Lafitte was born in Peyrun, Hautes-Pyrénées Department, France. He emigrated to Argentina and was ordained as a priest in 1911. He was consecrated Bishop of Córdoba in 1927, and upon the establishment of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Córdoba in 1934 (previously subordinate to the Archdiocese of Tucumán) Lafitte was enthroned as its Archbishop. He later emerged as one of the leading conservatives in the Argentine curia, and following a rift in church–state relations in Argentina in 1954 Lafitte was among the first public figures to organize rallies opposing President Juan Perón's secular reforms. He later supported the coup that ousted Perón in 1955 (which began in Córdoba).