'I am at home'

Bishop Michael G. Duca paused, reflecting on his first three years as bishop of the Diocese of Baton Rouge, a brief albeit challenging tenure.

“I keep waiting for the time I can have an ordinary year as a bishop,” he said, revealing his warm smile that has endeared him to so many. “Now maybe that does not exist; maybe there is no such thing as an ordinary year.”

Indeed, the past three years have been anything but ordinary. Since his Aug. 24, 2018 installation, Bishop Duca has had to confront the COVID-19 pandemic, churches shuttered, budget shortfalls that led to staff reductions, racial unrest and Hurricane Ida.

But through all of the turbulence Bishop Duca has been a gentle, calming shepherd. Admittedly, he has to make difficult decisions but each guideline or letter he has issued has spiritual encouragement and nourishment.

“One of the things about being bishop the last three years is that in some ways in regard to getting to know the people I feel like I’ve been here only a year and a half,” he said. “The first 18 months I got out more, got out to parish fairs, more in-house gatherings on a personal basis, group dinners.

“Then (the two-month lockdown) happened. I feel like I’ve been cheated out of a year and a half.”

Touching on his early days in Baton Rouge, Bishop Duca recalled how he was surprised by the call notifying him of his appointment to Baton Rouge. Having spent the previous 10 years as bishop of Shreveport, and only nine years shy of his 75th birthday, which is the mandatory retirement age for bishops, he naturally thought he would remain in Shreveport.

But he was quick to point out since his arrival in Baton Rouge “I’m really glad to be here. This has been a good assignment.”

However, there was little time for him to settle in. Immediately, he was coordinating the release of the names of diocesan priests who had been involved in sexual abuse in the past. 

“The list,” as Bishop Duca called it, took nearly six months to complete, but it was also during that time he was to meet individually with all of his priests.

“That was a really good thing,” he said. “It was a great time to learn about the history of the diocese. I learned (the history of each priest), and I began to get an idea of where the parishes were. 

“There were so many good things that happened that first year.”

In the spring of 2019 the bishop began confirmations and visiting all of the schools in the diocese. At times, he would visit a school during the day and have a confirmation later that night.

“As crazy as it was, I did realize how much joy I got out of visiting the schools,” he said. “Doing the confirmations and visiting the schools was pretty much the way I got around to all of the parishes and schools that first year.”

By the time he returned from his annual July vacation, Bishop Duca was optimistic 2019-20 (August through July) would be a “normal year.”

In December he went on his ad lumina visit when a bishop visits with the pope every five years. 

“That was a great visit,” he said of his time with Pope Francis. 

“And then came March 13 (when Gov. John Bel Edwards locked down the state),” said.

 Those early days presented unprecedented challenges to bishops nationwide

“You had a situation we have not gone through before,” he said. “(The bishops nationwide) were making it up as we go.”

What was most difficult, Bishop Duca said, was frequently engaging the diocese with new guidelines. He admitted some people were frustrated, asking him why he didn’t talk about the Gospel rather than COVID-19 guidelines.

“At that point in my life that was what was needed to be done,” he said. “Our priests needed guidelines; we had to decide what to do together. We did not even know what the parameters were.”

Bishop Duca said the best thing he did at that time came about quite innocently. During the shutdown he began to celebrate the daily Mass from St. Joseph Chapel at the Bishop Robert E. Tracy Center that was aired on Catholic Life TV, a practice he continues 18 months later.

“It has helped me in my daily life,” the bishop said. “Even priests, all of their activities, saying Mass for the people, you lose some of the things that stabilize you in terms of our prayer life.”

“That daily Mass got me up in the morning,” he said. “I’ve often said if I did not have that daily (8 a.m.) Mass (during the lockdown) I might wake up at 10 or 11 o’clock because I had nothing to do in the morning.”

He has been awestruck by the positive response, perhaps the biggest impression being when individuals have told him “I know my bishop for the first time.”

During that same time, another drama was unfolding with the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. As in many other communities, Baton Rouge was gripped by racial unrest.

Bishop Duca said he was more attuned to those issues because one of the first things he did in Baton Rouge was attend a six-week racial sensitivity seminar. He has also attended similar presentations virtually hosted by the diocesan Racial Harmony Commission.

“What I wasn’t aware of was the vitality of the African American community,” he said. “And many more of the African American parishes that are strong also have a rich history. That was another whole area I had to learn and been trying to do through my (parish) visits.”

He was also troubled by the fact the diocese has only one African American priest and at the time no Black Seminarians.

“I said this is not right. Even in Shreveport we had one African American seminarian but none in Baton Rouge,” the bishop said.

He is hoping changes he made to the Vocations Department will inspire more diveristy among the clergy and ultimately church leaders.

He has also been impressed with the vibrancy of the Hispanic and Vietnamese communities. 

As the pandemic wore on in 2020, Bishop Duca confronted gut-wrenching decisions regarding restructuring the diocese and staff reductions.

“One of the issues we faced with COVID was we had a very large number of staff and a lot of activity around our Tracy Center facilities,” he said. “It had become a place where we could have weekend and overnight retreats, as well as proms, wedding receptions.”

But COVID hit and suddenly that income went away. Additionally revenue was declining at the parish level, and it is a portion of that income that supports the diocese.

“We realized it was not going to get any better so we found ourselves where we had to reduce our staff (at the Tracy Center) and reduce non-essential staff in the Catholic Life Center in order to make a budget without putting added undue burden on the parishes,” he said of those decisions, which took effect July 1, 2020.

“It was very hard because you begin to build relationships,” the bishop added. “I was here only a year and half and I had begun to know them. Others knew them very well.”

Moving forward, Bishop Duca said he will examine the Tracy Center and how best to maximize its potential, especially regarding spiritual retreats and other religious events. He said events will be mission centered and perhaps not as secular.

“I would love to get back into the retreat business,” he said in a hopeful tone. 

Bishop Duca acknowledged the past three years have also changed the way in which he approaches management. In a smaller diocese like Shreveport, he was able to take more of a personal approach.

“Here, I don’t have the time so I trust a lot of people to do that, and I’ve learned how to (delegate) more out of necessity,” he said. “While I find there is more work here, I have more priests able to work alongside me in the chancery.”

He has also learned that as difficult as it was to leave Shreveport, the move to Baton Rouge has been a wonderful change. He admitted the move was “not as traumatic.”

“One of the things that has become more of my life as a bishop is submission to God’s will, which brings peace of mind,” he added. “I don’t fight it anymore; this is what I’m called to do.”

He is humbled by the way in which people in every corner of the diocese have been welcoming and admits “after three years I am at home in Baton Rouge.”

“I still haven’t figured out where one street becomes another street,” he laughed.

But he also believes he is “in the right place where God wants me,” even as he awaits a “normal  year.”