The Chancery of the Diocese of Lake Charles will close at 1:00 p.m. Friday, February 13, and remain closed through Tuesday, February 17, for Mardi Gras. We will reopen for regular business hours, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., on Wednesday, February 18 — Ash Wednesday — the beginning of Lent. Bishop Glen John Provost will be the celebrant of the 12:05 p.m. Mass on Ash Wednesday in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, 935 Bilbo Street, and will distribute ashes to the faithful.

Bishop Provost Will Celebrate
Ash Wednesday Mass at Cathedral

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, which is the time we contemplate our relationship with God and identify the areas in our spiritual life that need work. Bishop Glen John Provost will be the celebrant for Mass and the Distribution of Ashes in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception at 12:05 p.m. on February 18, 2026. The Cathedral is located at 935 Bilbo Street in Lake Charles.

Every Catholic, to enter more deeply into the life of Christ, is to participate in some way in the spiritual and penitential disciplines of Lent. The regulations for the Catholic Church in the United States are as follows: Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fast and abstinence. The other Fridays of Lent are days of abstinence from meat.

By Pamela Seal
Diocese of Lake Charles

WESTLAKE — Rev. Mr. Fred Reed marks his 50^th anniversary as a deacon on February 1, 2026. He was ordained a permanent deacon by Bishop Jerome J. Hastrich on February 1, 1976, at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Oberlin.

Deacon Reed, who has served as a deacon for 42 years at St. John Bosco Catholic Church in Westlake, celebrated this milestone of his ministry with his wife Judy and their family on Saturday, January 3, at the 4:00 p.m. Mass.

Bishop Provost Reflects on Pursuit of Wisdom

By Pamela Seal
Diocese of Lake Charles

LAKE CHARLES — One of Bishop Glen John Provost’s favorite things to do as Bishop of Lake Charles is celebrate the annual Catholic Schools Week Mass. He has been doing so for 19 years.

“It is always a pleasure to celebrate Catholic Schools Week with all of you,” he said as he looked out among the many students from across the Diocese of Lake Charles. “I look forward to this special Mass every year, with this year falling on the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas.”

The Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops recently released the Principles and Priorities for the 2026 Legislative Session: