Many things have occurred in the life of the Diocese of Lake Charles since the official announcement of the formation of the new diocese on January 29, 1980.

The Most Reverend Jude Speyrer was named as first bishop of the Diocese on that date and his installation came on April 25.  The first priest ordained for the new Diocese was the Rev. Whitney Miller on June 6, 1980 and on September 8 the first class of deacons was ordained. The following day St. Peter Claver was proclaimed the patron saint for the fledgling Diocese.

“Glad Tidings,” the Sunday morning diocesan television program first aired on October 5.

St. Theodore Holy Family School became the first new parochial school in the Diocese on August 1, 1982. In September 100 years of Catholic education was celebrated in the Diocese.

The publication of the first issue of the Catholic Calendar, a twice-monthly page appearing in the Lake Charles American Press, occurred on September 18.

Bishop Speyrer blessed St. Jude Chapel, the first new chapel built in the Diocese, on October 27, 1983 in Dry Creek. Later in 1983 St. Charles Borromeo in Fenton became the first new parish established in the Diocese.

The executive and administrative offices of the Diocese moved to quarters on the fifth floor of the Weber Building in downtown Lake Charles in late 1983.

On April 21, 1985 the offices of the Bishop, Vicar General, Chancellor and Tribunal moved into permanent quarters at the former home of Calcasieu Council 1207 Knights of Columbus and Lady of the Lake Court 695, Catholic Daughters of the Americas building at 414 Iris Street, which was given to the Diocese. The building was dedicated by the Most Reverend (now Cardinal) Pio Laghi, Apostolic Nuncio. Cardinal Laghi died in Rome on January 11, 2009.

The Seafarers Center at the Port of Lake Charles was dedicated on January 15, 1987. Later in the month the first edition of The Southwest Catholic, the diocesan newspaper, was published.

In October 1987 the offices of religious education, Catholic Schools, communications and development moved to quarters located at the site of the former Our Lady of Mount Olivet Benedictine Monastery located at the former Chennault Air Force Base.

In April 1988 Bishop Speyrer made his first “Ad Limina” visit to Rome and Msgr. Irving A. DeBlanc, P.A. marked the 50th anniversary of his ordination.

The Holy Ghost Fathers gave up the care of Sacred Heart Parish in May 1988. Priests of the Society of the Divine Word take over and continue there until 1999, when they too would leave the Diocese.

Msgr. Harry Greig, vicar general and chancellor, was given a three-year assignment  in Rome in August 1988.
  
Bishop Speyrer celebrated Mass on June 4, 1988 in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in observance of the beatification of Mother Katharine Drexel.

In July the Reverend Sam G. Jacobs was appointed the 10th Bishop of the Diocese of Alexandria.
 
In January 1990, Archbishop Francis Schulte of New Orleans presided at the 10th Anniversary Mass of the Diocese. In December 1990 Msgr. Jules Daigle is honored on his 90th birthday and the 65th anniversary of his ordination. Our Lady Help of Christians Parish celebrates its 100th anniversary in January 1992.

In March 1993 the contracts are signed for the construction of Saint Charles Center, located on 69 acres in Moss Bluff. Construction begins in April and on April 1, 1995 the facility is completed.

Two hundred youth of the Diocese attend World Youth Day in Denver in August 1993.

Various buildings at Saint Charles Center are named for Msgr. Hubert Cramers, Father Joseph Peeters, the A. J. M. Oustalet Jr. Family and Dr. W. J. Brulet in January 1995. The Apostolic Pro-Nuncio, Archbishop Agostino Caccivillain dedicates Saint Charles Center on November 5, 1995.

Msgr. Daigle is honored at his 70th anniversary as a priest and his 95th birthday in January 1996 and in March His Eminence, Bernard Cardinal Law, Archbishop of Boston, speaks at the 25th anniversary of St. Louis Catholic High School.

In January 1997 a  three-year pilgrimage to every church parish in the Diocese begins.

In November 1997 the Diocese announces its presence on the World Wide Web.

In January 1998, Msgr. Jules Daigle, the oldest priest in the Diocese dies.

In July 1999 the Diocese purchased the building at 411 Iris Street and moved the offices of Evangelization, Catholic Schools, School Food Services, Religious Education and Youth Ministry, Marriage and Family Ministries and Communications from the Chennault campus to that site.

On December 31, 1999 Night Watch ceremonies at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of Prompt Succor; St. Philip Neri, Sacred Heart of Creole and Our Lady Help of Christians usher in the Jubilee Year 2000.

