the acadiana catholic

The Official Monthly Publication of the Diocese of Lafayette

AcAdiAnA cAtholic April2011 Volume27 Number4

2009

InsidethisissueDonald Mayeaux, Sr., appointed by Bishop Maurice Schexnayder in 1961, still serving .............6

“Come to the Well” retreat to be held June 24 ...........8

Catholic schools recognize leadership ......................10

Seminarians to be instituted into ministries leading to ordination ......11

2010 Diocese of Lafayette annual report ...............23-26

Opus Christi Magnum event begins 2011 charitable series ............27

Carmelites to celebrate 75th anniversary ............37

Catholic High student named 2011 Louisiana Young Hero ....................39

Woman-to-Woman Catholic Conference details announced .....................43

LAFAYETTEThe2011Man-to-ManCatho-

licMen’sConferencewillbeheldSaturday,April 30, 2011, at theCajunDome Convention CenterinLafayette,from8:30a.m.until5:30p.m.

Keynotespeakerfortheeventwill be Notre Dame’s legendaryRudy Re-uttigerwhowill joinn a t i o n a lpersonali-ties JesseR o m e r o ,Father Lar-ry Rich-ards, localf a v o r i t e sFatherTedBroussard,RickCam-

2011Man-to-ManCatholicMen’sConferencetobeoneofthebestbre,andFatherBryceSibleywhowill serve as master of ceremo-nies.

E a r l yregistrationis recom-m e n d e dand shouldbe paid byApril 10.The $30registrationfeewillincludelunchwhichwillbeservedattheCajunDome.Duetocateringdeadlines,afterApril10, the $30 registration fee willnot include lunch. CajunDomeconcessionswillbeavailableforlateregistrantstopurchase.

Specialfeaturesoftheconfer-ence will include: breakout ses-

sionswithFathersFloydCalais,MichaelRusso,AaronMelanconandMichaelDelcambre.

S p e c i a lenter tain-ment willbe featuredt h r o u g h -out theday. TheSacramentof Recon-c i l i a t i o nwill alsobe available all day. The day’sactivities will conclude with thecelebration of Holy Mass pre-ceded by the novena of DivineMercy.

The following biographicalinformationonthespeakerswas

takenfromtheConference’sweb-site,www.mantomancc.com:

“Daniel ‘Rudy’ Ruettiger,against all odds on a gridironin SouthBend, Indi-ana,carvedhis nameintohistorybooks asperhapsthemost fa-mous grad-uate of theUniversityofNotreDame.Thesonofanoilrefinery worker and third of 14 children,Rudyrosefromvalleysofdiscouragementanddespairtothe pinnacles of success. Rudycapturesaudienceswithhiscon-tagious enthusiasm, portraying

Rudy Reuttiger

Jesse Romero

Father Larry Richards

Rick Cambre

(Continued on page 4)

LAFAYETTECatholic parishioners in the

stateofLouisianaandotherUSre-gionsareinvitingtheirneighbors,relatives and co-workers back totheirchurchfamilyforLentusingcreative television commercialsdeveloped by the Atlanta basednon-profit Catholics Come Home, Inc.

CatholicsComeHome.orgisaninitiativeofevangelizationtowel-comepeoplehometotheCatholicChurch,andacollaborativeeffort

CatholicsComeHomecampaignbringingthousandsbacktotheChurch

betweenCatholicsComeHome®andtheDioceseofLafayette.

Lafayette Bishop Michael Jar-rellsaidofCatholicsComeHome,“Thosewhohaveseentheadsarefavorablyimpressed.IbelievetheLordwantsustoextendtheinvi-tationineverywaythatwecan.Ibelievehewillblessourefforts.”

CatholicsComeHome, Inc. isalayCatholicorganizationwhichcreatesandbroadcastsmediames-sagesthatextendagentleinvitationtoinactiveCatholicsandothersto

comehometo theCatholicfaith.“Our invitation is simple,” saysPresidentandFounderTomPeter-son:“WeareCatholic.Welcomehome.”ThegrassrootsCatholicsCome Home.org movement isabletoairtelevisioncommercialsthankstothesupportofthousandsoflocalCatholicfamilieswhoareeagertosharetheirCatholicfaithwith friends, relatives, neighborsandcoworkers.

Nearly800commercialswillair

Msgr. Harry E. Benefiel, Jr, 90, priest, educator, administratorByKathleenToupsLAFAYETTE

They came, two bishops, anhonor guard of firemen (he had been chaplain of the LafayetteFireDepartment),alargecontin-gent of clergy, friends and rela-tives,studentsfromSt.Edmund’shighschool,Eunice.Theycamefromallover toattendtheMassof Christian Burial for Msgr.Harry Benefiel in the Cathedral ofSt.JohntheEvangelist.Msgr.

Msgr. Benefiel

Benefiel, 90, diedMarch13.

“Wegathertopraise, worshipand thank Godforhisgifttousof this personandpriestHarryE. Benefiel, Jr.,”

saidMsgr.RichardGreeneashebeganhishomily.

Bishop Michael Jarrell, prin-cipal concelebrant, was joined

by Bishop Glen John Provostof Lake Charles, Father ChesterArceneaux, pastor of the Cathe-dral,whoreadtheGospel;FatherW.CurtisMallet,VicarGeneral;Msgr. Robert Romero, pastor ofSt.Anthony,Eunice,VicaroftheNorthRegion.

In a statement issued beforethe funeral, Bishop Jarrell saidMsgr. Benefiel “faithfully and


April 2011 Acadiana Catholic

ACADIANA CATHOLIC (ISSN0888-0247) (USPS507-760) is publishedmonthly for$12peryearby theSouthwestPress,1408Carmel Ave., Lafayette, LA 70501-5306. Periodical postage paid at Lafayette, LA and additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER:SendaddresschangestoAcadianaCatholic,1408CarmelAve.,La-fayette, LA 70501-5306

Official Monthly Newspaper for the Diocese of Lafayette, LouisianaCopyright2011

PublisherMost Rev. Michael Jarrell, D.D.

BishopofLafayette

Editor/DirectorDeacon Thomas R. Sommers

(337) 261-5513 [email protected]

Marketing DirectorBusiness Mgr / Advertising Director

Patrick Breaux(337) 235-7704 [email protected]

Staff WriterStephanie R. Martin

(337) 261-5512 [email protected]

Contributing WriterKathleen Toups

Theological ConsultantsMsgr. H.A. Larroque, J.C.D.Father Curtis Mallet, J.C.L.

Vicars General

TheDioceseofLafayetteserveseightcivilparisheswithpopulation of 331,000 Catholics. Published monthly.Deadlinefornewsandadvertisingcopyisnoonofthe15thdayofthemonthprecedingpublication.Forrenewalsub-scriptions, the name of your church parish and your ad-dress label (if available) are requested. The publisher and editor reserve the right to reject, omit or edit any articleor letter submitted forpublication. TheRomanCatholicDioceseofLafayetteand/ortheAcadiana Catholiccannotbeheldliable,orinanywayresponsibleforthecontentofanyadvertisementprintedinthispaper.

Diocese of Lafayette Web page:www.diolaf.org

AcAdiAnA cAtholic

From the Acadiana Catholic, April 1999 – Pictured in Washington, D.C., with some of the Immacu-late Heart of Mary students are, front row, left to right, Dorsey Foreman, the school’s choir direc-tor; Mrs. Floyd Malveaux, an unidentified student, Dr. Floyd Malveaux and Germaine Ozene. Dr. Malveaux is Dean of Howard University Medical School.

thehumanspiritthatcomesfromhispersonalexperiencesofadversityandtriumph.

“Agiftedandcaptivatingspeaker,preacherandretreatmaster,FatherLarryspeaksfromexperience as a pastor of an inner city par-ish, a high school chaplain, a counselor andanevangelist.Hisinspirationaltalksandpre-sentations,alwaysauthenticandenthusiastic,have changed the hearts, minds and lives ofmillionsoflistenersworldwide.

“JesseRomero,aformernationallyrankedkick-boxer, is well known for his powerful,movingtalksonCatholicfaith.Jesseiscom-mittedtokeepingtheFaithalivebyspeakingatparishesandCatholiceventsthroughouttheUnitedStates.

“Rick Cambre is a well-known Lafayettebusinessman,Catholicparishleader,husbandandfatherofseven,includingasoninsemi-nary.Hewillspeakon‘PerseveringinMar-riage.’”

2011Man-to-ManCatholicMen’sConferencetobeoneofthebestContinued from page 3

Registration can be done online by goingto:www.mantomancc.comandfollowingreg-istrationinstructionsorbyprintingaregistra-tionformtomailinwithpayment.

throughouttheDioceseofLafayetteforsevenweeksbeginningMarch7andrunningthroughEasterSunday,April24.Adswillbeseenonmajorbroadcastandcablestationsthroughoutthediocese.

InadditiontotheDioceseofLafayette,Cath-olicsComeHome.orgislaunchingmultimediacampaignsstate-wideinLouisianathroughouttheArchdioceseofNewOrleansandthedio-cesesofBatonRouge,andHouma-Thibodaux.TheArchdioceseofBoston,andthediocesesofManchester,NH,Erie,Winona,andVeniceinFLarealsoairinginLent2011.Bytheendof Lent 2011, Catholics Come Home® com-mercials will have reached over 40 millionviewers to date through previous initiativesin 30 (arch)dioceses including: Chicago, Se-

attle,Phoenix,AtlantaandOmahahelpingover200,000peoplehometotheCatholicChurchandincreasingMassattendanceanaverageof10%,andasmuchas18%.“I’mafallen-awayCatholic.ThoseCCHcommercialsonTVgottome,”saysarecentCatholicreturneenamedFaith.“YesterdayIwenttoConfession&Mass.It felt great…Keep those commercials com-ing…!”InPhoenixandCorpusChristi,wherethe commercials first aired, it is estimated that 100,000inactiveCatholicsandconvertscamehometotheCatholicfaith.

Commercials direct viewers to CatholicsComeHome.org or to CatolicosRegresen.org(Spanish website) to learn more about the Cath-olicfaithandreturningtotheCatholicChurch.

The local campaigns precede the first nation-alcampaigntobelaunchedinAdvent2011.

CatholicsComeHomecampaignbringingthousandsbacktotheChurchContinued from page 3


An angel and three women are shown at the empty tomb of Christ in this depiction of Easter morning by German painter Pe-ter von Cornelius. Easter, the feast of the Resurrection, is April 24 in the Latin-rite Catholic Church this year. (CNS/BPK/Bayerische StaatsgemÃ¤lde-Sammlungen/Art Resource)

‘He is not here; he is risen!’


ByDeaconThomasSommersMAMOU

On May 29, 1961, Bishop MauriceSchexnayderoftheDio-ceseofLafayettewrotealettertoDonald Mayeaux, Sr., requesting that he consider serving on thenewlyformedAdvisoryCommit-teeforthediocese.

“Iaminvitingalayrepresenta-tivefromeachofthe12deaneriesofthediocesetoactasanAdvi-sory Committee for the DioceseofLafayette.

BishopSchexnayderwrote:“Iwouldliketohaveyouserve

onthiscommittee.Pleaseletmeknowifyouarewillingtoaccept.Iwouldalsoappreciateknowingifitwouldbepossibleforyoutocome toLafayette forameetingtobeheldduringthesecondhalfofthemonthofJune.

“With hope that you will ac-cept my invitation, I am, with ablessing,Sincerelyyours,+Mau-riceSchexnayder,BishopofLa-

Half a century of service to the diocese –

DonaldMayeaux,Sr.appointedbyBishopMauriceSchexnayderinMay, 1961, still serving on Diocesan Finance Advisory Board

fayette.”The following day Mayeaux

wroteBishopSchexnayderagree-ingtoserveinthatcapacity.Thefirst meeting was held June 26, 1961.

Sobegana50-year tenureforMamou businessman, DonaldMayeaux,Sr.

During the years following,Mayeaux served with BishopsGerard Frey, Harry Flynn, Ed-wardJ.O’Donnell,andnowwithBishopMichaelJarrell.

Mayeaux,whowasbornMarch26, 1920, was 41 years old when hebecameamemberoftheBish-op’s Finance Advisory Board.His wife, Gladys, to whom hewas married for 64 ½ years, died in2005.

Mayeaux is a member of theBoard of Directors of GuarantyBank and also serves as vice-presidentofthebank,ontheex-ecutive and loan committee aswellassecretarytreasurer.

Bishop Michael Jarrell, left, looks over the original letter from Bishop Maurice Schexnay-der to Donald Mayeaux, Sr., right, inviting him to be a part of the Bishop’s Finance Ad-visory Board in 1961. Photo by Deacon Tom Sommers.

He served as president of theEvangeline Parish Unit of theAmericanCancerSocietyfor27yearsandduringthistimehewasontheLouisianaStateBoardfor23years.HewasontheNationalBoardinNewYorkforfouryears,from 1973-1977.

He is the only living chartermember of the Mamou RotaryClub which he helped organizein 1950, and served as president from 1954-1955.

HewastheRotaryGovernor’sRepresentative , under two gov-ernors,fortwoyears.

OtherareasMayeauxhasbeenactive in include service for 21years on the LSUE AdvisoryCommittee, and chairman from1983-1984. He was awarded Man of theYear civic award in

1958.Hehasbeenamemberof the

KnightsofColumbusinMamousince 1948, and served as Grand Knight for two years, DistrictDeputy, and Faithful NavigatoroftheFourthDegreeKCs.

He was the first president of St.Ann’s Church parish councilandhasbeenalayministersince1977 as well as a reader and altar server.

HeenlistedintheArmyduringWorldWarIIandwasdischargedwith the rank of major. He hasbeenamemberof theAmericanLegion since 1946.

He has three sons and onedaughter, 11 grandchildren and15great-grandchildren.

“God has been very good tome,”hesayswithasmile.


SisterClaireSaizan,RSCJGRANDCOTEAU

Alumni and friends of theSchools of the Sacred Heart inGrandCoteauwereinvitedtoat-tendthevisitationandMemorialMass Saturday, March 26 for Sis-terClaireMarieSaizan,R.S.C.J.

Sister Saizan, who was 101,died in her sleep on February 16 atOakwood,retirementcommu-nityofthecongregationatAther-ton, Cal. She had asked to becrematedandherashesburiedintheReligiousoftheSacredHeartcemeteryhere.

AnativeofNewOrleans, shehadtaughtinmanyschoolsofthe

OBITUARIES

SisterEvelynEason,MSCOPELOUSAS

A Mass of Resurrection atPrompt Succor Nursing HomewascelebratedforSisterEvelynEason,MSCalsoknownasSisterSimeonrecently.

