News and Press

At the request of His Excellency, Bishop Glen John Provost, the Diocese of Lake Charles will join together in praying a Nine-Day Novena to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. The purpose of the novena is to pray for the selection of our next bishop.

By Pamela Seal
Diocese of Lake Charles

It was early on in the priesthood of Very Reverend Aubrey Guilbeau that he learned from the people what it means to be a priest.

“A priest needs not to be the one with all the answers, but rather one who will listen with compassion and allow the Holy Spirit to provide the answers,” he said, recalling the wise words of his first pastor, the late Monsignor Charles Dubois: “Always be present and available, and the Lord will take care of the rest.”

In recognition of his faithful presence and dedication as a priest for 43 years in the Diocese of Lake Charles, Pope Leo XIV has conferred a Papal Honor on Father Guilbeau.

By Pamela Seal
Diocese of Lake Charles

LAKE CHARLES — Almost 23 years to the day that Christ the King Catholic Church was established as a church parish (November 24, 2002), parishioners of the “little church by the airport” gathered to break ground on a new beginning. On November 22, the eve of the church’s patronal feast, the Solemnity of Christ the King, parishioners looked to the future in this Jubilee Year of Hope.

On Thursday, October 9, 2025, the Holy Father released Dilexi Te (“I Have Loved You”), his first Apostolic Exhortation on love for the poor. In this new document, Pope Leo XIV reminds Christians that faith and love for the poor cannot be separated. He invites the Church to make a preferential option for the poor, not as an act of charity alone but as an essential part of our encounter with Christ. May Dilexi Te inspire us to see Christ in those who suffer and to walk with them in solidarity and hope. CLICK HERE to read Dilexi Te in its entirety.

By Pamela Seal
Diocese of Lake Charles

LAKE CHARLES — It was an encounter with the Holy Father like no one has seen before, and students at St. Louis Catholic High School watched as history-in-the-making unfolded before their eyes.

By Pamela Seal
Diocese of Lake Charles

Michael DesOrmeaux, a seminarian for the Diocese of Lake Charles, was blessed with the opportunity to meet Pope Leo XIV with other students in Rome on Sunday, August 24, 2025. Pope Leo received seminarians during a private audience in Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace before leading the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square.

By Pamela Seal
Diocese of Lake Charles

FENTON –– After 11 months of extensive renovations, the Most Reverend Glen John Provost, Bishop of Lake Charles, dedicated St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church on Tuesday, November 4, the Feast day of the church’s patron saint.

As the congregation sang “Come, Ye Thankful People, Come” during the entrance procession of the 5:30 p.m. Mass, they had much to be grateful for in this Jubilee Year of Hope as they gathered in their church for the first time in nearly a year.

Pope Leo XIV invites all the faithful to pray a daily rosary during the month of October for personal peace, peace in our families, and in our communities. The Month of the Holy Rosary begins on October 1. The Holy Father made his request at the end of his weekly general audience on September 24. CLICK HERE to read the full story.

BALTIMORE — The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is meeting in Baltimore November 10-13 for their plenary assembly. On Tuesday, November 11, Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, was elected as Conference president, and Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville was elected as Conference vice president. They succeed Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, the Archbishop for the Military Services, USA, and Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, who are concluding their terms as Conference president and vice president, respectively.

WASHINGTON — Pope Leo XIV has appointed Most Reverend James F. Checchio, Bishop of Metuchen, as Coadjutor Archbishop of New Orleans. The appointment was publicized in Washington, D.C. on September 24, 2025, by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States.