On January 28, 2000 a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the first public announcement of the establishment of the Diocese is celebrated with an exhibition of pen and ink drawings of the 36 parish churches in the Diocese. It is held in the Lobby of the Hibernia Bank Tower.

On December 12, 2000, the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, named the Most Reverend Edward K. Braxton as the Second Bishop of Lake Charles succeeding Bishop Speyrer, whose retirement he accepted on the same date.

On February 21, 2001, Bishop Braxton took canonical possession of the Diocese of Lake Charles during Evening Vespers at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

The next day, February 22, Bishop Braxton was installed as the Second Bishop of Lake Charles during Mass at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Church. Channel 7, KPLC-TV, broadcast the two-hour long mass in its entirety and it was preceded by a 90 minute special heralding the 21 years of Bishop Speyrer’s leadership and providing an insight to the new shepherd, Bishop Braxton.

On June 2, 2001, Bishop Braxton ordained the Rev. Anthony Fontenot to the priesthood for the Diocese of Lake Charles.

On December 1, 2001, the Bishop ordained 10 men for the Permanent Diaconate. On May 18, 2002, two more priests, the Rev. Marcus Johnson and the Rev. Charles McMillin were ordained by Bishop Braxton and then on August 17 a third, Rev. Clyde Thomas, who had studied at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium, was ordained. The three ordinations in a single year are the most since the establishment of the Diocese.

Two new parishes for the Diocese of Lake Charles, Christ the King and St. Martin dePorres, were established by Episcopal Decree on September 30, 2002
 
On July 1, 2003, the Rev. Aubrey Guilbeau was appointed Rector of the Cathedral, Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia as the Rev. Msgr. Harry D. Greig became Pastor of St. Mary of the Lake Parish in Big Lake.

Bishop-emeritus Jude Speyrer was honored on July 25, 2003 on the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

Bishop Braxton’s pastoral letter, “The Shape of the Church to Come,” was issued on June 27, 2004. The letter dealt with vocations, the need to support our priests, and probable closure of some mission chapels. Unfortunately, those closures came on Feb. 13, 2005 when seven chapels closed.

On March 15, 2005, the Holy See announced the appointment of Bishop Braxton as Bishop of Belleville, Illinois. .

The 25th anniversary of the Diocese was celebrated on April 25, 2005 with a special Mass of Thanksgiving in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

On June 22, 2005, Bishop Braxton was installed as the Bishop of Belleville and on June 24, 2005, the College of Consultors of the Diocese elected Msgr. Greig as the Diocesan Administrator to serve until a new Bishop is seated.

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina pounded southeast Louisiana and western Mississippi. While New Orleans was saved from the winds of the hurricane, the levees surrounding the city were breached and tens of thousands were forced to flee their homes. The devastation and horror were chronicled in the national and international media. The Diocese of Lake Charles stepped forward to provide as much assistance to those who had fled the aftermath of the storm with food, shelter and other aid.

Hurricane Rita became the second tropical cyclone to wreak havoc on the state when it hit near the Louisiana-Texas state line on August 24, 2005. The storm’s 100 plus miles per hour winds and more than 15 foot storm surge devastated lower Cameron Parish. The parishes of St. Peter the Apostle in Hackberry, Our Lady Star of the Sea in Cameron, Sacred Heart of Jesus in Creole and St. Eugene in Grand Chenier were nearly wiped out. St. Mary of the Lake in Big Lake was inundated with nearly two feet of floodwaters. The mission chapels of Holy Trinity in Holly Beach, Immaculate Conception in Grand Chenier, and St. Rose of Lima in Creole were destroyed, with the debris carried away by the wind and water. Our Lady of the Assumption Chapel in Johnson Bayou, the closest church to the spot where the eye of the storm made landfall was damaged but was back in operation by Easter 2006.

St. Patrick Chapel in Sweetlake, a mission of St. Mary of the Lake, became the hub for parishioners of the three parishes in lower Cameron. Rev. Joseph McGrath, pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus, has served to faithful of those three communities from St. Patrick, which had only minimal wind damage which was repaired rapidly.

Every parish in the Diocese was damaged to some extent by the storm, some more than others, but all began work as soon as possible to make repairs, reopen and more importantly to care for those people who came to their doors for help. The Catholic schools of the Diocese also sustained damage, particularly Sacred Heart of Jesus/Saint Katharine Drexel. The main building of the school, a former convent for the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, who once staffed the school, had to be gutted. The elementary students there were forced to move to the site of the former Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic School on Cherry Street.