Shewasprecededindeathbyhermother, JuliaFerrettiEason,her father, Robert Eason, twobrothers,ClaudeandPaulEason,and one sister, Eleanor Batistel-la.

She is survived by nieces,nephews, many cousins and ahostoffriends.

SisterEvelynwasbornAugust12, 1920 in New Orleans and entered the Marianites of HolyCross September 2, 1939. She pronounced first vows August 12, 1941 and perpetual vows on Au-gust 12, 1944. As a devoted edu-cator,she taughtelementaryandsecondary schools in Louisianaincluding Plaquemine, Houma, Ville Platte, New Orleans, LakeCharles,andEunice.

She served as librarian andfaculty member at Our Lady ofHoly Cross College in New Or-leansandatHopeHavenandMa-donnaManorSchoolinMarrero,Louisiana.

Burial was at Our Lady ofHolyCrossMausoleum, inNewOrleans.

SisterDorothyBachelot,D.C.EVENSVILLE,Ind.

Sister Dorothy Bachelot, age83, died on February, 28, 2011,atSt.Mary’sHospital inEvans-ville,Ind.

Sister Dorothy was born onMay 6, 1927, in Crowley, La. She wasoneofthreechildrenborntoEulaIstreandWebsterBachelot,Sr.SisterDorothyhadservedinher vocation for 65 years.

Sister Dorothy attended St.JosephHighSchool inNewOr-leans, La., and after graduatingin 1945, entered the Daughters ofCharityinSt.Louis,Mo.Afterher formation years, she attend-ed St. Joseph Hospital Schoolof Nursing in Chicago, Ill., andin 1952, completed her OR post grad training at DePaul Univer-sity in Chicago, receiving herBSNE.

She ministered in many ar-eas in the medical field in vari-ous states, and was missionedtoCharityHospital inLafayette,performinghomecare, infectioncontrol, and employee health inservice.

Then, in 1983, Sister Dorothy was missioned to the NationalHansens’s Disease Center inCarville,La.,ministeringtoresi-dents.

In early 2008, Sister was di-agnosedwithALSandwasmis-sioned to Veronica House inBridgeton, Mo., in the ministryofprayer.ShethencametoSetonResidenceinEvansville,Ind., in2009, where she continued in the MinistryofPrayeruntilthetimeofherdeath.

Sister was preceded in deathbyherparents,herbrother,Web-ster Joseph, and her sister, LoisBachelotLandry.Sheissurvivedby nieces and nephews, and her

Msgr.HarryE.Benefiel, Jr.LAFAYETTE

Mass of Christian Burial wascelebratedintheCathedralofSt.JohntheEvangelistinLafayette,for Msgr. Harry E. Benefiel, Jr., 90, who died March 13, 2011 in Lafayette.

Interment was at the St. JohnCathedralCemetery.

Bishop Michael Jarrell, Dio-ceseofLafayette,wascelebrant,

withMsgr.RichardGreene,Epis-copalVicarof theSouthRegionforthedioceseandpastorofSa-credHeartofJesusParishinNewIberia assisting. Concelebrantswere Fathers Kenneth A. Bien-venuandAngeloCremaldi.

(See story on page 3)

Sacred Heart including 36 years in four separate stints at GrandCoteau.

CountessdeLaFayetteJENNINGS

A memorial Mass for theCountess de LaFayette was of-feredinOurLadyHelpofChris-tiansChurchherefortheCount-ess and her two young childrenkilled January 22 in an auto ac-cidentinFrance.

Principal celebrant of theMass, on February 22, , offeredinFrenchandEnglish,wasBish-op Glen John Provost of LakeCharles. Bishop Provost is amember of the National Chap-lains’ Committee of the Sons oftheAmericanRevolution.

TheCountessIrasema,ana-tiveofColombia,wasthewifeofCountGilbertdePusydeLaFay-ette, who was guest of honor inLafayette, La., a few years agoat the 250th celebration of thebirth of the Revolutionary warhero Marquis de Lafayette. The Marquis known as the “hero of two worlds,” fought alongsideGeneral George Washington forAmericanindependence.

The countess and two of herthree children, Caroline andAr-thur,werekilledinthetragicac-cidentnearParis.

ForthebilingualMassinJen-nings, French sacred Mass wassung by Les Louisianaises andNancyTabbMarcantel.Arecep-tion after the Mass was held inSt.MaryCenteracrossthestreet

fromthechurch.A scholarship in memory of

thedeceasedhasbeenestablishedat the University of Louisiana,Lafayette,foragraduatestudentin Francophone Studies. Dona-tionscanbemadeatULFounda-tion, (337-482-0700).

Mr.DarioCastañoCOLOMBIA,S.A.

Mr. Dario Castaño brother ofFather Jairo Castaño of the Of-fice of Hispanic Ministry of the DioceseofLafayette,diedMarch15,2011.Mr.Castañowasliv-inginColumbiaatthetimeofhisdeath.

BennettJ.Voorhies,Jr.LAFAYETTE

AMassofChristianBurialforBennett Joachim Voorhies, 85,whodiedMarch21,wasofferedin the Cathedral of St. John theEvangelist. His two priest sonswere principal concelebrantsalongwithhispastor,FatherHar-oldTrahan.

Present in the sanctuary wasBishop Michael Jarrell of La-fayette. ChaplainstothebishopwereFathersChesterArceneaux,pastor of the Cathedral, and W.CurtisMallet,VicarGeneral.

Father Thomas P. Voorhieswashomilist.Readersweretwodaughters of the deceased, JanLenore Spizale and Claire Lou-iseMarikar.DeaconArtBakelerreadtheGospelandledthegen-



Listed below are the priests for whom Catholics are asked to pray daily. The calendar is sponsored by the Serra Club of Lafayette.Aprill PopeBenedictXVIApril2 BishopMichaelJarrellApril3 Msgr.RonaldBroussardApril4 FatherPaulBroussardApril5 FatherRichardBroussardApril 6 Father Theodore Broussard April7 FatherKeenanBrownApril8 FatherWilbur“Sonny”BrownApril 9 Father Francis Butler, SSJApril10 FatherRogerCaesar,SSJApril11 FatherFloydCalaisApril12 FatherCoreyCampeauxApril13 FatherJosephCampion,SSJApril14 FatherJairoCastano,SDSApril15 FatherWalterCerbin,SSJApril 16 Father Michael Champagne, cjcApril17 FatherGregoryChauvinApril18 FatherBlaineClementApril 19 Father Gregory CormierApril20Msgr.DouglasCourville,JCLApril21 FatherRobertCourvilleApril22 FatherAngeloCremaldiApril23 FatherBarryCrochetApril24FatherWilliamCrumley,CSCApril25 FatherHamptonDavisApril 26 Father Carlos De La Cruz, SJApril27 Msgr.JeffersonDeBlanc,VEApril28 FatherEdwardDegeyterApril 29 Father Herbert DelauneyApril30 FatherMichaelDelcambreEternal Father, we lift up to You these and all the priests of the world. Sanctify them. Heal and guide them. Mold them into the likeness of your Son, Jesus, the Eternal High Priest. May their lives be pleasing to You. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Aprilprayerintentionsforourpriests

RetreatwithImmaculéeIlibagizais April 15-16LAFAYETTE

AllareinvitedtoattendaRe-treatwithImmaculéeIlibagizaonApril 15-16 at Our Lady of Fati-ma Catholic Church, 2319 John-stonStreet,Lafayette.

Registration begins at 5:00

LAFAYETTEThe Lafayette Diocese’s Of-

fice of Pro-Life Issues will host a one-day “Come to the Well” re-treatonSaturday,June24,at theImmaculata Center in Lafayette.This special day, which is cen-teredonhopeandrestoration,willbegin at 9:00 a.m. and conclude at 5:00p.m. Theregistrationfeeis$40perperson,or$75percouple.All participantsmust pre-registerthrough the Office of Pro-Life Is-sues at (337) 261-5607.

“CometotheWell”isaretreatdesignedforthosewhohavesuf-feredthelossofalovedone—bysuicide, accidental death, infer-tility, miscarriage, illness, still-birth, SIDS, adoption placement,abortion,oranyotherlossoflife.Thosewhoworkinministriesin-volvingreproductivegriefandbe-reavement are also invited. Theretreat will be directed by LynHolleyDoucet,DirectorforSpiri-tualFormationatOurLadyoftheOaksRetreatHouse.Ms.DoucetholdsaMaster’sdegreeineduca-tionfromULinLafayetteandhaswritten several award-winningbooks,whichhaveearnedherna-tionalrecognitionfromtheCatho-licPressAssociation.Someofherbooks includeWater from Stones(Acadian House Publishers), A Healing Walk with St. Ignatius—Discovering God’s Presence in

“CometotheWell”retreattobeheldJun.24

Difficult Times (Loyola Press), and Healing Troubled Hearts—Daily Spiritual Exercises (St. Anthony MessengerPress).

Guest musicians will includeLisa Roy Sheppert, MichelleBinnings, Lisa Shannon, BennyLittell, Clare Billeaud, SuzanneBabineaux,andothers. “LivingScripture”willbeenactedbyJeffAycock,TinaHebertandSharonO’Neill.

Another special guest for thedaywillbeDanaManly,whowillbe on hand to offer art therapyto thosewhoare interested. Ms.Manly hold a Bachelor’s degreeinHealthPromotionandWellnessfromULinLafayette,aswellasaMaster’sofScienceinKinesiolo-gyfromLSU.Herworkhasbeendisplayed at Gallery 549, Mello JoyCaféindowntownLafayette,TsunamiSushiRestaurant,Boule-vardBistro,TheGardenaire, andSymphonyDecoratorHouse.

p.m.Fridaywiththeretreatfrom6:00-9:00 p.m.

On Saturday, registration be-ginsat8:00a.m.Theretreatbe-gins at 9:00 a.m. and ends at 4:00 p.m.withMass.

Therewillbeanhourbreakforlunchfrom12:00-1:00p.m.Costis $75 (Students - $50) which includes both days. Lunch isoptional at $7.00 and is highlyencouragedforthesakeoftime.This retreat is expected to sellout.

Toregisteronlinegotowww.immaculee.com.

“See the land, her Easter keeping,Rises as her Maker rose.

Seeds, so long in darkness sleeping,

Burst at last from winter snows.Earth with heaven above

rejoices” ~CharlesKingsley


Pictured above are, from the left, Anna Larriviere, superintendent of Catholic Schools; Sister Janet LeBlanc, O.Carm (Mt. Carmel Elementary); Bishop Michael Jarrell; Myra Broussard (St. Michael School) and Fred Menard (Rayne Catholic).

CatholicschoolAdministrators,Teachers,Achievers/SupportersoftheYearnamed2010-2011AdministratorsoftheYear

Fred Menard, Rayne Catholic School, Rayne; Myra L. Broussard,St.MichaelSchool,Crowley;Sister Janet LeBlanc, O.Carm,Mt.CarmelSchool,Abbeville.

EducatorsoftheYearColleen D. Robichaux,NotreDame,Crowley;Gina Istre,Our

Mother of Peace, Church Point; Bernadette Jennings, RayneCatholic, Rayne; Tina Reaux, Redemptorist, Crowley; Megan Ledoux,St.Francis,Iota;Elizabeth Harson,St.Michael,Crow-ley;David Brou, Adam Conque,SacredHeart,VillePlatte.

Kelli Jordan, Kate Migues,CatholicHigh,NewIberia;Helen Polk,St.Edward,NewIberia;Margie D. Robertson,St.Joseph,Jeanerette;Ericka Forest,CarencroCatholic,Carencro;Nanette Cook,Cathedral-Carmel,Lafayette;Linda Flugence,HolyFam-ily, Lafayette; Sherry Brown, Immaculate Heart of Mary, La-fayette;Loraine Allain,OurLadyofFatima,Lafayette;Kristen Dunbar,St.Cecilia,Broussard.

Amy deBoisblanc,St.GenevieveElementary,Lafayette;Irene Gauthier,St.GenevieveMiddle,Lafayette;Rachel Martin, St.MaryEarlyLearningCenter,Lafayette;Kay Judice,St.Pius,La-fayette;Jim Hightower,St.ThomasMore,Lafayette;Kellie Plai-sance,Sts.Leo-Seton,Lafayette;Yvette Broussard,Sts.Peter&Paul,Lafayette;Roberta M. LeBlanc,Teurlings,Lafayette.

Andrea Vidrine, Tanisha Everett,OpelousasCatholic,Opelou-sas;Neysa Miller, Angelle Manuel,St.Edmund,Eunice;Tania Arnaud,St.Ignatius,GrandCoteau;Victoria “Vickie” Knott,St.Bernard,BreauxBridge;Angé C. Latiolais,TrinityCatholic,St.Martinville;Roye Bell Pontiff,HansonMemorial,Franklin;Sar-ah Blakey,St.John,Franklin;Ricki Parker,MaltraitMemorial,Kaplan;Tiffany Abshire,Mt.Carmel,Abbeville;Elaine Dillon,St.Peter,Gueydan;George C. Veazey,VermilionCatholic,Ab-beville.

Achiever/SupporteroftheYearCheryl P. Guidry, Alfred Zaunbrecher, Notre Dame, Crow-

ley;Keith & Denise Meche,OurMotherofPeace,ChurchPoint;Edward Ware, Rayne Catholic, Rayne; Bernadette Cormier,Redemptorist,Crowley;Polly Navarre,St.Francis, Iota;Mark & Kim Bernard,St.Michael,Crowley;JoAlice Soileau,SacredHeart,VillePlatte;Durk Viator,CatholicHigh,NewIberia;An-gie Cestia,St.Edward,NewIberia;St. Joseph School faculty,St.Joseph,Jeanerette;Blake & Tara Melancon,CarencroCatho-lic, Carencro; Rob & Toni Eddy, Cathedral-Carmel, Lafayette;Anna Belle Cormier (posthumous award), Holy Family, Lafayette; LaJeanne Malbrough,ImmaculateHeartofMary,Lafayette;Al-lison Broussard,OurLadyofFatima,Lafayette.

Randy Breaux, St. Cecilia, Broussard; Jennifer & Wayne Koenig,St.Genevieve,Lafayette;Susan Hunt Jones,St.MaryEarlyLearningCenter,Lafayette;Christi Hemphill,St.Pius,La-fayette;Jerry Greig,St.ThomasMore,Lafayette;Msgr. Robie Robichaux, Sts. Leo-Seton, Lafayette; Lawrence Menard Me-morial,Sts.Peter&Paul,Scott;Steven & Laurie Dupuis,Teurl-ings,Lafayette;Ann Warren,OpelousasCatholic,Opelousas.

