News and Press

LAKE CHARLES — After many years of serving our community, Crossroads Catholic Books & Gifts Store will close on May 31, 2026, it was announced by Monsignor Daniel A. Torres, Pastor of Our Lady Queen of Heaven Catholic Church. With much prayer, consultation and evaluation of financial reports for the past two years, the decision has come to close the business.

Rosary, faithful friends lead Pedro and Layni
home to Roman Catholic Church

By Pamela Seal
Diocese of Lake Charles

Because God writes straight with crooked lines, a boy from Brazil found his way to a girl in Sulphur and both eventually found their way home to the Roman Catholic Church as husband and wife.

WASHINGTON — Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), issued a statement on Monday, May 25, 2026, welcoming Pope Leo XIV’ new encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence.

Archbishop Coakley’s statement follows:

April 23, 2007 — April 23, 2026

Blessed 19th Episcopal Anniversary
to Bishop Glen John Provost

By Pamela Seal
Diocese of Lake Charles

LAKE CHARLES — The Most Reverend Glen John Provost said that he receives “great joy and satisfaction” from visiting Catholic schools, celebrating Confirmations and participating in the Diocesan Youth Conference.

“I always allow the youth to ask me questions and find their inquiries fascinating. They show, for the most part, a great deal of thought and depth,” he remarked reflecting on his past 19 years as Bishop for the Diocese of Lake Charles. “I have concluded over the years that youth want more, not less. They look to the Church and its pastors to give them example, direction and instruction. They are the future of the Church.”

Applications are being accepted for the Revered Canon A. Gerard Jordan Scholarship established by the Jordan Family and The Tolton Ambassadors of Louisiana. The deadline to submit applications is June 30, 2026.

A seminary burse is a permanent fund set aside to provide income for the education and training of future priests. There are currently 119 such funds with the total amount invested of $3,088,236.41.

St. Louis Award presented to
Graham Wyninger and Reese Dufrene

LAKE CHARLES — On Tuesday, May 12, St. Louis Catholic High School awarded degrees to the Class of 2026 during a commencement ceremony in the Burton Coliseum Complex. The Very Reverend Ruben J. Buller, VG, Rector of St. Louis and Pastor of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, presented remarks while the Most Reverend Glen John Provost, Bishop of Lake Charles, gave the Benediction for 123 graduates.

Easter 2026
“I have seen the Lord.”  John 20:18

Let us hasten to the tomb with Mary Magdalen, where she is disturbed to find it empty.  The angel asks her and the two accompanying her why they seek the living among the dead (cf. Luke 24:5).    Let us sit with her as she ponders the silence of that first Easter morning and meets the Lord Himself, whom she mistakes for the gardener and does so until He speaks her name.   Let us accompany her as she goes immediately to the Apostles to announce, “I have seen the Lord.”  What amazement she must have experienced, the muted joy transformed into proclamation!

Former Sacred Heart of Jesus Parishioner
will be Youngest Catholic Bishop in Nation

By Pamela Seal
Diocese of Lake Charles

LAKE CHARLES — Reverend Robert P. Boxie III, a 1998 graduate of St. Louis Catholic High School and former parishioner of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Lake Charles, is making history as he is soon to become the youngest Catholic bishop in the United States. Bishop-elect Boxie is the 45-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert P. and Roxanne (Guillory) Boxie Jr. of Lake Charles.

Holy Thursday, April 2, 2026
Mass of the Lord's Supper
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

“Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father.”  John 13:1