Diocese launches new website

A redesigned website recently launched by the Diocese of Baton Rouge is not only an invitation to evangelization but also an information outlet for all diocesan news, according to Episcopal Vicar Father Jamin David.

The website debuted in late November with a soft launch, and on the first Sunday in Advent was officially launched.

“Part of the goal was to reorient and decide what is the purpose of the website,” Father David, the curator behind the site’s redevelopment, said of the nearly year-long process. “Is its purpose to intentionally provide information to employees, managers and people affiliated with the diocese or is it more of an evangelization tool?”

He said the website committee, which was originally formed with several members but eventually dwindled to essentially three, agreed the purpose was to focus on evangelization and in tandem provide information and resources not only to Catholic Life Center employees but the entirety of the faithful of the diocese.

“I think evangelization has to do with invitation,” Father David said. “The website invites people to come in and see a little bit more but invites all of the different ministries and apostolates of the diocese to be able to put out their information about the faith, which is what we are all supposed to be doing. It’s about sharing the good news of the Gospel.”

He said the website allows visitors to learn more about what each ministry and apostolate has to offer.

“I think we have a lot of good things that go on in terms of the Catholic Life Center, and I think their stories are untold,” Father David said. “Our goal is to take whatever we had before to showcase and people can have more convenient access.”

The website offers a cleaner, fresher look with several amenities, one of the most important being it is more navigable than in the past. Father David said the majority of professional website developers stress that information be accessible with no more than two clicks and that every effort was made to reach that goal.

“Not always but we did the best we could,” he said.

The website is organized to the schematics of the revamped diocesan organizational chart, which was recently released. As a visitor becomes more familiar with the new system, that person should be able to easily find the different ministries in each secretariat, Father David said.

The website not only provides locations of each church parish but also presents pictures, a history and stories regarding that particular parish. A link to each parish’s website is also available.

Additionally, the website provides information, based on one’s location, to the closest church and the time of the closest available Mass.

He said website visitors will be able to see at a glimpse of the banner some of more pertinent news and events in the diocese. An announcement link will be used to inform people about important diocesan developments.

He said for the first time stories from The Catholic Commentator will be highlighted on the diocesan home page and will allow people the opportunity to locate Catholic Life TV resources, such as Bishop Michael G. Duca’s daily Mass.

Also for the first time portals will be available for people to donate online to apostolates and the hope is that one day parishioners will be able to donate directly to parishes.

There is also a link to donate directly to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal.

Father David is hoping to engage Bishop Duca to do more outreach through intersecretariat interaction.

“I hope (the website) continues to grow and expand, and I hope it is a good way to evangelize,” Father David said. “This is another way to be able to access The Catholic Commentator if you don’t get it in print at a store or parish. It’s another way to digest the news, perhaps more quickly and conveniently than before. And people will have access to Catholic Life TV that they never had before.

“People are digesting content more digitally than ever before, and it’s our way of catching up with that.”

He has heard numerous compliments regarding the new website, “especially from people outside. They said it was long overdue.”

The launch is also timely as the diocese and country continues to struggle with the coronavirus pandemic. With a chuckle, he said he wishes it could have been rolled out in March, when the pandemic first gripped the nation.

“It would have been much easier to communicate and communicate quickly,” he said.

He noted that Father Michael Alello, pastor of St. Thomas More Church in Baton Rouge, Fr. Chris Decker, Secretary for Communications, and chancery secretary Mary Woodruff were part of the  committee that initiated the changes.

Although the website is new, it is still accessed at diobr.org.