The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lake Charles (Latin: Dioecesis Lacus Carolini), is a particular church located in southwest 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.
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.
The statue of the Millennium Christ is located in Bilbo Cemetery in Lake Charles. The actual name of the statue is "Jesus Christ Our Citizen of the Centuries" and it stands atop an eight-foot Labrador green granite base. The statue was sculpted by Janie Stine LaCroix, a native of nearby Sulphur and a descendant of John Jacob Ryan Jr., who is regarded as being the 'Father of Lake Charles'; Ryan is buried in the cemetery. The statue is regarded as being a symbol of peace and unity for all citizens and faiths of southwest Louisiana.
On 6 March 2007 Pope Benedict XVI named Monsignor Glen John Provost as the new bishop. On 23 April 2007, Bishop Provost was ordained to the episcopate, and formally installed by the Archbishop of New Orleans, Alfred C. Hughes.
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.
Ordinaries
The list of the bishops of the diocese and their years of service:
- Jude Speyrer †(1980â€"2000)
- Edward Kenneth Braxton (2000â€"2005) â€" Appointed bishop of Belleville (Illinois) on March 15, 2005.
- Glen John Provost (2007â€"present)
†= deceased
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.
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.
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
References
External links
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Lake Charles Official Site