JOHN NEWFIELD Obituary: Lafourche Parish, La. Submitted by: Louis Lavedan Source: Daily Comet, Thibodaux, Lafourche Parish, La. 19 Nov 2005 ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** NOTES: 1. The date preceding the obituary is the date of posting on the WWW, not the date of death. ================================ November 15. 2005 4:30PM John Newfield Monsignor John L. Newfield, 84, a native of New Orleans and a retired priest of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, died Friday, Nov. 11, 2005, in Thibodaux after a lengthy illness. Visitation will be 6 to 10 p.m. Thursday and 8 to 9:30 a.m. Friday at Chauvin Funeral Home in Houma and 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Friday at the Cathedral of St. Francis de Sales in Houma. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. at the church. He is survived by a brother Frank H. Newfield, formerly of Arabi and living in Thibodaux; sisters Virginia Newfield, formerly of Arabi and living in Thibodaux, and Mary Louise Francis of Chattanooga, Tenn, and her husband, Guy M. Francis; and a host of cousins, nieces and nephews. November 16. 2005 12:36PM John Newfield [Photo] Msgr. John Lyle Newfield, the son of Paul C. Newfield Sr. and Marie Louise Terrell, was born Jan. 5, 1921, in New Orleans, and was baptized at Sacred Heart Church on St. Bernard Avenue in New Orleans. During his formative years, he served as an altar boy at Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish on St. Roch Avenue in New Orleans On Dec. 22, 1945, he was ordained a Roman Catholic priest by New Orleans Archbishop Joseph Francis Rummel, at which time the young priest inherited the chalice and paten that had belonged to his former pastor at Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, the late Msgr. Joseph A. Levesque (1863-1940). Msgr John Lyle Newfield died Nov. 11, 2005, in Thibodaux. He will be interred at St. Francis de Sales No. 2 Cemetery in Houma. His assignments included: St. Agnes Parish in Metairie 1946-50, assistant pastor; Sacred Heart Parish, Baton Rouge 1950-55; St. Henry, New Orleans, 1955- 57; St. Anthony of Padua, Barataria, 1957-61, pastor, with responsibilities for mission churches Sacred Heart in Lafitte and St. Pius X in Crown Point; St. Genevieve of Paris, Thibodaux, 1961-66, founding pastor; Our Lady of Prompt Succor, Westwego, 1966-71, pastor; St. Francis de Sales, Houma, 1971-87, pastor. He was named monsignor in 1977, shortly before the founding of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. With the creation of the diocese in 1977, his new title became rector of the cathedral, and he continued to serve in that capacity until his retirement from active parochial duties in 1987. He was chaplain at Metairie Manor Retirement in Metairie from 1987-89. During a brief period of illness, he resided with his brother and sister in Arabie. He served at Holy Savior in resident 1990-91. He retired to a private residence in Raceland where he served as chaplain to the Dominican Missionary Sisters. In 1991 he moved to Chateau Notre Dame in New Orleans. He served as a canon lawyer in the Tribunal of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, handling marriage cases. Even after his transfer to Houma, he continued to serve in that capacity. After the creation of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux in 1977, he was appointed chief judge of that diocese's tribunal. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus, fourth degree; a member of the Knights of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem; and a member of the Canon Law Society of America. He attended Our Lady Star of the Sea Elementary School in New Orleans; Holy Cross High School, 1933-35; St. Joseph Seminary at St. Benedict Abbey 1935-40; and Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans 1940-45 where he earned degrees in philosophy and theology. In Dec. 1945 he was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of New Orleans. He celebrated his golden jubilee as a priest in December 1995, with a festive reception at St. Francis de Sales in Houma. He was the brother of the late Paul C. Newfield Jr. of Mandeville; of Frank H. Newfield and Virginia Newfield (both living in Thibodaux, but formerly of Arabi) and Mrs. Guy M. (Marie Louis) Francis of Chattanooga, Tenn.; nieces and nephews, Paul C. III and Michael Newfield, Bonnie Burke, Mary Caroline Garland, Elizabeth Kaleida, Mary Catherine Corrigan and Martin Francis. Visitation will be 6 to 10 p.m. Thursday and 8 to 9:30 a.m. Friday at Chauvin Funeral Home. A vigil prayer service will be held at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Friday at St. Francis de Sales Cathedral with burial at St. Francis de Sales No. 2 Cemetery. Requiescat in pace domini. Chauvin Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.