Romeo Roy Blanchette

[1] Blanchette was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Chicago by Cardinal George Mundelein on April 3, 1937, upon the recommendation of rector Reynold Henry Hillenbrand.

[2] He continued his studies in Rome at the Pontifical Gregorian University, earning a Licentiate of Canon Law in 1939.

[2] He received his episcopal consecration on April 3, 1965, from Archbishop Egidio Vagnozzi, with Bishops William Aloysius O'Connor and Ernest John Primeau serving as co-consecrators.

[2][3] On January 30, 1979, Pope John Paul II accepted Blanchette's resignation as Bishop of Joliet after he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease.

[4][5] In a 2015 lawsuit brought against the diocese by sexual abuse victims, it was revealed that Blanchette ignored warnings about the behavior of certain seminarians.