Chris & Missy Dubois,St.Edmund,Eunice;Amy Taylor,St.Ignatius,GrandCoteau;Monica Domingue,St.Bernard,BreauxBridge;Ronald James Mitchell, James Donald Broussard, Jr.,TrinityCatholic,St.Martinville;Michelle Luke Chauvin,Han-sonMemorial,Franklin;Robin Borne,St.John,Franklin;Stacey Bertrand, Maltrait Memorial, Kaplan; Robert “Bobby” Russo, James “Jim” Russo,Mt.Carmel,Abbeville;Brandy Broussard,St.Peter,Gueydan;Patrick & Vickie Patout,VermilionCatholic,Abbeville.

ByKathleenToupsLAFAYETTE

LeadershipatseverallevelsinCatholic schools of the diocesewasgivenrecognitionat thean-nualceremonyonMarch13intheCathedralofSt.JohntheEvange-list. Bishop Michael Jarrell ofLafayettepresidedandpresentedtheawards.

Outstanding administrators The top awards presented wentto Mrs. Myra Broussard of St.Michael, Crowley, Sister JanetLeBlanc,O.Carm.,MountCarm-el,Abbeville, and Fred Menard,RayneCatholic.

These awards, announced byAnnaLarriviere,diocesansuper-intendent,wereinrecognitionof“administration with dedicationandcommitment, aboveandbe-yond the call of duty,” she em-phasized.

Bishop Jarrell, in his homily,chose this event to make a star-tling announcement. In a newtechnologyprogram,thediocesewillinstallseveralhundredcom-putesandterminatealltheteach-ers! He was joking, of course,quickly pointing out the occa-sion was an appropriate time toemphasizethevalueofteachers.“TheyareahumancomponentinCatholicschoolswhoaresimplyirreplaceable and will be forev-er.”

He reviewed the scripturesof the day which speak of thespecial role of St. Paul and theother apostles. Today we knowthe computer has a special con-tribution to make, “but also weneed apostles, prophets, priests,

teachers and parents along withtechnology” Bishop Jarrell said,“Thecomputerwillneverreplacethe human component in ourschools,indeedinourworld,”thebishopemphasized.

“Thisisanopportunitytoex-pressmy thanks andmyesteemforallyoudo,”hecontinued.

“There is a saying in theChurchthattherewardforajobdone well is the opportunity todo more. We follow that prettyconsistently,notonlyinCatholicschoolsbuteverywhereelse.

Ms. Larriviere noted “thereare35schoolsprovidingacadem-icexcellenceinaChristianenvi-ronmenttoover15,000students,led by committed and dedicatedleaderswhoworkveryhardeverydaytoprovideasafeandlovingenvironmentforourstudents.”

Shethenthankedspeciallead-ershipgroups,theprincipals,thepastors and chancellors, askingtostandforapplausefromtheas-sembly, noting “we are gratefulfor their spiritual guidance andleadership.”

Also taking part in the scrip-tureservicewereFatherChesterArceneaux, pastor of the Cathe-dral, who read the Gospel; Fa-ther Jason Vidrine, who led theintercessions; and Greg Landry,chairmanofthediocesanschoolsadvisory board. FatherWilliamBlandawasmasterofceremonies.Ms.Larrivierewasassistedinthepresentations by her staff fromthe Office of Catholic schools.

SpecialmusicwasprovidedbytheCathedralCarmelChoir.

Catholicschoolsrecognizeleadership


LAFAYETTE Four Lafayette seminarians

will advance in their seminarystudies this Spring through the

institutionof minis-tries. Onewill be in-stitutedintocandidacy,twointotheministry ofacolyte andoneintotheministry oflector.

WilliamSchambough, a seminarian fortheLafayetteDiocesewas insti-tutedintoCandidacyforDiacon-ateandPriesthoodonMarch31

William Scahmbough

Brian Harrington

Neil PettitSam Fontana

Seminarianstobeinstitutedintoministriesleadingtoordinationby BishopR o b e r tM u e n c h ,B i s h o pof BatonRouge. Hewill be or-dained tothe Transi-tional Dia-conate onMay 21, atthe Cathe-

dralofSt.JohntheEvangelistinLafayette.

SchamboughisthesonofMr.RobertSchamboughandthelateMrs. Mary Schambough. Hishome parish is St. Anthony ofPaduainEunice.

BrianHarringtonandNeilPet-

titwillbeinstitutedintothemin-istryofAcolyteattheChapelofthe ImmaculateConception,Mt.St.MarySeminary,Emmitsburg,

Mary landonApril30by BishopPeter J. Ju-gis, Bishopof Char-lotte. Bri-an’s homeparish isthe Cathe-dral of St.John theEvangelist,

Lafayette. He is the sonofMr.andMrs.BenHarringtonofLa-fayette.

NeilPettit’shomeparishisSt.

MaryMotheroftheChurchinLa-fayette.HeisthesonofMr.andMrs.MichelPettitofLafayette.

SamFontana,whosehomepar-ish is St.Pius X inLafayette,is the sonof Mr. andMrs. PaulA. Fontanaof Lafay-ette. Hewill be in-stitutedintotheministryof Lectorin the Chapel of the ImmaculateConceptionatMt.St.MarySemi-naryinEmmitsburg,MarylandbyBishop Peter J. Jugis on April 29, 2011.

HolyWeekschedulefrom the Office of HispanicMinistryLAFAYETTE

The Lafayette Diocese’s Office ofHispanicMinistrywould liketoextendaninvitationtoallthoseintheSpanish-speakingcommu-nitiestoattendthefollowingser-vicesduringHolyWeek.

On Thursday, April 21, theHispanic community will gatherfor Holy Thursday Mass of theLord’sSupper,beginningat7:00p.m.attheImmaculataChapelinLafayette.

On Friday, April 22, the Im-maculata Chapel will also host

OrdinationssetinMayandJuneLAFAYETTE

OrdinationstothetransitionaldiaconateandpriesthoodarescheduledforMayandJuneintheCathedralofSt.JohntheEvangelisthere.Bish-op Michael Jarrell will be officiating.

OnSaturday,May21at10a.m.,WilliamSchambaughwillbeordainedaTransitionalDeacon.Thisisthelastmajorstepbeforethepriesthood.

OnSaturday,June11,alsoat10a.m.intheCathedral,fouryoungmenwillbeordainedtothepriesthood,.TheyareRevMr.NathanComeaux,Rev.Mr.DavidHebert,Rev.Mr.JohnathanJanise,andRev.Mr.GarrettMcIntyre.

SchamboughisfromSt.AnthonyParish,Eunice.HeisthesonofRob-ertSchamboughandthelateMrs.Schambough.HehasbeenmakinghisseminarystudiesatNotreDameSeminary,NewOrleans.

Rev.Mr.DavidHebert,fromSt.MaryMagdalenParish,Abbeville,hasbeenmakinghisstudiesatSacredHeartSeminary,HalesCorner,Wis.

Rev.Mr.NathanComeauxisfromSt.MarcellusParish,Rynella.HehasbeenmakinghisstudiesatNotreDameSeminary,NewOrleans.

Rev,Mr.JohnathanJaniseisfromSacredHeartParish,VillePlatte.HehasbeendoingdeaconinternshipatSt.StephenParish,Berwick,andSt.Bernadette,BayouVista.

Rev.Mr.GarrettMcIntyreisfromSt.Bernadette,BayouVista.HehasbeenmakinghisseminarystudiesatNotreDame,NewOrleans.

Good Friday services and theWayoftheCrossinSpanish,be-ginningat5:00p.m.

On Saturday,April 23, mem-bersof theHispanic communityareencouragedtoattendtheEas-terVigilMass,whichwillbeheldat8:00p.m. inside the Immacu-lata Chapel. The Mass will becelebratedinSpanish.

Abi-lingualEasterVigilMasswill also be hosted by SacredHeart of Jesus Church in NewIberia.Itisscheduledtobeginat8:00p.m.

For additional information onyear-round activities within theHispaniccommunity,pleasecon-tact the Office of Hispanic Minis-try at (337) 261-5544.

2011‘WalkwithChrist’–GoodFridaywalkVILLEPLATTE

The24thannual“WalkWithChrist”willtakeplacethisyearatSt.Joseph Catholic Church on Martin Luther King at 9:45 a.m. and will endatSacredHeartCatholicChurch.

Buses will begin leaving Sacred Heart Church parking lot at 9:00 a.m.GoodFridayserviceswillbeat12:00noonfollowingabriefbreakattheconclusionofthewalk.Thepublicisinvited.


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When St. Edward school in New Iberia celebrated the feast of St. Katharine Drexel this year, student Grace Gon-soulin, shown here with principal Karen Bonin, portrayed St. Katharine Drexel. Photo furnished by St. Edward School.

NEWIBERIAMarch3isaspecialdayforstu-

dentsofSt.Edwardschoolhere.It is the feast of St. KatharineDrexel, foundress of the Sistersof the Blessed Sacrament whofoundedthisschool.Theschoolis named for the late EdwardMorrell,brotherofSt.Katharinewho provided generous financial supportfortheschool.

Each year on the feast of st.Katharine, students enjoy a se-ries of special events beginningwith a memorial Mass offeredbyMsgr.RonBroussard,pastor.Thereisaschool-widerecitationof the St. Katharine Drexel no-venaprayers.

Associates of the Sisters ofthe Blessed Sacrament, a groupoflaypeoplewhoofferspiritualsupport,arerecognized.Oneofthe students, Grace Gonsoulin ,wasdressedasKatharineDrexel(see attached picture)

“Kisses for Katie,” Hersheykisses, are distributed to all thestudents.ItisrecalledKatharineDrexelusedtogiveoutchocolatecandiestoallthestudents.

First graders performed aKatharineDrexelpantomimeforall thestudents. TheGiftedandTalentedstudentsentertainedthe

St.EdwardSchoolcelebratesSt.KatharineDrexelfeastdayentire school with a play aboutKatharineDrexel.ApamphletonSt.KatharineDrexelwasdistrib-utedtoallstudents.

St.KatharineDrexel,whowascanonized in 2000, was recog-nizedforherconcernfortheNe-gro and Indian missions in theUnited States. In south Louisi-ana alone she founded some 40schoolsforthem.

Shepersonallytouredtheareain the 1920s with the late Bishop Jules B. Jeanmard, first Bishop of Lafayette, selecting schoolcites.Inthisarea,devotiontohercausedthelateBishopEdwardJ.O’Donnell (Bishop of Lafayette 1996-2002) to describe her as “a secondary patron of the dio-cese.”

Other schoolsMother Katharine also found-

ed Xavier University in NewOrleans which was the first uni-versity established for AfricanAmericanstudents. Inthisarea,Carencro Catholic began, wasbegun for children of Assump-tionParishandstaffedbySistersoftheBlessedSacrament.Itwaspaired with St. Pierre School tobecome Carencro Catholic. Anoutdoorshrinerecognizesitsori-ginswithMotherKatharine.

ApublicelementaryschoolinBroussard,wasnamedKatharineDrexelaftertheLafayetteParishSchoolBoardacknowledged therequest of parents who wanted to

recallasmallruralschoolwhichhadbeenestablished thereyearsbeforebyMotherKatherine.

St.KatharineDrexelcelebrationsLAFAYETTE

The feast St. KatharineDrexelwascelebratedMarch3. This remarkable womanwasthefoundressoftheSis-tersoftheBlessedSacramentandwasresponsibleformanyoftheCatholicschoolsinthisdiocese.

Appropriate celebrationsonherfeastareannualeventsinCarencroCatholicwhereanoutdoorshrinecallsatten-tion to her role as founder,andalsoatSt.Edward,NewIberia,ItisnamedEdwardingratitude to St. Katharine’sbrother who helped finan-ciallyinfundingofschool.

AlsonamedinmemoryofKatharineDrexelisapublicelementaryschool inBrous-sard.Areaparentspetitionedthe Lafayette Parish SchoolBoardtonamethisschoolforKatharineDrexelingratitudefor a Catholic elementaryschool,nowclosed,staffedformanyyearsby theSis-ters of the Blessed Sacra-ment.


By Bishop Michael Jarrell

The Diocesan Pas-toral Council is anadvisory board whichmakes recommenda-tions to the bishopconcerning diocesanpolicies and pastoralpractices. It consistsmainlyoflaypersons,although there is aseatforonepriestandonedeacon.Inrecentmeetings, the mem-

bershaveexpressedinterestintwocurrentissues:TheSacramentofMarriageandthepoliticalresponsibilityofCatholics.

Withregardtomarriage,therewascon-cernoverthereducednumberofmarriagesinchurch.Inthelast10years,thenumberofweddingsintheDioceseofLafayettehasdecreasedby30percent.Therewasnode-tailedstudytodeterminehowthisrelatestopopulationchangeortothenumberofcivilmarriages. Yet, there is enough evidenceto suggest that this is an areaofCatholiclife thatneeds someattention. TheUnit-edStatesConferenceofCatholicBishopsagrees. A few years ago it established

severalpastoralprioritiesandattentiontotheSacramentofMarriagewasoneofthem.ThebishopshaveestablishedaNationalPastoralInitiative for Marriage, along with a specialwebsitewhichcanbefoundatwww.foryour-marriage.org.Thewebsitecontainsplentyofinformation about marriage which is helpfulfor married couples, couples planning mar-riageandpeopleingeneral.

On the positive side, it is encouraging toseehowmanyyoungpeopleareseriousabouttheirCatholicfaithandseriousabouttheSac-ramentofMarriage.Theyhaveseensomuchemptinessandnegativityinlife.Theyyearnforaworldviewthatpromoteshopeanden-thusiasm. Many have found exactly this inJesus and His Church. They are interestedinlearningtheLord’sviewoflife,includingmarriage.Theyareinterestedinthebeautifuland inspiring teachingson the spiritualityofmarriageofferedby theChurch. Theywantsomething thathasmeaningand lastingval-ue.Themarriagepreparationcoursesofferedinourparishesopenanewworld,ahopefulworld,forcouplesinterestedinmarriage.

IwassurprisedandpleasedtolearnthattheDiocesanPastoralCouncilconsidersthismes-sageapriority.IamevenpleasedthattheyareurgingmetodomoretopromotetheChurch’steachingonmarriage.

