Roman Catholic Diocese of Lake Charles
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lake Charles (Latin: Dioecesis Lacus Carolini), is a particular church located in Lake Charles, Louisiana (USA). It is a fairly new diocese of the Roman Catholic Church, being founded on January 29, 1980. It is suffragan to the Archdiocese of New Orleans.[1]
Diocese of Lake Charles Dioecesis Lacus Carolini | |
---|---|
![]() Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception | |
![]() | |
Location | |
Country | ![]() |
Territory | The Civil Parishes of: Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, and Jefferson Davis |
Ecclesiastical province | Archdiocese of New Orleans |
Population - Catholics | 80,519 (29%) |
Information | |
Denomination | Catholic |
Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
Rite | Roman Rite |
Established | January 29, 1980 |
Cathedral | Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception |
Patron saint | Mary Immaculate, Mother of Jesus St. Peter Claver |
Current leadership | |
Pope | Francis |
Bishop | Glen John Provost Bishop of Lake Charles |
Metropolitan Archbishop | Gregory Michael Aymond Archbishop of New Orleans |
Map | |
![]() | |
Website | |
lcdiocese.org |
On March 6, 2007 Pope Benedict XVI named Glen John Provost as the new bishop. On April 23, 2007, Bishop Provost was ordained to the episcopate, and formally installed by the Archbishop of New Orleans, Alfred C. Hughes.
Description
The diocese is administered from the city of Lake Charles. The patron saint of the diocese is St. Peter Claver and the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception serves as the Episcopal see.
The Diocese comprises five civil parishes: Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, and Jefferson Davis.
Mission statement
The mission statement of the Diocese reads as follows:
- The Diocese of Lake Charles embraces fully the mission of the Roman Catholic Church to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Church in Southwest Louisiana by entering into the Mystery of the Life, Death, and Resurrection of Christ in the sacramental nature of the Catholic Church and with particular emphasis on the call to holiness, service to the poor and marginalized, the education of young people, the promotion of natural marriage and the family, fostering a respect for human life at all stages, responding to the needs of victims of violence and abuse, and witnessing faithfully to the Truth of Jesus Christ in local society and daily life.
Bishops
The list of the bishops of the diocese and their years of service:
- Jude Speyrer (1980-2000)
- Edward Kenneth Braxton (2000-2005), appointed Bishop of Belleville
- Glen John Provost (2007–present)
Other priest of this diocese who became Bishop:
- Sam Joseph Galip Jacobs, appointed Bishop of Alexandria in 1989
Child Sexual Abuse
Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office and Louisiana State Police arrested Mark Broussard, 56, on Thursday, March 22, 2012. Broussard was accused of abusing three boys as young as 8 years old while serving at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Catholic Church and St. Henry's Catholic Church in Lake Charles, La.
Broussard was eventually charged with 224 counts of abuse which were later consolidated into 10 counts to ease the burden on the victims. Three additional victims declined to pursue charges against Broussard.[2]
At the time of his arrest Broussard's personnel file contained documents indicating the Diocese of Lake Charles knew Broussard had sexual contact with at least four other children but these incidents were never reported to law enforcement.[3]
Broussard later served as pastor of St. Eugene Catholic Church in Grand Chenier where he resigned from the priesthood in 1994.
High schools
- St. Louis Catholic High School, Lake Charles