News and Press

By Jim Graves
Our Sunday Visitor

The National Shrine of St. Katharine Drexel in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, which houses the remains and relics of the saint who founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in 1891, will permanently close on Dec. 31, Sister Donna Breslin, president of the community, announced recently.



LAKE CHARLES – Bishop Glen John Provost has appointed Father Nathan Long as Rector of St. Louis Catholic High School.

LAKE CHARLES — Two priests, Father Jude Fernando, T.O.R, a native of Sri Lanka, and the other, Father John Payne, a priest of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, have been appointed to pastoral positions in the Diocese of Lake Charles.

How can I repay the Lord for all the good done for me?”  Psalm 116:12

My dear People of God,

Having completed our pledges for Return to the Lord, I wish to express my gratitude for your open-hearted generosity in this endeavor providing for the future needs of the Diocese of Lake Charles. All of our parishes contributed.  Over fifty percent of them contributed over their goals.  Approximately 33 percent of all registered families participated.  Return to the Lord greatly exceeded our expectations.

LAKE CHARLES – The Most Reverend Glen John Provost, Bishop of Lake Charles, has approved a leave of absence from priestly ministry in the diocese to Rev. John Huckaby, pastor of St. Theodore Catholic Church in Moss Bluff.

LAKE CHARLES – Rev. Jude Fernando, TOR, a priest of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis, has been named interim administrator of Our Lady of LaSalette Catholic Church in DeQuincy, according to Bishop Glen John Provost.

BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops (LCCB) released a statement - "It's Time to Affirm Life Without Exception: The Death Penalty is Not Acceptable" – on Tuesday, April 18.

WASHINGTON--Deirdre McQuade, primary spokeswoman on abortion for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), welcomed passage of the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2017" (H.R. 7) by the U.S. House of Representatives. "By passing this legislation, the House has taken a decisive step toward respect for unborn human life, reflecting the will of the American people," she said.

LAKE CHARLES – The Fatima Centennial Celebration in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception will begin at 6 a.m. each day Friday, May 5, through Friday, May 12, with a Novena and Rosary Procession, followed by Low Mass.

LAKE CHARLES – The second annual presentation of the “Pro Vita” awards highlighted the 2017 Respect Life Banquet, sponsored by the Office of Pro-Life of the Diocese of Lake Charles, held recently. Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, the founder and president of the Ruth Institute, a global non-profit organization, dedicated to creating a Christ-like solution to family breakdown was the guest speaker.  The honorees were Hailey Guth of Our Lady Queen of Heaven Catholic Church in the youth category and Lea Poncho of St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church in the adult layperson classification.