By Pamela Seal
Diocese of Lake Charles
LAKE CHARLES — The Diocese of Lake Charles gained a new priest on Saturday, September 6, when Deacon Hunter Thomas LaRocca was ordained to the Sacred Order of Priesthood by His Excellency, The Most Reverend Glen John Provost, Bishop of Lake Charles. With standing room only, the Rite of Ordination took place in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.
“I was reminded by a good bishop friend of mine that it is a joyful moment in the life of a diocese when we can bring a new priest to the Altar of God,” Bishop Provost remarked. “I extend my congratulations to Father LaRocca’s family and assure them of our prayers and thank them for supporting him in his formation.”
A parishioner of Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church in Lake Charles, Father LaRocca is the 29-year-old son of Kurt and Kara Smith of Oberlin, and the late Barry LaRocca.
In his homily before the Rite of Ordination, Bishop Provost told then-Deacon LaRocca that, “if your purpose is to procure the glory of God the Father in Christ, then you have a weighty task ahead of you. Everything you do — prayer, adoration, preaching, offering the Eucharistic Sacrifice, administering the Sacraments, and any work of ministry — all of this must be for the glory of God and, by extension, the increase of divine life in those whom you will serve.”
Bishop Provost also reminded LaRocca that the Eucharist is the heart and center of this offering of glory to God.
“The Eucharist is the font of your life,” he continued. “The Mass, the Eucharistic Sacrifice, must be offered with all the prayerful reverence, dignity, and purpose that you, as a mere human being, can muster.”
Father LaRocca said that he is grateful that God has called him in a special way to participate in His ministry as one of His priests.
“What I look forward to the most about being a priest is offering the Holy Sacrifice of Mass and offering the Sacrament of Reconciliation,” he remarked.
As LaRocca was being ordained, his mother Kara said that she felt an “overwhelming joy” that her son has joined this brotherhood.
“When the priests, one by one, laid their hands on his head calling down the Holy Spirit upon Hunter, that is when I started crying. It hit me that the priesthood is a brotherhood like no other. There is nothing in comparison,” said Kara.
When asked what characteristics will serve her son well as a priest, she said, “Hunter is a people person and has a great capacity to be empathetic toward others and consider people’s emotions and their feelings.”
Father LaRocca said that he owes a huge debt of gratitude for many people helping him along his journey to the priesthood.
“I want to thank my parents and family for their immense support of my choosing this vocation. I am also grateful to His Excellency, Bishop Provost, for his prayers and support throughout these years of formation. What an honor it has been to be ordained a deacon and now a priest by him and to be a partner in carrying out his ministry in the Diocese,” said Father LaRocca.
Bishop Provost extended a greeting of peace to the newly ordained priest as a sign that they are coworkers in the ministry of the Church. Priests in attendance came forward to extend the “fraternal kiss of peace” to the newly ordained as well.
Father LaRocca also expressed appreciation to Father Jeffrey Starkovich and Father Michael Caraway, his former and current vocation directors, as well as his brother priests.
“One of the biggest inspirations for me has been through the example of so many priests serving in our diocese who live out their vocation with joy and fidelity,” he shared. Monsignor Daniel Torres, Vicar General and Pastor of Our Lady Queen of Heaven Catholic Church, assisted LaRocca with vesting, which is a customary way to honor a mentor priest.
In his homily, Bishop Provost told Hunter, “Your seminary formation and the example of good and holy priests have, to this point, given you much assistance. The completion of the task is now your own work, with God’s help.”
Emphasizing his love for the Diocese of Lake Charles and the culture that helped shape him into the person he is today, Father LaRocca is grateful to many parishioners for their continued support, prayers, and encouragement. “What greater gift than to give back to the people and to be Christ’s minister to them,” he said.
Before the final blessing, Very Rev. Joseph Caraway, diocesan chancellor and master of ceremonies, announced Father LaRocca’s first priestly assignment as Parochial Vicar at Our Lady of Prompt Succor Catholic Church in Sulphur, effective September 8, 2025.
Father LaRocca officiated his first Solemn Mass of Thanksgiving on Sunday, September 7, at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church in Lake Charles. Toward the conclusion of the Mass, Father LaRocca presented his mother, Kara Smith, with the maniturgium — a white linen cloth that Hunter used to wipe the chrism oil from his hands after the ordination rite.
The newly ordained priest fought back tears as he explained the pious tradition of giving the maniturgium to his mother who will keep it until her death, at which point it will be placed in her hands when she is buried.
Tradition holds that at her final judgment, she will present the cloth to Christ, who will ask, “I have given you life, what have you given me?” and she will reply, “I have given you my son as a priest."
