News - From Our Bishop RSS Feed

Do you feel it?! Do you feel that unique joy and hope that surrounds us in our celebration of the Savior’s birth? It is not a logical hope because it comes in spite of the difficulties of life and the upheavals we see throughout the world. At times the world seems like a dead stump and as hard as we look there is no sprout, no hope. Why be so hopeful? We are hopeful because we do not hope in the world. We are hopeful because our God does not allow us to shut him out completely. He finds a space to enter our lives even if it means entering through a stable. Our Christmas joy is found in our HOPE IN THE LORD who does not, did not give up on us. The tree of Jesse that appears dead, gives life. The ancient prophesies for which people of faith waited centuries, are fulfilled. Where it seemed all was lost a Savior is born and the love of God is not held back. In spite of our troubles and concerns, we have hope in our God who is Emmanuel, God with us and born for us this Christmas Day. I pray that this hope will fill you and your family with joy this Christmas. I also pray that you have a prosperous, healthy and faith filled New Year. Hope in the Lord and Merry Christmas.

Pandemic restrictions lifted

For the first service of Easter in the Catholic Church we are instructed the Easter Vigil should begin in the darkness of night.

Bishop Duca to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation to adults in the Diocese of Baton Rouge who have not yet been confirmed and are properly prepared.  The celebration will be on the Solemnity of Pentecost, Sunday, June 5, 2022, 10:30AM Mass at St. Joseph Cathedral in Baton Rouge.

It seems like every day I remark about how I can’t wait until we get back to normal!  Yet, if I am honest, except for the first few months when we were locked down, life in the church has continued.

In the Book of Genesis, we learn that when Abraham arrived at the land promised to him by God he “built an altar to the Lord”(Gn 12:7)

Given declining infection rates not only in the Greater Baton Rouge Area but throughout Louisiana, I am now modifying several of our practices based upon medical advice, wisdom, and recommendations from state leaders.  

To the Priests, Principals, and the Faithful of the Diocese of Baton Rouge: Protecting our brothers and sisters and providing a healthy and safe environment for all, especially for our children, faculty, and staff of our Catholic Schools, are chief concerns of our Church.  Offering this protection has been the motivating principle guiding the creation of policies and procedures for our churches and schools throughout this pandemic. 

Return to Church and Allow Jesus a Place in Your Heart

On April 22 Gov. John Bel Edwards presented new guidance concerning our response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and these guidelines allow us the opportunity to begin opening our churches to full capacity again.  In considering these new guidelines, I want us to be aware that COVID is still spreading, even if at low and stable levels, and this should be a part of our consideration.  To pretend that the danger is completely over could sabotage all the efforts and progress we have made up to this point. Yet with this caution acknowledged, I want to offer for the first time since this pandemic began a more proactive process to bring us all back together in our churches again.

We need the power of Christ’s resurrection to lift us out of our sadness and grief.  This hope is not a panacea that will protect us from the hard work before us to heal, restore and inspire our broken world.  But it is a hope that will sustain our mission in difficult times because our hope is in Jesus Christ crucified and risen from the dead who is greater than any difficulties we may face.  

Weddings will now be allowed to be celebrated on Saturday evenings in the Diocese of Baton Rouge, effective upon the decree’s publication in The Catholic Commentator. 

The penitential character of what we observe as church during the Lenten season has surely been magnified during the past year! Beginning in March 2020, Lent was quickly interrupted by a total lockdown.

Bishop Duca has released a letter with a renewed call to observe safe procedures in this time of pandemic. It will be presented at all Masses the weekend of the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Bishop Duca reflects with the Diocesan community in his annual Christmas message.

One day I was having a conversation with my dad about growing up in Dallas.  He explained that his south Dallas neighborhood was made up of mainly Italian, Jewish and African American families.