Listen to this article
Estimated 2 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
Father Joe LeClair, the charismatic Ottawa priest who stole $130,000 from his church about 20 years ago, has died.
Father Dan van Delst with the Catholic Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall confirmed to CBC News that LeClair died Thursday night.
The archdiocese had investigated LeClair after a media report on financial irregularities at the Blessed Sacrament Church in the Glebe, where he had attracted a large following over more than a decade.
Fraud investigators said he stole tens of thousands of dollars from the church in cheques between 2006 and 2011. He was age 53 when he stepped aside in 2011.
LeClair, a diagnosed pathological gambler, pleaded guilty in 2014.
He was sentenced to one year in jail and one year of probation, then was released early from jail for good behaviour.
Leclair had a reputation as a charismatic speaker and community leader. He had also been forthright in detailing his battles with depression.
Attendance at Blessed Sacrament dropped after he left during his legal troubles but many parishioners who remained stood by him.
After his release, he worked as an assistant priest in New Brunswick. He later returned to work in Ottawa in 2018.