By supporting Catholic Relief Services’ Rice Bowl Program this Lent, you are supporting people most in need in the Diocese of Baton Rouge as well as other parts of the globe, according to Derrick Rials, Faith and Community Partnerships Coordinator for Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Baton Rouge.
The Catholic schools community in the Diocese of Baton Rouge celebrated the achievements, growth, and values that shape its success during National Catholic Schools Week (CSW) Jan. 28 – Feb. 4. The local schools reflected on the rich legacy of Catholic education and renewed their commitment to teach the faith and work together to build upon the academic excellence, safety, and well-being of their students.
Father Taylor Sanford, chaplain and director of St. Albert Catholic Student Center in Hammond, places ashes on the forehead of Misty Wainwright, wife of SLU President Dr. William Wainwright, who is next in line. Ash Wednesday marks the first day of the Lent season, and Catholics throughout the world receive ashes. Photo courtesy of Richard Meek / The Hammond Daily Star
“Repent and believe in the Gospel” This is one of the exhortations that can be used for the imposition of ashes and they beautifully sum up the meaning and spiritual challenge of the season of Lent. Each year I try to renew in myself an image of the journey I hope to take during the Lenten season. I think I have come up with one that is simple and clearly illustrates our spiritual goal during this season.
The 2024 Lenten Season began in the Diocese of Baton Rouge Feb. 14 with Ash Wednesday Masses and the distribution of ashes. Attendees were encouraged to "Repent and believe in the Gospel" as ashes were distributed on their foreheads in the form of a cross. The ashes were created from palm branches used during the previous year's Palm Sunday Masses. St. Joseph Cathedral in Baton Rouge was filled with standing room only as Bishop Michael G. Duca celebrated the noon Mass. Photo by Debbie Shelley | The Catholic Commentator
Youth of the Diocese of Baton Rouge returned home energized and profoundly changed through the friendships they made, heart-stirring encounters they experienced, and difficulties they offered up in prayer and sacrifice during their pilgrimage to Washington, D.C., for the 2024 March for Life on January 19.
Encouraged by support from parents and families, St. Thomas Aquinas Diocesan Regional High School in Hammond has made the decision to enroll eighth graders for the 2024-25 school year.
Three dynamic speakers, including gifted preacher and author Father Larry Richards of the Diocese of Erie, Pennsylvania and pro-life activist Mark Houck, will headline the 2024 Men of the Immaculata Conference in Baton Rouge on Feb. 17.
Note: Deacon Alfred Adams retired as after 33 years of serving 33 years with the parish cluster of St. Michael the Archangel Church in Convent, St. Joseph Church in Paulina and Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Gramercy. He will continue to serve as the director of the Office of Black Catholics in the Diocese of Baton Rouge.
Representatives from the Catholic Schools Office of the Diocese of Baton Rouge and St. Michael the Archangel High School in Baton Rouge said they are pleased with the response to the inaugural Catholic Educator Career Expo held at the diocesan high school last month.
A spirit-filled Mass with gospel music and vibrant worship and concelebrated by several bishops, including a native son of New Roads, marked the one-hundredth anniversary of St. Augustine Catholic Church just before Christmas last month.
The restoration of the first among the stained-glass windows St. Joseph Cathedral plans to refurbish was successfully completed, according to the cathedral’s clergy and staff.
Making Christmas as merry as possible for children living in poverty was the driving force for the donors, hundreds of volunteers, and St. Vincent de Paul Society staff members who came together behind the scenes for this year’s gift distribution program Dec. 16 at the SVDP Dining Room.
While grief has no set timeline, the holidays can be a time of heightened emotional stress with the loss of a loved one. The grief can be more acute for those struggling with the loss of loved ones who died by suicide.
Father Taylor Sanford, chaplain at St. Albert Church on the campus of Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, delivers the benediction at the end of the Presidential Investiture ceremony while new president Dr. William Wainwright bows his head in prayer. Earlier in the day, Father Sanford celebrated Mass in honor of the new president at St. Albert, a service Mass in which Wainwright said he “did most of my crying.” Photo provided by Richard Meek / The Daily Star/Hammond
With the fourth Sunday of Advent falling on Christmas Eve this year, Catholics may lack clarity in how to observe the full liturgical calendar as well as fulfill their Mass attendance obligations. Is there a two-for-one Mass – on Christmas Eve, for example – that would fulfill all obligations?
The Office of Marriage and Family Life for the Diocese of Baton Rouge received notice last month it has qualified for a financial grant to strengthen marriages in the diocese over a three-year period.
Getting back to the basics at Advent will help families “start over” and bond as they prepare for the coming of Jesus at Christmas, said Darryl Ducote, director of the Office of Family Life for the Diocese of Baton Rouge.