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Delaporte, Ernest P. , 1924-2002

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: March 5, 1924 to November 20, 2002

Ernest P. Delaporte was born March 5, 1924 in Gaël, Brittany, France; died on November 20, 2002, at his home in Berrien Springs, Michigan. He grew up in a Catholic household. At the age of twelve, he entered a minor seminary, and in 1942 he received his baccalaureate. He then attended the major seminary in Rennes, France. With World War II going on around it was difficult for seminary students to complete their studies. Ernest did, however, and he received his tonsure making him an official cleric of the Catholic Church.

After the liberation of France from the Germans, there were two German soldiers who had surrendered to a farmer in Gaël and some French Resistence soldiers decided to kill them. Ernest went to the Tow Hall to try to save the two enemy soldiers. He placed himself between the two Germans and the guards, which delayed the execution long enough for the chief of the Resistance to arrive and reverse the guards’ decision to execute the men. The two German prisoners credited Ernest with saving their lives.

Ordained as a deacon in 1947 and a priest in 1948, Ernest still felt a need to satisfy his spiritual hunger. He joined the Trappist Order. A Trappist is a vegetarian, he never talks except by gesture, he has a variety of work instead of recreation, he sleeps fully dressed on a straw mattress, and lives in unheated quarters. Every Friday morning, to remember the scourging of Christ, each Trappist lashes his back with a knotted whip while reciting Psalm 51. Although the lifestyle was extreme, Ernest began, for the first time to read and understand the Bible for himself. In 1958, he left the Trappist Order and returned to the secular clergy.

In the summer of 1964, Ernest enrolled in a class offered by the Franco-American Institute of Rennes to improve his English. The discussion leader for the group was James Brown, a Seventh-day Adventist. The year after the class, the institute offered Ernest a traveling scholarship to the United States. Here, Ernest again met James. Through a series of events and discussions with James, Ernest was led to contemplate his ties to the Catholic Church. On November 28, 1967, he left France for New York. On February 3, 1968, he was baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Ernest began teaching French at Loma Linda University in 1969, and in 1971, earned his PhD degree. He also became a citizen of the United States in 1971. In 1976, he was ordained as a minister of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In 1979, he began teaching French at Andrews University, a post he held for 14 years, retiring in 1993.

Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:

Ernest P. Delaporte Collection

 Collection
Identifier:  Collection 220
Content Description The Ernest P. Delaporte Collection consists of articles and sermons by Delaporte and others in English and French. There are also photocopies of documents about Emile Zola in English and French.
Dates: 1947