News - Diocese of Lake Charles

Diocesan Offices Closed for Juneteenth

Diocesan offices are closed today, June 19, 2026, in observance of Juneteenth and will reopen on Monday, June 22. Juneteenth National Independence Day was signed into law as a federal holiday in 2021. Also known as Freedom Day, Juneteenth commemorates the day Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, to announce the end of slavery more than two years after the Civil War.

Diocesan Wedding Anniversary Mass Honors 71 couples

By Pamela Seal
Diocese of Lake Charles

There was never a doubt in Whitney Derise’s mind that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with his wife, Lois. “She is my everything. If I don’t see or hear her for a few minutes, I start whistling for her,” he said. “I have a fear of her not being there. We still say our prayers every night holding hands.”

The still-very-much-in-love couple will celebrate 75 years of marriage on October 9, 2026. Parishioners of St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church in Lake Charles, and before that at Our Lady Queen of Heaven, the Derises were among 142 spouses honored during the 11:15 a.m. Mass on Sunday, June 14, in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

Three Seminarians Accepted to Candidacy for Holy Orders

LAKE CHARLES — Three seminarians for the Diocese of Lake Charles received their call to candidacy on June 10, 2026. Bishop Glen John Provost accepted Justin Fontenot, Luka Hagen, and Nicholas Poncho to Candidacy for Holy Orders during the 12:05 p.m. Mass in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

Bishop Provost Consecrates U.S. to Sacred Heart of Jesus

By Pamela Seal
Diocese of Lake Charles

LAKE CHARLES — In solidarity with U.S. bishops, The Most Reverend Glen John Provost, Bishop of Lake Charles, consecrated the United States to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus on Thursday, June 11, 2026, in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. The Diocesan Consecration Mass took place at 6:00 p.m. in what is considered an historic moment in the life the Church as the United States of America commemorates the 250^th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence this year.

Pastoral Letter from Bishop Provost

June 12, 2026
The Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

“Heart Speaks to Heart”

My dear People of God,

On the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, I could turn to many sources to examine the rich significance of this Catholic devotion. I think of the encyclical of Pope Pius XII, Haurietis Aquas [Athirst for the Waters] (May 15^th, 1956), written to commemorate the centennial of the feast’s institution, or Annum Sacrum [the Holy Year] (May 25^th, 1899) of Pope Leo XIII which spoke of consecrating the human race to the Sacred Heart. We could also stretch back to St. Bonaventure’s (1217-1274) Lignum Vitae or St. John Eudes who wrote the prayers for the first office honoring the Sacred Heart, for which reason Pope Leo XIII, in proclaiming his virtues heroic in 1903, gave him the title of "Author of the Liturgical Worship of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Holy Heart of Mary."