The Leclerc families coat of arms
The author of this article is Louise-Marie Leclerc, the daughter of Cyrille Leclerc.
English translation by Guy Robert
Dear readers,
It is with a humble feeling that I submit the following article to clarify certain writings concerning the Leclerc family Coat of Arms.
First, I wish to express my sincere gratitude to the fine team that has taken over the torch of the Leclerc Family Association. Congratulations for "Le Clairon" and thank you for rekindling the Leclerc flame that died prematurely with the passing of my father, Cyrille Leclerc. You have tackled a beautiful and great challenge, for I have often observed my father devoting a lot of time, energy and all his Leclerc soul to build "La Revue Le Clerc" and to create the first association of Leclerc. After all these years, it is with great emotion and pride that I read every line of "Le Clairon".
Second, I have to intervene and take a stand concerning the origins of the Leclerc family Coat of Arms. It is erroneous to claim that all the credit goes to Abbot Lucien Godbout. Yes, according to various writings, it is mentioned that the abbot is the originator of the blazon. In fact, the largest part of the credit should be bestowed to my father, Cyrille, and my mother, Jacqueline Ouellet.
As a youngster, many times I had witnessed my parents researching, analyzing the pros and cons and working hours on end to conceive the Leclerc Coat of Arms. All the details were considered and weighted carefully. Abbot Godbout's contribution merely consisted in assembling the details already designed by my parents. With regard to the abbot, after one of my father's relations completed assembling the information, he hogged all the work as well as the accompanying credit and recognition by signing only his name on the blazon. After many challenges by my mother, my father, a humble man, elected not to embarrass the clergy. The premature passing of my father did not allow him to rectify the public statements concerning the true story of the creation of the Leclerc Coat of Arms.
Still today, my mother remembers all the work that my father and she carried out to build the Leclerc blazon, but she cannot stop feeling sad about how the whole story ended.
Warmest regards to all and long live the Leclerc Family Association!
P.S. I could not let this situation endure without intervening in the name of my father Cyrille, my mother and all my brothers and sisters. For those who are interested by this subject, we have kept all the original documents related to the Leclerc Coat of Arms, backing up our statements.