Theissueofpoliticsisavolatileone.TheCouncil believes that the Church shouldprovide more guidance to Catholics whenitcomestopolitics.Everyfouryears,theUnitedStatesConferenceofCatholicBish-ops,intheyearbeforethepresidentialelec-tion,publishesaguideforCatholics. Thebooklet in 2007 was entitled, “FormingConsciences for Faithful Citizenship: ACall to Political Responsibility from theCatholic Bishops of the United States.” (It isavailableonlineatwww.usccb.org,clickon Departments, find Faithful Citizenship.)

In the document, the Bishops remindCatholicsoftheirresponsibilitiesinadem-ocratic society. I quote, “In the Catholic tradition,responsiblecitizenshipisavirtueandparticipationinpoliticallifeisamoralobligation.” The Bishops quote from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “It isnecessary that all participate each accord-ingtohispositionandroleinpromotingthecommongood.Thisobligation is inherentinthedignityofthehumanperson…asfaras possible citizens should take an activepart in public life.” (#1913-1915)

In their teachings, the Bishops consis-tently uphold the principle of the life anddignity of the human person. They state,

PastoralCounciladdressesmarriageandpolitics

SisterKathleenFarrelly,O.Carm.,newvictimassistancecoordinatorfordioceseLAFAYETTE

Aspartofthediocesanprogramforthesafeenvironmentforthepro-tectionofchildrenandyoungpeople,SisterKathleenFarrelly,O.Carm.,LCSW,SSWS,hasbeenappointedvictimassistancecoordinatorfortheDioceseofLafayette.

Thevictimassistancecoordinator’sdutiesare:toministertothevic-tim,victim’sfamilyorotherpersonsaffected;toidentifyprofessionaland other resources and make them available to aid in the care of avictim or other person(s) affected; to make certain that persons recom-mendedtovictims/survivorsandtheirfamiliesforcounselingandotherspiritual direction are highly qualified for such assistance.

Sister Kathleen may be reached by calling (337) 298-2987.

CarmelitesannounceHolyWeekscheduleLAFAYETTE

TheDiscalcedCarmelitesoftheMonasteryofMary,MotherofGraceinLafayette,announcethefollowingHolyWeekschedule:

Passion (Palm) Sunday,April17–MassandBlessingofthePalms,10:00a.m.

Holy Thursday,April 21 –Thursday of the Lord’s Supper Mass,5:30p.m.

Good Friday,April22–FridayoftheLord’sPassionService,12:00noon

Holy Saturday,April23–VigilofEaster—MassandBlessingoftheNewFire,11:00p.m.

Easter Sunday,April24–EasterSundayMassoftheLord’sResur-rection,10:00a.m.

Continued on page 18


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“It ismyprivilege towelcomeyou to Christ’s Church,” BishopMichael Jarrell of Lafayette toldthe catechumens and catechistsassembled for the annual Rite ofElection. BishopJarrellpresidedatthetraditionalceremoniesintheCathedralofSt.JohntheEvange-list when 159 candidates and 74 catechumens were received intothe church. They represented40church parishes from throughoutthediocese.Thecatechumensareseeking the Sacraments of Bap-tism, Confirmation, and the Eu-charist while the candidates areseekingtoentertheChurch.

The scripture readings for theceremony emphasize God doesthe choosing. In the Book ofDeuteronomy (7:6-11) for the first reading, Bishop Jarrell noted the author clearly states that thepeopleofGodaresuchbyGod’sfree choice. In the second read-ing from Ephesians (1:3-10), St. PaulalsorepeatstheideathatGodhaschosenusanddestinedusforadoption.

“In the Gospel from St. John(15:12-17) , Jesus speaks to His

disciples and tells them ‘I havecalledyoufriends,achoiceandawordofwelcome,”thebishopex-plained..

But there is more too it thanmere membership. Bishop Jarrellpointed out, “God calls us to bean evangelizing Church. BeforeHeleftthisearth,HetoldHisdis-ciplestheyshouldmakedisciplesof all nations, teaching them allthingsandbaptizingthem

“Itisthereforeincumbentuponme today to continue that activ-ity,” thebishopcontinued. “Wetry tobe an evangelizing church,notonlyforcatechumensandcat-echist but for Catholics who arenotfullypracticingtheirfaith.”

BishopJarrellannouncedanewprogramofevangelization.

“ThisLentwehave initiated anew program “Catholics ComeHome,”aseriesoftelevisionads.Some of you may have alreadyseenitbynow.Itisaninvitationtoeveryonetothefullpracticeoftheirfaith,strivingtobetheevan-gelizationChurchGodwantsustobe,’”thebishopsaid.

He noted the Gospel from theMass of the day (First Sunday of Lent, Matthew 4:1-11) Jesus

is temptedbySatan, “is also rel-evant toourceremony. AbattletakesplacebetweenJesusandSa-tan.Satanhaspowerfulweapons,offering Jesus wealth, fame andpower, but Jesus had strong de-fense,especiallysacredscripture.

“EverytimeSatanofferssome-thingtoJesus,Hecounterswithaquotation from sacred scripture, from the Book of Deuteronomy,‘notbybreadalonedoesmanlivebut by every word which comesfromthemouthofGod...’”

The bishop also pointed outthatChristhad inhisdefense thepoweroftheHolySpirit.“WhenJesuswastemptediswasnotlongafterHisbaptismintheRiverJor-danbyJohntheBaptistandwearetoldtheSpiritofGodhoveredoverhim and a voice was heard, ‘thisismybelovedSoninwhomIamwellpleased.’ItwasthepoweroftheHolySpiritwhichcameuponJesusandenabledHimtohavede-fenseagainsttheattacksofSatan.

“ThisGospelreadingisimpor-tant for us today,” Bishop Jarrellemphasized, “because all of ushave these same gifts, first of all sacred scripture. Someofusarevery familiar with it, some of usarejustbeginning.Weallneedtolearnmoreaboutscripturetopray

with them, to reflect on them, to usethemastheyareintended,aninstrument of God’s presence inourlives.

“WeshouldalsorelyontheHolySpirit,”thebishopreminded.“ItisthatSpiritwhichgivesusstrengthand power and keeps us close totheHeartofChrist.IwelcomeyouagainandurgeyoutogrowclosertotheSacredHeartofChrist,learnof His great love for us, and thedestinyofallofuswhoarecalledtofollowinHispath.Godbewithyou,”thebishopconcluded.

Deacon Tim Maragos of OurLadyofFatima,andDeaconJimDavis of St. Genevieve, both ofLafayette, were deacons to thebishop; Father William Blanda,wasmasterofceremonies.Read-ers were Sue Rachelle Romero,Nativity of Our Lady, New Ibe-ria; Joseph Payne, Holy Ghost,Opelousas.

CantorwasLisaTrumps.Mu-sicdirectorwasKarenMelancon,withKevinMartin,accompanist.

AnnBroussard,directoroftheOffice of Christian Formation, and her staff, were in charge ofoverallarrangements,alongwithJohnSchexnaildre,RCIAcoordi-nator and his core of RCIA vol-unteers.

RiteofElection–NewcomerswelcomedtoChrist’sChurch

159 candidates and 74 catechumens were received into the church during the Rite of Election held in the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Lafayette. They repre-sented 40 church parishes from throughout the diocese. The catechumens are seeking the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist while the candidates are seeking to enter the Church asking for Baptism. Photo by P.C. Piazza.

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday SaturdayFriday

PRAY FOR YOUR DEPARTED CLERGY:Father James Gelabert, April 2, 1925FatherEdwardFontaine,April2,2002Father Moise Hebert, April 4, 1949Father O.J. Chauvin, April 4, 1971Father Edward J. Romagosa, S.J., April 4, 2009Bishop Robert E. Tracy, April 4, 1980

Father Columbian Lesquivit, April 9, 1994Msgr. Emery Labbe, April 11, 1974Father Frank C. Krauss, April 12, 1939DeaconHieuTran,April14,2010Father Louis Lam Vu, April 16, 2010Father A.J. Maltrait, March 20, 1937DeaconPaulLeonardMeynard,April23,2000

Deacon Carl J. Conrad, April 25, 1997Msgr.FredSwenson,April27,2007Father Matthias J. Cramers, April 28, 1982Father Joseph M. LeBerre, April 29, 1939FatherJeanMarieJammes,April30,2007

1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10

Lenten WeekdayRachel’sVineyardRetreat.6:00 p.m. Pre-registration required. Contact (337) 261-5607. Confidential-

ityrespected.RetreatrunsthroughSunday.

Lenten Weekday2011WestRegionalConfer-

ence.“ActJustly,LoveTenderly,WalkHumblyWithYourGod.Keynotespeaker:

Roy Petitfils. Vermilion CatholicHighSchool,

Abbeville.Registration:$5.Contact:jharrington@diolaf.

org or (337) 258-0073

Fourth Sunday of Lent

11 12 13 14 15 16

17 18 19 20 21 22 23

24 25 26 27 28

Lenten WeekdayHolyHourforVocations,St.PatrickChurch,Lafayette,

6:00 - 7:00 p.m.

DivineMercyNight,St.PeterChurch, New Iberia, 6:30 p.m.

Formoreinformation:JohnManes, (337) 369-3021

Lenten WeekdayFoodfortheJourneySpeakerSeries,CrownePlazaHotel,

Lafayette,11:30a.m.-12:45p.m.

Lenten WeekdayBibleSeminar:“ABiblical

BlueprintfortheMass”OurLadyoftheHolyRosary

Church,Kaplan(April 6 and 13 ) 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.

Lenten Weekday Lenten Weekday Lenten Weekday

Fifth Sunday of Lent Lenten Weekday Lenten Weekday Lenten WeekdayRegistrationforUniversityofDaytonVirtualLearning

CommunityforFaithForma-tiononlinecourses,Cycle4:Coursesscheduled5/30-7/3,

2011.Email:[email protected]

Web:vlc.udayton.edu

Lenten WeekdayDRE/CRESupportGroup

meeting-Northregion,OurLadyQueenofAngels,Opelousas

CompanionsAlongtheJourney(Bereavement Support Group),

ImmaculataCenter,6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Contact Karol Meynard at (337) 261-5607, or Willa or Paulette at

(337) 261-5654

Lenten WeekdayCome&SeeWeekend,St.

JosephSeminary,Covington.Call (337) 261-5690 for

furtherinformation

Lenten Weekday

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion

Monday of Holy WeekVocationsHolyHour,St.PeterChurch,NewIberia,

Deacon Wade Broussard (337) 365-3780

Tuesday of Holy Week Wednesday of Holy Week

Holy ThursdayChrismMass,CathedralofSt.JohntheEvangelist,Lafayette,

10:30a.m.

Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion

Holy Saturday

Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord

Monday in the Octave of Easter

Tuesday in the Octave of Easter

Wednesday in the Octave of Easter

NationalCatjholicEducationAssociationConventionand

Expo/NationalAssocia-tionofParishCatechetical

DirectorsConference,NewOrleansMorialConvention

CenterForinformationgoto:

www.NCEA.org

Thursday in the Octave of Easter

April 2011

LeagueoftheSacredHeartApostleshipofPrayerApril general intention:

ThattheChurchmayoffernewgenerations,throughthebelievableproclamationoftheGospel,

ever-newreasonsoflifeandhope.Mission intention:

Thatmissionaries,withtheproclamationoftheGospelandtheirwitnessoflife,maybringChristtoallthosewhodo

notyetknowHim.againstbecauseoftheGospel.

29 30Friday in the

Octave of EasterSaturday in the Octave of Easter

*March25-27,2011:KnightsofPeterClaver,LouisianaStateJuniorConference.LafayetteHilton&Towers,LafayetteApril1-30,2011:ChildAbuseAwarenessintheBlackCommunityApril2,2011:WestRegionalConference.“ActJustly,WalkTenderly,WalkHumblywithYourGod”KeymoteSpeaker:Roy Petitfils. Three workshops. Presenters: Roy Petitfils, SarahBrabant,PhD.andMsgr.RobieRobichaux,JCL.Catechistcreditsandhourswillbeassignedonregistrationbrochure.ContactJanethHarrington:[email protected] (337) 258-0073


AngolatripscheduledforApril10LAFAYETTE

The Lafayette Diocese’s Of-fice of Justice & Peace is coordi-natingabustriptoAngolaStatePenitentiaryonSunday,April10.Thebuswilldepartat7:00a.m.from the parking lot of St. PaulChurchinLafayette.Thosewhowishtoreserveaseatmaydosoby contacting the Office of Jus-tice & Peace at (337) 261-5545.

Individuals who wish to ridethebusmustbeon the inmate’svisiting list if they are over theage of 14. Additionally, thoseover theageof14mustbeabletopresentacurrent,Louisiana-is-sued ID; children under the ageof13mustbeaccompaniedbyan

CarmelitestocelebrateSt.JosephLAFAYETTE

Springwillbeabusytimeforthe Discalced Carmelite nunshere at the Monastery Mary,MotherofGrace They antici-pated the feast of St. Josephon Saturday, March 19, invit-ing their friends to anticipatewith a private novena, (March 11 to 19) invoking St. Joseph asfather,friend,protector,andbuilder, who compassionatelyassists our needs. Feast dayMass was at 6:45 am.

Eucharistic adorationIn anticipation of the holy

season of Lent, the Carmelitesannually have three days ofadorationoftheBlessedSacra-ment, Sunday March 6, at the 10amMassto4p.m.;Monday,March7andTuesday,March8,6:45 am to 4 p.m.

Alltheseeventsareinantici-pation of the celebration Mon-day, May 16 of the 75th anni-versary of the founding of theMonastery. Bishop MichaelJarrellwillbeprincipalconcel-

ebrantandMsgr.RobieRobich-aux,homilist.

FatherLambertLein,SVD,tospeakatMay“FoodfortheJourney”LAFAYETTE

TheCentralRegionoftheDio-ceseofLafayettepresents“FoodfortheJourney,”amonthlylunch-timespeak-er seriesdesigned tohelpCatho-licsliveouttheirfaithintheir dailylives. Ourspeaker forMay willbe FatherL a m b e r tLein,SVD,PastorofSt.AnthonyCatholicChurch,Lafayette. Fa-ther Lambert was ordained forthe Society of the Divine WordonAugust12,2000.

