Blessed Be Jazz

Rev. Francis J. Coco, S.J. (1920-2006) was a Jesuit priest who spent most of his adult life working in south Louisiana as a high school teacher, retreat director, and jazz musician. Stationed at Jesuit High School in New Orleans, at Manresa Retreat House in Convent, Louisiana, and at Our Lady of the Oaks Retreat House in Grand Coteau, Louisiana, he showed himself to be an excellent teacher, spiritual director, and confessor to the many that he served.

As a musician Fr. Coco played his clarinet whenever and wherever he could. He performed with some of the finest jazz musicians in Louisiana like Pete Fountain, Al Hirt, and Ronnie Kole. He was a regular performer at the Texas Jazz Festival held annually in Corpus Christi and was the highlight of the Festival's closing Mass when he played his signature piece "Just a Closer Walk with Thee."

His unique calling as a clarinet-playing Jesuit priest allowed him to develop relationships and minister to many people whom few others could have reached. He never left home without his clarinet and his Roman collar.

At the urging of his many friends, Fr. Coco wrote his autobiography which was titled "Blessed Be Jazz: The Story of My Life as a Clarinet-Playing Jesuit Priest in the French Quarter of New Orleans."



After Fr. Frank's death on September 6, 2006, Mr. Trent Angers of Acadian House Publishing in Lafayette, who was a personal friend, set about the work of editing and publishing the manuscript. The book was unveiled on December 16, 2008, by Mr. Angers and Brother Anthony Coco, S.J., Fr. Frank's youngest brother who is also a Jesuit.



Mr. Ronnie Kole offered his personal reflections on Fr. Coco as both a musician and a priest, and then he entertained the audience with several piano jazz pieces.