ministered care to the HBCU’s students, faculty, staff, alumni, and visitors.