“Food for the Journey” willbe held on Tuesday, May 3, atCrowne Plaza Hotel (formerly “HotelAcadiana”),1801W.Pin-

Father Lambert Lein, SVD

hook Road, beginning just after12:00 noon. An optional buffetlunch is available beginning at11:30 a.m. Cost is $12.00 andincludesmeal,drink,dessertandtip.Allarewelcometocome“eatand be fed”. Pre-registration isnot required. For more informa-tion, please call Mary Bergeron(654-8682) or visit www.central-regiononline.org

adult. Allvisitorsmustalsoad-here to the dress code—no bluejeans, shorts, sleeveless shirts,ort-shirts.Onlywalletsareper-mitted; women must leave theirpursesathome.

eralintercessions.He was born to Bennett

JoachimVoorhies,Sr.andLouisePelletierVoorhiesonAugust30,1925.

Survivors include:hiswifeof60 years, Lenore Parkerson Voo-rhies, four children, Jan LenoreVoorhies Spizale and husbandDavid Joseph Spizale of Lafay-ette;FatherBennettJ.Voorhies,apriestoftheArchdioceseofSantaFe,NewMexico, nowpastor ofOur Lady of the AnnunciationChurch of Albuquerque, New Mexico; Father Thomas P. Voo-rhies, a priest of the Diocese ofLafayetteandpastorofSts.Peterand Paul Church in Scott; andClaire Louise Voorhies Marikarof Austin, Tex., and one sister,YolandeVoorhiesLogan.

HewasaveteranofWorldWarII,servingintheU.S.Navy.

OBITUARIESContinued from page 7


Thank God it’s Friday (For only 12 more hours…)By Roy Petitfils

Asnapshotofmyday(mind) last Friday…

Performrandomactofkindnessforastranger.

Feelproud.Hide a box of Girl

Scout Cookies fromMindi for my Midnightsnack (and as a passive aggressive payback forputtingusonabudget).

Feeldevilishlyproud.Leavehometogominister.Make the sign of the cross in front the

Church.Makeaprofanegesture tosome jerkwho

wouldn’tletmeoutofmydriveway.Refusetolookattheladywho’sscreamingat

mefornotlettingheroutofherdriveway.ThinkabouthandinghermycardandaLexa-

pro.Think: “cards are expensive and I need the

Lexapro.”Workhardtryingtohelppeople.Drivehomecommittedtobeingnicetofellow

drivers.OpenabeerbutrememberIgavebeerupfor

Lent (since I seldom drink it).Think:“Damn.”Uncorkabottleofwine.Wonder: “Whatwas I thinkinggivingupal-

coholforLent?NomoreM&M’sitis!”Iresolve(quietly in case I need to change again).

Asit’sFridayforegothe$4hamburgerfor$50

worth of boiled Shrimp and Crawfish.Think,“It’sgoodtobeCatholic.”Beginthinkingabouttomorrownight’ssup-

per.Think,“IshouldhavedonetheStationsof

theCross.”AskMindiwhatshethinksabouttomorrow

night’sdinner.Remember that sheeats to live,whereas I

livetoeat.Andits10:00p.m.andshe’ssleep-ing.

WonderifI’llbeuppastmidnighttoenjoyaleftoverlinkofboudin…

Resolvetomakeithappen.ThinkaboutmyCajunCatholicismasIhear

my mom’s voice (while she’s mauling aPop-eyesfriedchickenthighonGoodFridayand

DeaconTuanAnhNguyen April2 FatherDanielBastianelli,SSJ April4 Msgr.RonBroussard April5 FatherHernandoRamirez,SJ April7 FatherW.CurtisMallet April7 FatherJosephCampion,SSJ April10 FatherBryceSibley April11 FatherRichardSutter,LC April17 DeaconJamesA.Kincel April18 FatherRaymondJones,SVD April21 Father Gregory Cormier April 26 FatherJosePadinjarepeedika,CMI April 26 FatherGradyEstilette April27 FatherAustinLeger April27

April Birthdays

“Our focus is not on party af-filiation, ideology, economics, or evencompetenceandcapacitytoperform duties, as important assuch issues are. Rather, we fo-cusonwhatprotectsorthreatenshumanlifeanddignity.”Anum-berofgoalsarementionedinthedocument,including:

• Address the preeminent re-quirement to protect the weak-

est in our midst—innocent un-bornchildren—byrestrictingandbringingtoanendthedestructionofunbornchildrenthroughabor-tion.

• Define the central institution of marriage as a union betweenonemanandonewomanandpro-videbettersupportforfamilylifemorally, socially, and economi-callysothatournationhelpspar-ents raise their childrenwith re-spectforlife,soundmoralvalues

and an ethic of stewardship andresponsibility.

• Help families and childrenovercomepoverty: ensuringac-cesstoandchoiceineducation,aswellasdecentworkatfair,livingwages and adequate assistance for thevulnerable inournation,while also helping to overcomewide-spread hunger and povertyaround the world, especially inthe areas of development assis-tance,debtreliefandinternation-altrade.

• Continue to oppose policiesthat reflect prejudice, hostility to-ward immigrants, religious big-otryandotherformsofdiscrimi-nation.

I was surprised to find that only oneortwomembersoftheCoun-cilwereevenawareof theexis-tence of this booklet. I learnedthatthelaypersonsareinterestedin receiving guidance from theChurchonsocial issuesandthatpastorsintheDioceseandImustdoabetterjobmakingthisguid-anceavailable.

BISHOP’SCOLUMNContinued from page 13



Mark Miley (kneeling) of the Diocese of Lafayette, was in-stituted as a Reader March 2nd at Sacred Heart School of Theology in suburban Milwau-kee. Bishop Kevin Vann of the diocese of Fort Worth presid-ed at the institution Mass. Sa-cred Heart is North America’s largest seminary specializing in the formation of men over 30, with 34 U.S. and Canadian dioceses, including Lafayette, Fort Worth and Lexington, us-ing it for the formation of semi-narians.

SeminarianMarkMileyinstitutedasReader

Seminarian David Hebert (center), served as deacon for a Mass celebrated by Bishop John Gaydos, D.D., of Jefferson City, Mo. Bishop Gaydos and his vocation director were visiting the Mil-waukee-area seminary. Deacon Hebert, one of four Lafayette seminarians at Sacred Heart, will return to the diocese and be ordained to the priesthood this summer.

Rev.Mr.G.K.McIntyreNearly eight years ago, I be-

gantheformalprocessofpursu-ingavocationtothepriesthood.Inalittleoverthreemonths,mypursued vocation will be real-ized. As I approach the end ofmy seminary career, though, Ifind myself thinking more about thebeginningofitandtheyearsleadinguptothispoint.

Looking forward to priesthood – a deacon’s reflection (Part I)My path to the seminary, al-

though I did not know it at thetime, began when I was twelve.Evenatthisearlyage,Ihadapro-found experience of hearing theLordcallingmetoserveHimatthealtar.IknewGodwasgoingtoprovideformeandcontinuetoleadmewhereHewantedmetogo.Theyearsthatfollowedcanbestbedescribedasa similarity

tothelifeoftheBlessedMotherasI“ponderedthesethingsinmyheart.” While IknewIwas tooyoung to go to the seminary, Ikeptthatpossibilityinthebackofmymindandfocusedonmystatein life. Itwasnot longbefore IbegangettingmyhandsoneverybitofinformationonthefaiththatI could find. I prayed with the Scriptures,studiedtheCatechismoftheCatholicChurch,andaskedplenty of questions. I knew that knowledgeofGodwouldleadtoloveandserviceofHim.Eventu-ally,Iwouldbeaskedtodemon-stratethatlovethroughawilling-nesstoserve.

EvenwithGodgentlytuggingand urging me to go seminary(more clear to me now than it was then), it still took much ef-fortandstruggleformetomakemy decision. When I finally did, I experienced another profoundmomentofGod’sgrace,thistimelettingmeknowHeapprovedofmy‘yes.’Atthattime,Iremem-

bered another similarity to thelife of Our Lady when she pro-claimed her ‘yes’ and the Spiritof theMostHighovershadowedher.Godisconstantandremainsfaithful!

My time in seminary canbe described in many ways. Ihave tons of great memories,met many amazing people, and,moreimportantly,havegrowntoknowmyselfbetterandmyGodwhom I serve. The seminary ischallenging.Attheseminary,notonlyarewechallengedtobebet-terdisciplesoftheLord,butatthesametimewemustlearnhowtobegoodshepherdsofGod’sholypeople.Thisisnosmallfeatforayoungmannotmanyyearsoutofhighschool. Infact, Iwouldimaginethatjustasafathergrowswithhisfamily,thepriestcontin-uouslylearnswhatitmeanstobetheshepherdtohisfamily.

Part II of Deacon Garrett McIntyre’s reflection will be pub-lished in the May 2011 edition of the AcadianaCatholic.

219 Msgr. Wm. J. Teurlings Burse #1 13,417.00236 John E. Lee Jr. Burse 9,324.60 239 St. Joseph Burse 9,076.48242 Lee C. Lavergne Burse 7,079.73244 Rev. Julian Van Exem Burse #2 12,524.06248 Msgr. Alphonsus Martel Burse 11,000.00253 Serra Club Burse 15,034.49254 Rusty Randol Burse 1,742.76260 St. Theresa Burse #2 5,697.46266 Paul and Mary Karre Burse 2,105.00268 M/M Willie Fournet Burse #2 570.65271 Msgr. Joseph Van Brero Burse 710.00272 Msgr. P. Alexandre Borel Burse 1,625.00274 Msgr. Emery Labbe Burse 6,310.00278 Msgr. Daniel Bernard Burse 3,674.64281 Rev. Harry Van Tiel Family Burse 3,969.00283 Noemie L. Petitijean Burse 1,000.00284 Msgr. Daniel Habetz Burse 6,590.00286 P.J. Reiners Burse #2 9,500.00288 Rev. Oscar Drapeau Burse 2,000.00290 Rev. P.G.J. Kemps Burse 1,000.00291 Lucille M. Griffin Memorial Burse 5,000.00292 Anonymous Burse 10,470.00293 Msgr. Fernand Gouaux Burse 4,770.00294 Robert A. Frey Memorial Burse 7,360.00297 “A Priest” Burse #2 7,400.00308 Harold/Ruby Moreau Family Memorial Burse 5,000.00309 Libby Holcombre Memorial Burse 2,000.00318 Msgr. Marcel Murie 5,260.00319 Rev. Marcel & Alfred Gaudet #5 1,942.80 322 Rev. Jean Fidele Paradis #2 5,000.00323 Charlene Richard 3,030.00326 Fr. Raphael Gauthier #2 3,757.17327 Msgr. Albert Bacque #2 325.00330 Rev. Verbis Lafleur #3 7,100.00332 Ben & Louisa Larriviere #2 3,750.00337 Colonel, Chaplain Kenneth A. Bienvenu, USAF, Burse #2 13,614.99340 Rev. James Doiron 2,272.17346 Msgr. Alexander O. Sigur Memorial 2,250.00348 Rev. J. Wilson Matt & Mire Families 450.00351 Rev. Alcide Sonnier Burse #2 11,300.00352 St. Edmond Church Parish (In memory of Frs. Dowling & Murray, SM) 9,000.00354 Catholic Daughters #3 10,200.63355 Gabriel Lucas Seminary Memorial Fund (Morse) 15,000.00356 Mrs. Louise L. White Memorial Fund 10,110.00358 Therese Esteves #5 7,516.49359 St. Peter’s Parish – New Iberia 10,422.35363 Ramona Crosby Bennerfield Burse 2,125.52364 St. Jude Burse #2 8,030.00366 A. Otis and Etta B. Hebert Memorial Burse 5,000.00367 Bishop Edward J. O’Donnell Burse 3,545.00368 Rev. J.C. Speyrer Burse 10,000.00370 Msgr. C. Burton Mouton Burse 10,700.00375 Msgr. Charles Marin 100.00376 Bishop Jeanmard Burse 3,964.00377 Marie Louise Franques- Kenneth N. LaCaze Burse 3,000.00378 Bishop Gerard L. Frey Memorial Burse 12,522.00379 Rev. Moise Hebert #2 3,403.61380 Lay Honorees #7 3,200.10381 In memory of Mrs. Dorphi Duhon 2,181.50382 Rev. Raymond Robitaille #2 11,000383 James Kerney Bourque Memorial Burse 3,930.00384 Bishop Schexnayder Mem. Vurse #3 940.19385 Rev. Mike Bakowski Memorial Burse 2,600.00386 Coignard/Gremillion Burse #2 1,000.00387 Gabriel Lukas Memorial Fund (Morse) 194.21

MONTHLY DONORS330 Carroll/Richard Lafleur 100.00330 Carrol/Richard Lafleur 100.00

IncompleteSeminaryBursesYour Contributions HelpEducate Future Priests

Photos by P.C. Piazza

(except Michael Richard)

GARRETT SAVOIE, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Brian Savoie, is in Second Theology at Notre Dame Seminary, New Orleans. He is sponsored by Our Lady of the Assump-tion Church, Mire.

MICHAEL RICHARD is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Richard. He is in pre-Theol-ogy (first year) at St. Joseph Seminary Col-lege, St. Benedict, La. He is sponsored by St. Bernard Church, Breaux Bridge.

Bro. Brian Webre is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Webre. He is in his ‘10-’11 Academic Year and is in his novi-tiate with the Community of Jesus Crucified, La-fayette.

WILLIAM SCHAM-BOUGH is the son of Mr. Robert Schambough and the late Mrs. Scham-bough. He is in his thrird Theology year at Notre Dame Seminary, New Orleans, and is spon-sored by St. Anthony Church, Eunice.

ALEX ALBERT, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Albert, is in his fourth college year at St. Joseph Seminary College, St. Benedict, La. He is sponsored by Our Lady of Wisdom Church, Lafayette.


INVENTORY MANAGEMENTAPI VALVES • ANSI VALVES

ACTUATORS & GEARS • CONTROL VALVESRELIEF VALVES • ORIFICE FITTINGS

www.lasafety.com

Licensed Louisiana Contractor - License #25656

“BEFIRE!”We ’ r e

all trou-b l e m a k -ers, youk n o w .That’s thelabelwe’llget if wereally gets e r i o u sabout fol-l o w i n g

Jesus. When Paul and Silaspreached in Thessalonica, itwasn’t long before an angrymob came after them. Notfinding Paul and Silas, they dragged some local believersbefore the magistrates, shout-ing, “These people who havebeen creating a disturbanceall over the world have nowcomehere . . .Theyallact inopposition to the decrees ofCaesar and claim instead thatthere is another king, Jesus.”(Acts 17:1-7 NAB) Other translationssayPaulandSilashad “turned the world upsidedown.” (KJV)

Well, yeah, they did. Andweshould,becausewedofol-lowanotherking, theKingofKings. Our citizenship is inheaven. (Phil. 3:20) Acting thatwaycangetyouintotrou-blejustaboutanywhere.

Part of the problem is thatwe belong to a “kingdom ofservants.” “Ifanyonewishesto be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all,”Jesus said in Mk. 9:35. He used stronger words in Mt.20:27:“Whoeverwishestobefirst among you shall be your slave.”

If that makes you think of

cruel taskmasters flogging away, forget it. We aren’t to“lord it over” those under ourauthority. (Mk. 10:42-43) In this kingdom, we must serveeach other (Gal. 5:13) and we must be willing to submit tolawful authority over us. (Rom. 13:1-7)

That’s true even if the “au-thority” is someone I ask totake charge of a specific job, such as setting up for a meet-ing. If I’mhelping toputupthechairsandtables,Ineedtolook to that person for direc-tion.Heservesmebytellingmewheretheygo.Iservehimbyobeying.Thatway,thejobgets done quickly and we can getonwiththemeeting.Oth-erwise,wegetconfusion,delayandstress.

MywifeDonnagavemean-other example from a retreattripshemadewithseveraloth-erladies.Knowingthatthey’dbeon the road forhours, theygave one person the author-ity to choose their lunch stop.She served them by makingthechoice.Theyservedherbyagreeing to abidebyherdeci-sion.Thatrelievedtherestofthem of having to look for aplaceanddebate thepossibili-ties,whichmadetheridemuchmore pleasant. (And they liked theplaceshechose!)

Butyoucan’tservesomeonewhowon’tletyoudoit.Wouldyou want to sing in a choirwherenobodywantstofollowtheDirector?Notpretty.

Now,whatifweallstartliv-ing each day like we’re reallypart of the “kingdom of ser-vants”thatJesusproclaims?

Don’t wear your “trouble-maker”T-shirt.They’llknow!

By Graham N. Smith

stuffing other items from the buf-fetinherfoillinedpurse)“Baby,Jesus didn’t have boudin on thecross.”

Feelguilty,becausedispitetheevidenthypocrisy,Iknowthere’ssomemerittowhatshesaid.

Admiremom’spiety,paradox-icalasitmaybe.

Think: “I should be more pi-ous.”

Resolve to think more aboutthat next week when I’m notmeat-deprived.

Startpreparingeveningsolilo-quy (prayer).

WonderifmyFridayfastwillpayoffonthescaletomorrow.

Think: “That’s the least Godcoulddo.”

Feel twinge of guilt and re-memberthepeopleofJapan.

Resolvetoplaywiththeboysalldaytomorrow.

Open an email telling me arecent talk was unclear and un-Catholic.

Think: “Doesn’t this personknowwhoIam?”

Remember: “I grew up in atrailer.”

Think:“Theymayberight.”Get a call from a recent host

saying my words changed theirlife.

Obsess about the first call.Callthreefriendshopingthey’ll

tellmeI’magoodperson.Remember:“Godlovesmein

mymess.”See God grin at me in my

mind’seye.Resolve to do better tomor-

row.Hear alarm go off to remind

meitsboudintime…Pray: “Thank you Lord for

boudin…and for my faith…andforlovingthecompletemessthatIam.Amen.”

Roy Petitfils strives to be a man after God’s own heart. He is passionately in love with his bride Mindi and adores his two boys Max and Ben. He is also a sought-after counselor and speaker. Read more about him and his other writings at bigbald-speaker.com. Roy can be reached at [email protected].

ROYPETITFILS’COLUMNContinued from page 18


All proceeds from the sale of these prints benefit the Cathol ic church

Limited Edition 14”x11”

Cal l [email protected]

Commissioned charcoal drawingsby Louisiana artist

Cathedraltohostprayerserviceforhurricaneseason

Father Chester Arceneaux

LAFAYETTETheCathedralofSt. John the

EvangelistinLafayettewillhostaprayer servicebefore theStartofhurricaneseason,beginningat6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 19. ThiseventissupportedbytheLa-fayetteDiocese’sCentralRegion,andallareinvitedtoattend.

The non-Eucharistic prayerservice will be led by FatherChesterArceneaux,rectoroftheCathedral. Father ArceneauxwillbejoinedbyVeryReverend

Thomas James,SVD,VE,Epis-copal Vicar for the Central Re-gionoftheDioceseofLafayette.Theintentionoftheserviceistoprovideanopportunityforprayerandawarenesspriortothestartofthe2011hurricaneseason,whichbeginson June1. Formore in-formation, please contact theCathedral at (337) 232-1322, or call Mary Bergeron at (337) 654-8682. Information may also be obtained online at www.central-regiononline.org.

Aquinas Institute announcesSummer2011coursesLAFAYETTE

The Aquinas Institute has an-nounced theSummer2011cours-es.Theyare:

THE 390 Spiritual Theology,3 credit hours – Father MichaelChampagne,cjc.

Description: This course willprovide an in-depth introductionofSpiritualTheology,whichcanalso be termed the Theology oftheInteriorLifeor theTheologyof Christian Perfection. The na-tureofChristianholinesswillbetreatedespeciallyasitinvolvestheintegraloperationofthetheologi-

calvirtues,themoralvirtues,andgiftsoftheHolySpirit.The Cate-chism of the Catholic Church,theSacred Scriptures, and Spiritual TheologybyJordanAumann,OP,willprovidetheprincipalmateri-alsforthecourse.

Day and Time: Tuesdays andThursdays 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Location:OurLadyofFatima,Knight Hall Auditorium, 2319 JohnsonStreet,Lafayette.

Classes begin: June 7, 2011;classesend:August18,2011

Summer2011registration,pre-register now at www.diolaf.org/aquinasinstitute

Newandcurrentcreditstudentsmay call the Office of Christian Formation for a registration ap-plication from May 2 – 6, 2011. Ifspace isavailable in theclass,the Office of Christian Formation will fax or mail an applicationform with instructions for regis-teringbymail.Allauditstudentsmay call the Office of Christian Formation for a registration ap-plication from May 9 – 13, 2011.

RegistrationwillcloseMondayMay 16, 2011

For registration informationcall the Office of Christian For-mation at (337) 261-5674.

Cost: $250.00 credit, $75.00

Audit.Formoreinformationgoto:www.diolaf.org/aquinasinstitute.

LentenprogramstobepresentedbySt.LeoChurchLAFAYETTE

St. Leo the Great Church, 300West Alexander Street in Lafay-ette,willpresenttwoLentenmusi-calprogramsinApril.

ALentenmusical cantata enti-tled,“TouchedbytheChrist,”willbe presented on Thursday, April14, 2011, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

The theme is on the followersof Jesus as they reflect on his final days. Music is by Lloyd LarsonwithnarrationbyDavidBurke.

The second event is the Office ofTenebraewhichwillbepresent-edonWednesday,April20,2011,beginning at 6:00 p.m.

Tenebrae is theLatinword forshadow or darkness and is a ser-vicetakenfromtheLiturgyoftheHours.

ThechoirofSt.Leo’swillalsosing Lenten selections that reflect theagonyofChrist,alongwiththeLamentations of the Prophet Jer-emiah.

Admission is free to bothevents.


GLOBALLY-DIVERSIFIED INVESTMENT PORTFOLIOS - ACTIVE RISK MANAGEMENT

George W. Holland, IV(337) 233-7758

Offering investment strategies that adhere to Catholic teachings by avoiding companies involved in abortion and pornography.

Several Lenten services havebeen announced by the Office of VietnameseCatholicMinistry.

InLafayettethefollowingser-viceswillbeprovided:

SundayMasseswillbecelebrat-edatSt.JulesCatholicChurchonMaconStreetwithFatherJosephTran (Thien Sai), SVD, pastor of St. Lawrence Church, Mowata,ascelebrant.Masswillbeginat2:00p.m.preceededby theSta-tionsoftheCross.

April22,2011•Retreat-7:30p.m.withcon-

fession30minutesbeforeservice(7:00 p.m.)

•GoodFridayServiceat7:00p.m.

April24,2011•EasterSundayMass at 2:00

p.m.For more information, please

contact Van Tu at (337) 981-

VietnameseMinistryoffersLentenactivities2873

ABBEVILLE:April 18 - 20th, 2011 (Chapel,

515EdwardsStreet,Abbeville)•Easterpreparationserviceat

7:00p.m. Guest speaker : Fa-therBayfromHouston,Texas.

April 21, 2011 (Chapel)• Holy Thursday Mass at 6:00

p.m.April 22, 2011 (Chapel)•GoodFridayserviceat3:15

p.m.•VenerationoftheCrosswith

StationsoftheCrossApril 23, 2011 (VN Hall, lo-

cated at 1201 Lafite Road, Ab-beville.)

•EasterSaturdayMassat8:30p.m.

For more information, pleasecontact Hau Doan at (337) 288-6133.

Commissioning of Hispanic extraordinary ministers of Commu-nion took place recently during the 6:00 p.m. Hispanic Mass at Our Lady of Wisdom Church in Lafayette. These extraordinary ministers serve at Spanish Masses at Our Lady of Wisdom, St. Jules Church in Lafayette, St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Church in Abbeville, and Our Lady of Mercy in Henderson.

Hispanicextraordinaryministerscommissioned

MonthlyMannascheduleforApril13

FRANKLINThe next meeting of Monthly

Manna is scheduled for Wednes-day,April 13, 2011 at the ForestRestaurantinFranklin.Thegath-ering will begin 11:00 a.m., withlunch served at 11:30 a.m. at the

cost of $10.00 per person. Thespeakerwill beEdBoustany, theLafayette Diocese’s Director ofthe Office of Justice & Peace.

In March, those who attendedthe Monthly Manna gatheringheardfromFatherGregChauvin,pastor of St. Nicholas Church inLydia. Father Chauvin’s presen-tation focused on God’s “DivinePlan” and included references toPope John Paul II’s Theology oftheBody. Through this text,Fa-ther Chauvin believes that everyhumanbeingcandiscoverthatthemeaningoflifeisrevealedinone’svocation, thedignityofmarriage,andthemaritalactitself.

FatherChauvinelaborated thatmarriageremainsasasignintheworld to reveal the love of Je-sus for the Church. The humanbody–manandwoman,sexandmarriage–existsforus likeroadmaps to help us understand thatthemeaningofbeingaperson is

to love and give yourself in lovetoanother. In the lifeofapriestorconsecratedreligious—orevena single person—a multitude ofothers may be embraced throughservicetothem.

TheMonthlyMannaprogramisan ecumenical lunchtime speaker-seriessponsoredbytheRegionalPastoral Council of the LafayetteDiocese’sSouthRegion.Forfur-therdetails,pleasecontactDeaconJerry Bourg (Regional Assistant) at (337) 578-2423.

Deacon Jerry Bourg, left, and Father Greg Chauvin, right.

LouisHebertnamedCEOofHospiceofAcadianaLAFAYETTE

TheBoardofDirectorsofHos-pice of Acadiana, Inc. announcestheappointmentofLouis“Buzzy”Hebert,Jr.tothepositionchiefex-

ecutive officer. Hebert started with Hospice of

Acadiana,Inc.in2002andcurrentlyservesasinterimchiefexecutiveof-ficer. Prior to that position, Hebert washumanresourcesdirector/chiefcompliance officer/HIPAA privacy officer.

Before joining Hospice ofAca-diana,Inc.,Hebertservedasanas-sistantadministratorforalocalhos-pitalandhasservedasadirectorforseveralmajormedicalentities.

HereceivedhisBachelorofSci-encedegreefromtheUniversityofSouthwestern Louisiana (Univer-sityofLouisianaatLafayette)andwenton to receivehisRegistry inRespiratory Therapy in 1979 from theUniversityofChicagoHospitalandClinics.Hebertpresentlyholdsa Master of Business Administra-tion degree from Tulane Univer-sity.


Diocese of Lafaye� eFinancial Repo� for � e

Fiscal Year � July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2010Fiscal Year � July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2010


Incoming Funds

RECEIVEDRepresents the origins of all diocesan funds

PARISH ASSESSMENTS $5,766,274 This is the major source of diocesan income. The assessment rate ranges from 1% on parish income to 15% (only 24 pay 15%). Parishes in turn are relieved of financial burdens under diocesan auspices.

BISHOP’S SERVICES APPEAL $2,300,273This is the once-a-year appeal for the support of diocesan projects. This annual pledge and gift is your way of supporting the diocese as you support your own parish every week.

RECEIPTS GENERATED BY OFFICES & PROGRAMS $1,572,726Some offices generate income for the support of their programs. This helps offset the cost, although in almost all instances, the diocese makes up the shortfall between income and expenditures.

RECEIPTS GENERATED BY AGENCIES $3,209,259Agencies generate income from grants and donations to cover the total cost of their operation. Grants are mostly from external sources, such as Religious Grants and Federal/State Grants.

LEASES $ 279,694 Generous people sometimes give property to the diocese. Some of it is sold, and some is leased.

INVESTMENT INCOME $ 538,226Specified funds are limited in their expenditures by the intention of the donors. Others are disbursed in line with our judgement. Fiscal responsibility requires adequate reserves so that in a financial emergency, we would be able to pay our employees, protect their retirement benefits, and maintain skeleton services for a reasonable time.

Total $13,666,452

PARISH ASSESSMENTS

RECEIPTS GENERATED BYOFFICES & PROGRAMS

RECEIPTS GENERATED BY AGENCIES

BISHOP’S SERVICES APPEAL

LEASES

INVESTMENT INCOME

GENERAL STATISTICS FOR THE LAFAYETTE DIOCESE

Total Population 627,285Catholic Population 307,991 Diocesan Priests (Active) 134Religious Order Priests 46Seminarians 27Deacons (Permanent) 76Brothers 21Sisters 145Parishes 121Missions 30

High Schools 10 Students 3,605

Parish Schools of Religion 6,121Elementary Schools 30 Students 11,249 Parish Schools of Religion 18,150Social Services Total Assisted 153,803Baptisms 4,087Marriages 1,067Funerals 3,306

Your contributions help to support and promote the works and ministries that define the presence of the Catholic Church throughout all areas of the diocese.

The figures used in this report are audited by the Certified Public Accounting firm of Broussard, Poche, Lewis and Breaux, LLC. Under “Incoming Funds,” readers must note that contributions from the Annual Bishop’s Opus Christi Magnum are not included, as this income is given directly to the agencies which make up Lafayette Catholic Service Centers, Inc.; this corporation reports to its own board and is audited separately. Funds raised through Opus Christi Magnum efforts also help Opelousas New Life Center and several small charity outreach centers across the diocese.

Also, the “Outgoing Funds” section does not include the activities of the Consolidated Deposit and Loan Program (CDLP). The CDLP is our “bank” in which parishes and other diocesan entities deposit their excess revenues at good interest rates. These funds are then available on demand so that the CDLP may utilize them to provide loans at very favorable rates to parishes building new facilities or for other needs. It is not a part of our operating budget.


Outgoing Funds

OFFICESRepresents the total cost of operating the various offices of the diocese

EXECUTIVE OFFICES Residence of Bishop $ 163,451 Tribunal 194,418 Total 357,869 ADMINISTRATION Chancellor 139,446 Archives 85,157 Auxiliary Services 146,467 Information Technology 328,671 General Plant Mgr. & Maintenance 667,367 Total 1,367,108 CLERGY & RELIGIOUS Vicar for Priests 8,973 Permanent Deacons 130,317 Seminarians &Vocations 880,807 Ongoing Formation of Priests 114,214 Minister to Priests 31,046 Religious Brothers & Sisters 25,541 Total 1,190,899 COMMUNICATIONS Acadiana Catholic 502,556 Radio &Television 102,894 Total 605,450 COMMUNITY SERVICES Institutions &Housing 141,044 Justice & Peace 138,134 Maternity &Adoption 257,303 Migration &Refugee 372,312 Persons with Disabilities 288,263 Total 1,197,055 FAMILY SERVICES Marriage & Family Life 156,037 Pro-Life 110,220 Youth Ministry 105,832 Total 372,089 FORMATION Campus Ministry 67,036 Catholic Schools 254,347 Religious Ed & Christian Formation 284,538 Total 605,921 PASTORAL SERVICES Vicar General 52,127 Hispanic Ministry 109,576 Black Catholic Ministry 92,142 Liturgy 60,572 Total 314,417 STEWARDSHIP Vicar General 85,943 Fiscal Administration 247,940 Parish Finance 156,828 Building & Renovation 92,903 Development (BSA) 311,226 Human Resources 182,890 Safe Environment 55,016 Finance 284,838 Total 1,417,585

SECRETARIAT ASSISTANTS Communications 68,516 Community Services 69,878 Family Services 67,223 Formation 65,507 Total 271,124 Office Totals 7,699,517

PROGRAMS/SERVICESRepresents ongoing responsibilities that are more properly listed as programs than as offices

DIOCESAN Priests’ Health Care 658,904 Priests’ Retirement 604,187 Chaplains & Hospital Ministry 270,831 Needy Parishes & Institutions 297,329 Diocesan Assessment & Contribution 274,643 Priests’ Council & Committee Expenses 31,071 Bishop Discretionary &Poorest Poor Account 2,960 Capital Outlay 404,295 Special Diocesan Costs 328,557 Holy Rosary Plant Account 46,600 Programs/Services Total 2,891,476

AGENCIESRepresents the disbursements of agencies working in the diocesan family of apostolates

Society of the Propagation of Faith 1,677 Lay Evangelization Grant Account 2,443 Drug-Free Grant Account 40,866 OCS Technology Account 44,271 Persons with Disabilities Account 265,342 Migration Agency Account 58,988 School Clearing Account 2,158,433 Hurricanes Katrina & Rita Account 21,092 Aquinas Institute 24,599

Agencies Total 2,617,710

ALLOCATIONS/DESIGNATED FUNDSRepresents funds used for the continuity of vital ministries and services of the diocese

General Fund Investments 457,749 Total 457,749

Total Office & Program Disbursements 10,590,993 Allocation to Designated Funds 457,749 Total Agency Disbursements 2,617,710 Grand Total $13,666,452

TOTAL OFFICE & PROGRAM DISBURSEMENT

TOTAL AGENCY DISBURSEMENT

ALLOCATION TO DESIGNATED FUNDS


November 2010: Newly ordained Deacon Nathan Comeaux helped administer Holy Communion during his Mass of Ordination at St. Mary Magdalen Church in Abbeville. Photo by P.C. Piazza

Keeping the FaithThe operation expenditures of the Lafayette Diocese help the people of Acadiana live, keep, and share their Roman Catholic faith in many ways.

October 2010: Surrounded by law and medical personnel, Bishop Michael Jarrell cele-brated the 2010 Annual Red Ribbon Mass at St. Joseph Church in Rayne. The students and staff of Rayne Catholic Elementary also participated as part of the school’s Red Ribbon Week activities, to show their support for the creation of a drug-free America.

August 2010: Parish BSA representatives were invited to the annual BSA Workshop & Ministry Fair. Each year, the workshop features speakers from various diocesan offices, as well as displays which offer information on all the ministries and ser-vices the offices provide for the people of the diocese. Photo by P.C. Piazza

July 2010: Through the RISE pro-gram (sponsored by the diocese’s Central Region), local high school students learned a hands-on lesson in “Rising in Service to Everyone.”

June 2010: During a workshop sponsored by the Office of Christian Formation, Dr. Mike Carotta (former executive director of the National Catholic Education As-sociation Department of Religious Education) targeted the concerns of Catholic high school religion teachers, department heads, and administrators regarding the new high school curriculum framework unaminously approved by the U.S. bishops.

December 2010: Each year during the Christmas season, the Lafay-ette Diocese utilizes billboards such as the one above to promote the “Come Home for Christmas” program, which reaches out to inactive Cath-olics and encourages them to return to the loving arms of the Church.

February 2010: St. Mary Magdalen Church in Abbeville hosted the dioc-esan Marriage Anniversary Celebration Mass, in honor of couples who cel-ebrated 50, 60, or 60+ years of marriage. Bishop Jarrell presented special certificates to all those who participated. Photo by Don & Jan Photography


LAFAYETTEOpus Christi Magnum (OCM),

translated as “The Great Worksof Christ,” is the primary fund-raiser benefiting Lafayette Catho-lic Service Centers (LCSC). Ann and Bill Fenstermaker openedtheir home recently, for the first event of the 2011 Opus Christi Magnum series hosted by Tracyand Frank Neuner and Iberia-BankwithSenatorMikeMichotservingasthe2011OCMchair.

The evening’s event beganwith an opening prayer lead byBishopMichaelJarrell,followedbyabriefoverviewofLafayetteCatholic Service Centers fromexecutive director, KimberlyBoudreaux. Randall Karr, a for-merresidentofSt.MichaelCen-terforVeterans,proceededwithatestimonyofhisexperiencewithLafayette Catholic Service Cen-ters.

Karrofferedinsightofallthatis available to residents of St.MichaelCenterforVeterans,ex-plainingtheprogramassomuchmorethanjustaplacetosleepatnight.With thehelphe receivedthrough LCSC, Randall Karr iscurrentlylivingindependentlyinLafayette.

Following the demonstrationofhowhumanlivesaretrulybe-ingaffected,FatherChesterArce-neauxsharedaspiritualmessageof how we are called to serve

Opus Christi Magnumeventbegins2011charitableseries

theLordbycaringforthoselessfortunate.BethArdoin,the2012OCM chair-elect, gave closingremarksbeforeacocktail recep-tion.

Lafayette Catholic ServiceCenters’missionistoprovidehu-man services, which reflect Gos-pelvaluesandtheChurch’scom-mitment to preserve, enhance,and support human life with aspecialconcernfor thepoor, thehungryandthehomelessofAca-diana. These vital services areprovided to the Acadiana com-munitythroughSt.JosephDiner,the Msgr. Sigur Service Center,St. Joseph Shelter for Men, St.Michael Center for Veterans,theNewLifeCenter,theBishopO’Donnell Transitional HousingprogramandShelterPlusCare.

Opus Christi Magnum’s 2011series will continue with five scheduled dates throughout theyear; including, May 24th, Sep-tember 6th, and September 22nd. Visit www.catholicservice.orgfor more information regardingOCM.

Pictured above are, front row, left to right: Kim Boudreaux, Beth Ardoin, Tracy Neuner and Bishop Michael Jarrell. Back row, left to right: Father Chester Arceneaux, Jerry Vascocu, Bill Fenstermaker, Ann Fenstermaker, Frank Neuner, and Pat Trahan.

Dear Editor:First, a note of appreciation is in order

for the still relatively new “Explore Your Faith Series” inspirational page of your periodical. I think these types of real life stories tend to truly foster people’s hope and trust in our Good LORD and His wonderful promises

There are a few excellent resources that I’ve come across in recent times re-lated to Bible reading/study. As Father Richard Greene reminded Catholics some thirty years ago via his newspaper articles and sermons regarding the offi-cial teaching or position of the Church:: “The Church ‘forcefully and specifically exhorts all the Christian faithful…to learn the ‘surpassing knowledge of Je-sus Christ’ [Phil.3:8] by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures. ‘Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ’ [quoting St. Jerome].” It goes on to state: “Let us remember, however, that prayer should accompany the reading of the sacred

Letters to the editor policy: Letters to the Editor should be pertinent to articles that have appeared in the Acadiana Catholic or to events and issues that are taking place in the Diocese of Lafayette. We seek to pro-vide a balanced representation of opinions. Opinions expressed by our readers do not necessarily reflect the position of this news-paper, its staff or publisher. Readers may agree or disagree with its content. We re-serve the right to edit for length or clarity and exclude material deemed offensive or inappropriate for this publication. We also reserve the right to exclude material that in-cludes personal attacks on others. Anony-mous letters can not be published.

LETTERSScripture, so that a dialogue takes place between God and Man. For, ‘we speak to Him when we pray; we listen to Him when we read the divine oracles’ [quot-ing St. Ambrose].” (The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Article #3, Section IV, Paragraph 133; The Second Vatican Council Documents, “The Dogmatic Con-stitution On Divine Revelation,” #25.)

The Church has provided some very good resources to help Catholics read and study the Bible. For instance, The One Year Chronological Bible allows one to go through the Bible in 365 days via daily readings of about four or five pages each.

Also, Jeff Cavins and Dr. Tim Gray have recently written an excellent book titled Walking with God: A Journey through the Bible which is a great com-panion to Bible reading/study that offers invaluable scholarly insights into the sto-ries of Scripture which helps it all come together so well. Peter Kreeft’s You Can Understand the Bible gives short sum-maries of each book of the Bible that also contain keen insights into the main messages or core lessons of the partic-ular books. Finally, Praying the Names of God and Praying the Names of Je-sus both written by popular author Ann Spangler. I can’t recommend these five resources enough.

I believe the information contained in the contents can help us to better understand the Love Story about God’s creation, re-creation (redemptive resto-ration), and intended relationship to (and plan for) His dear children or people who were created in His very image.

Sincerely,Steve Neef, Lafayette

LAFAYETTEThe Lafayette Diocese’s Au-

dio-Visuallibraryhasfourspot-light recommendations for themonth of April. The first is The Proud Tree (#2568), a 30-minute videowhichisavailableineitherVHSorDVDformat.

GearedtowardchildrenintheagegroupK-4thgrade,thevideotells the story of the Crucifix-ion from the viewpoint of Rex,the tree which was used as thecross that Jesus carried to Cal-vary.Rex,proudandungrateful,learnsalessonfromthehumbleJesusinthisnewandmemorabletellingofafamiliarstory.

Happy Easter (#2564) is also availableineitherVHSorDVDformat. This 30-minute videofor levels K-4th grade tells thestory of “Davey,” who is deal-ingwith the recentdeathofhisgrandmother. HeisdespondentuntilheseesanEasterplayandlearns the meaning of Jesus’resurrection and the promise of

A-VspotlightsforAprileternallifeforall.

For adults, the A-V libraryrecommends The Cross of Christ (#3812) and The Pas-sion of Christ (#3813); each of these selections consists of two50-minuteDVDs.The Cross of Christfocusesonthecrossastheultimate symbol of love in theworld, delving into its mysteryand highlighting its represen-tations of God’s unconditionallove and vulnerability. In The Passion of Christ, Father RonRolheiser, OMI, offers newun-derstanding and encouragementinhowwecangiveourlivestotheworld,andalsohowtogiveourdeathtotheworld.Scripturereferencesareusedtoemphasizethatforoursake,Jesusenduredhissufferingwithoutresentmentorbitterness.

To reserve these and otheravailable selections through thediocese’s A-V library, pleasecontact Lynne Broussard at (337) 261-5674.

Certi�ed Recognition Masters

www.awardmaster.com

Fr. Ambrose Akalawu, CSSp April 17, 1971Fr. Jaison Mangalath, SVD April 17, 1999Fr. Henry Broussard April 22, 1972Fr. Jerry Mesley April 24, 1973Fr. Thomas Nguyen April 28, 1969

April OrdinationAnniversaries


LAFAYETTETheknightsanddamesof the

oftheOrderofMaltainLafayetteare sponsoring a Mass of Heal-ing and Anointing of the Sickon Wednesday May 11, 2011 at10:00 a.m. at St. Mary, Motherof the Church, 419 Doucet Road, Lafayette.

Father Harold J. Trahan, pas-tor,willbethecelebrantandFa-ther Hampton Davis, chaplain,willbethehomilist.

In the 1960s, Vatican II re-newedtheSevenSacramentsandrestoredtheoriginalintentoftheAnointing of the Sick, (Latin: Unction Infirmatis). The revi-sion’s intent, said Pope Paul VIin 1975, was “to lead to a wider availabilityofthesacramentandto extend it – within reasonablelimits – even beyond cases of

mortal illness.” Thisshouldnotbeconfusedwith theLastRites,(Latin: Unction in Extremis)whichisthelastanointingandisindeed done only for those whoareatthepointofdeath.

The Anointing of the Sick

OrderofMaltatosponsorMassofHealingwithAnointingoftheSickproperlyunderstoodistheSacra-mentwhichasksGodforhealingofbody,mindand/orsoulwhichis reserved to a priest to confer.It is intended for those baptizedpersons who are seriously ill,chronically ill, or weakened byoldage.

Forthehealingofthesoul,thesacrament forgives sins and re-storessanctifyinggrace.Forheal-ingofthebodyandmind,thesac-ramentplacestheconditionofthesickpersoninthehandsofGodfora cure. The Church believes thatGodwillhealeverypersonaccord-ingtoHisdivinewillandwisdom.Membersparticipateinthatdivinewill,throughthissacrament.

The Sovereign Military Hos-pitaller Order of St. John of Je-rusalem,ofRhodesandofMaltaistheoldestlayreligiousorderin

theCatholicChurch.TheOrderofMaltahasprovidedcaretothesick and served as defenders ofthe Faith since 1099 AD. In the dailyprayeroftheOrderofMal-ta,animportantversestates:“Beitminetopracticecharitytowardsmyneighbors,especiallythepoorand the sick.” Oneof thewaystheknightsanddamesoftheOr-derputthisconceptintopracticeisbysponsoringMassesofHealingand theAnointing of the Sick inmostmajorcitieswhere theyarelocated. This will be Lafayette’sfirst Mass of Healing sponsored bytheOrderofMalta,withthein-tenttobeanannualcelebrationoftheSacrament.

Tolearnmoreorreserveapo-sition, please call (337) 988-0560 or email [email protected]

64 couples honored atdiocesanmarriageanniversarycelebrationOPELOUSAS

Our Lady Queen of AngelsChurch in Opelousas recentlyhostedtheannualDiocesanMar-riageAnniversaryCelebration.Atotal of 64 couples from through-out thediocese registered topar-ticipate,allofwhomwillbecel-ebratingmarriageanniversariesof50, 60, or 60+ years some time in 2011.Thelongest-marriedcoupletoberecognizedwasFrancesandGeorge Oldenburg, who are cel-ebrating72yearsofmarriage.

TheMarriageAnniversaryMasswascelebratedbyBishopMichaelJarrell. Hewas assistedbycon-

celebrants Father Jude Halphen(Director, Office of Marriage & FamilyLifeMinistry)andFatherO’NealLandry,aswellasDeaconSamuel Diesi. Father WilliamBlandawasalsopresent to serveasMasterofCeremonies.

Musicwasprovidedbyorgan-ist Deborah Duhon and cantorDave Domingue, and the cer-emony included an opportunityfor themarriedcouples to renewtheirweddingvows.BishopJar-rellpresentedeachcouplewithaspecial certificate in honor of their anniversarybeforetheconclusionof theMass,anda receptionfol-lowedinsideOurLadyQueenofAngelschurchhall.

A second diocesan MarriageAnniversaryCelebrationforcou-plescelebrating25or40yearsofmarriageisscheduledforSunday,September 11. The celebration,

whichwillbeginat2:00p.m.,willbehostedbySt.MaryChurchinLafayette. Coupleswhowish tohave theirmarriageanniversariesrecognized during the ceremonymustregisternolaterthanAugust26. Registration forms may be ac-cessed online at www.diolaf.org,under the Office of Marriage & FamilyLifesection.

CatholicsinSendaideliverfoodtopeoplehitbyJapanesedisastersSENDAI, Japan (CNS)

Despitethepost-tsunamichaos,parishionersofKitaSendaiCath-olic Church have been busy de-liveringfoodaidtovictimsofthedeadly quake and tsunami.

HirokoHaga,oneoftheparish-

ioners,toldtheAsianchurchnewsagencyUCANewsthatpersistentdistribution difficulties in the city have meant that “people muststandinlineforthreehourstobuya sliceofbread,” soparishionersreachoutnotonlytothehomelessbutalsototheelderlyandtonurs-ingmothersforwhomtheendlesslineswouldbetooarduous.

Theongoingeffortsof thepa-rishionersformanaturalextensionofcharitableactivitiesinwhichthechurchwasalreadyactive,report-edtheAsianchurchnewsagencyUCA News. Violent aftershocks– as strong as magnitude 6 March 24–andthecontinueddisruptionofgassuppliesforcedparishionerstocookmealswithpropane.

Foodwassuppliedbyavarietyoforganizations,includingCaritasJapan, foodbanksandecumeni-calgroups.


LAFAYETTESts.LeoSetonCatholicSchool

inLafayettebeganitsjourneyofpreventing bullying on campusin 2006. SLS was one of the first schools in the Diocese to be trained in the Olweus BullyPrevention Program. This is apro-active school-wide programwhichincludesstaff,parents,andcommunityparticipation. Alongwith weekly lessons taught byteachers, continuous training forstaffisavailable.

While attending the NationalGirlsBullyingConferenceinSanAntonio this past summer, Mrs.Heather Stemmans, assistantprincipal, Mrs. Lucie Hebert, first grade teacher, and Mrs. LettieGuilbeau,schoolcounselorheardfeatured speaker, Dr. SameerHinduja’s presentation on ‘SafeSocialNetworkingAmongAdo-lescentGirls.’Dr.HindujaisanassociateprofessorintheSchoolof Criminology and CriminalJustice at Florida Atlantic Uni-versity.HereceivedhisPh.D.inCriminal Justice from MichiganStateUniversityandistheco-di-rector of the Cyberbullying Re-searchCenterinFlorida.

Forthepastseveralyears,Dr.Hinduja has traveled around theworldgivingpresentationstotensofthousandsofeducators,coun-selors, law enforcement officers, parents,andyouthonhowtopre-vent and address the consequenc-es of the misuse of technology.Hehaswrittennumerouspapers,reports,andgrantsonthis topic.Dr.Hindujahaspresentedatover30conferences,includingtheIn-ternational Bullying PreventionConferenceinSeattle.He,alongwithhiscolleague,JustinPatchin,have published the award win-ning book, Bullying Beyond the Schoolyard: Preventing and Re-sponding to Cyberbullying.

Inadditiontotheschool-widebullypreventionprogram,on-go-ing education is made availableto parents and the community.SLS is committed to being pro-active in building quality in the livesofitsstudentsandourSLSfamilies.Withsuchabroadandcurrentrangeofinformation,Dr.Hindujawasinvitedtosharehisresearchaboutsocialnetworkingandtheprevalenceofcyberbully-inganditsimpactonoursocietyduringarecentPTCmeeting.Hefollowed this with separate pre-sentations to our 6th, 7th, and 8th gradestudents.

Dr.Hinduja’spresentationsof-feredadultsandstudentsalikeawealthofvaluableup-to-datein-formation, education, and meth-ods for cyberbullying preven-tion.

Formoreinformation,visittheCyberbullying Research Centerathttp:///www.cyberbullying.us.

Sameer Hinduja shares his research about social networking and cyberbully-ing during his recent visit to Sts. Leo-Se-ton Catholic School.

CyberbullyingtopicofSt.Leo-SetonSchoolprogram

AltarserversoutingscheduledforJun.18LAFAYETTE

The Lafayette Diocese’s Of-fice of Vocations & Seminarians willhostanAltarServersOutingonSaturday,June18.Theeventwill be held on the grounds ofTeurlings Catholic High School

inLafayette,with registration tobegin at 8:00 a.m., followed bythe celebration of 9:00 a.m. Mass withBishopMichaelJarrell.The“Altar Servers of theYear” willberecognizedatthistime.

Lunchwillbeprovidedforallparticipants, and other fun ac-tivities for the day will includegamesandawaterslide.Thedaywill conclude with a brief reflec-tiononpriestlyandreligiousvo-cations, and on ways to discernthesecalls.

Packet information will soonbemailed to all churchparishesin the diocese. The deadline toregisterisTuesday,May31,andadditional information may beobtainedbycontactingBettyBiasat (337) 261-5536.

AnnualMothers’Dayof ReflectionLAFAYETTE

The Lafayette Diocese’s Office ofMarriage&FamilyLifeMin-istrywillhostitsannualMothers’Day of Reflection on Wednesday, May 4. The event will be heldfrom 8:30 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.,inside the Immaculata Center inLafayette.

Thisyear’sretreatwillbecon-ductedbyFatherMichaelCham-pagne, native of Leonville andSuperior of the Community ofJesus Crucified in Lafayette. In addition to his presentation, Fa-therChampagnewillcelebrateaspecialMothers’Day liturgy fortheparticipants.

The cost of this year’s Moth-ers’ Day of Reflection is $35 per person,whichincludesacateredlunch and supplies. Those whowish to attend must pre-regis-ter with the Office of Marriage &FamilyLifeMinistryno laterthannoononMonday,April18.Due to limited space, registra-tionswillnotbeacceptedat thedoor on the morning of the re-treat. For furtherdetails,pleasecall (337) 261-5653.

St.MaryAltarSocietyto elect officersLAFAYETTE

TheSt.MaryAltarSocietywillelect new officers and plan for thenextyearattheirmeetingonApril12,2011inFounder’sHall,419 Doucet Rd., Lafayette.The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m.followingtheLentenretreat.Allwomenoftheparishareinvited.


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Students of the Year for Hanson Me-morial High School in Franklin were re-cently announced. Pictured above are:Dr. Vincent Miholic, principal; Alexandra Hebert, 8th grade student of the year; Carolyn Higdon, 12th grade student of the year; and Ms. Mary Pecot, guidance counselor. Alexandra is the daughter of Kevin and Lisa Hebert. Carolyn is the daughter of John and Sheri Higdon.

HansonStudentsoftheYear

St. John Elementary (Franklin) fourth grader Koby Boudreaux, left, placed first in the third/fourth grade division, and Emilyann St. Blanc placed first in the fifth/sixth grade division at the Regional Spelling Bee held at the Immaculata Center in Lafayette. Photo furnished by St. John Catholic School.

SpellingBeewinners

The following is the final seg-ment inaseries intendedtoofferbrief highlights in the history ofeach of the 35 Catholic schoolscurrently in operation in the La-fayetteDiocese.

1982: St. Thomas More High School, Lafayette.Fornearly30yearsnow,STMhasservedatotalof12owner-churchparishesinthearea surrounding southwest La-fayette. The schoolhas achievedthree-timeBlueRibbonrecognitionfromtheU.S.DepartmentofEdu-cation and is also proud to claimnationalchampionshipsearnedbyits debate team, dance team, andcheerleading squad. STM has also earnedstatechampionshipsinath-letics,speech,anddebate.

This four-year high school of-fers its studentsachoiceof threecurriculum tracks: AP and Hon-ors, College Prep, and Regular.The school meets all requirements of the Louisiana Department ofEducation,theLafayetteDiocese,and the Southern Association ofColleges and Schools. In 2006, the 25-acre campus acquired an addi-tional20acresofadjoiningprop-

Schexnayder that the foundersobtain at least 10 acres of landwhich could someday be usedto build a Catholic elementaryschool to serve this eastern partof Lafayette. The required land was subsequently donated by the lateDr.LouisLeonpacher.

Constructionontheschoolac-tually began in 1993, under the directionofMsgr.RichardMou-ton. Upon opening in 1995, the campus consistedof only a pre-school class for children ages3-4. By 1997, however, accom-modations had expanded to in-clude three kindergarten rooms,and planning began to constructabrandnewfacilitywhichwouldallowforevenfurtherexpansion.This facility was completed inAugust2000,andtheschoolbe-gantoaddonegradeperyearun-til2005,whenitwasabletohousegradespre-Kthrougheighth.

2006: St. John Berchmans Academy, Grand Coteau. Fornearly two centuries now, theAcademy of the Sacred HeartinGrandCoteauhasprovided aCatholiceducationtomanygirls.In 2006, the academy’s educa-tionalhorizonexpandedwiththeestablishment of St. John Ber-chmans School for boys. Theschool first opened with classes forgradespre-Kthroughsecondgrade,buthassinceexpandedtoaccommodate students throughtheeighth-gradelevel.

2008: Sts. Peter & Paul School, Scott.Sts.Peter&PaulSchool in Scott is the newestCatholic school in the LafayetteDiocese.Nowinitsthirdyearofoperation,theschooloffersclass-es ingradelevelspre-Kthrough

Milestones of faith:ThepresenceofCatholicSchoolsintheLafayetteDiocese

ertyinordertoensurethatSTMwillcontinue tobeable togrowandexpandtomeettheneedsofitsstudentbody.

1991: St. Mary Early Learn-ing Center, Lafayette.Whenthisschool first opened its doors un-derthedirectorofReneeMcAli-ster,thecampusconsistedofonlytwo classes, one for 4-year-oldsandone for3-year-olds. Today,those classes have expanded toinclude three classes of 4-year-olds, and five each of 3-year-olds and2-year-olds. St.MaryEarlyLearningCenterishousedwithinBoumans Hall (named in honor ofitsfounder,FatherAlbertBou-mans), was specifically built to accommodate Lafayette’s first Catholic preschool, as well asthe CCD program for St. MaryChurch.

1995: St. Pius Elementary School, Lafayette.Althoughtheschoolitselfislessthan20yearsold, thevisionofexistencegoesbackmorethan40years.Whenthe church parish of St. Pius Xwas being established in 1968, it wastheorderofBishopMaurice

fifth. Presently, plans are being considered to expand the schoolby adding a sixth-grade class intime for the 2011-2012 schoolyear.


By Father Frank Pavone

Theworldhastakennotice of a 14-montholdbabyfromCanadawhosefamilyhasbeenfighting the medical establishment sinceOctober to help theirchildbreathe.MoeandSana Maraachli wererefusedatracheotomyfor their son because

the apparently fatal neurological diseasethatthechildhasrendersfurtherinterven-tion“futile.”

Workingwithmanyothers,weatPriestsforLifearrangedtohavethebabytrans-ferred to Cardinal Glennon Children’sMedicalCenterinStLouis,andIwentonthemedicaljettopickupthebabyandhisfather on Sunday night March 13. Now,the child has another chance at gettingbettercare,andthefamilyanotherchanceat maximizing the time they can spendwiththeirchild.

A lot of media has accompanied the

event. One reporter who was not too in-terested incovering thestoryasked,“Whothe hell is Baby Joseph and why should Icare?”

The short answer is, Baby Joseph is allofus.

Afterall,theproblemunderlyingthiscaseisnotsimplyoneparticularhospitalor theCanadianmedicalsystem.Theproblemisaphilosophyof life that says thathowvalu-ableyouaredependsonhowwellyoufunc-tion.Theproblem isaphilosophyofmed-icine that says that if someone is going todie anyway, there’s no benefit in prolonging life.Theproblemisaphilosophyofsuffer-ingthatsayswecanactuallydeterminewhatsomebodyelse’s level ofhappiness is, andmeasuretheirmisery,andthatiftheydon’thavethegoodsensetoeliminateit,wecanstepinanddosoagainsttheirwishes.

If we don’t think that we and our lovedones will be affected by this philosophywhen it comes to our own medical chal-lengesanddecisions,weshouldthinkagain.It’shappeningeveryday,oftenwithsubtleornotsosubtlepressurefrommedicalpro-fessionals,who,insteadofrenderingmedi-

cal judgments, render value judgments.Doctors are not supposed to judge forus the “meaning” or “value” of extend-ing the life of a loved one, or our ownlife. Rather, they are supposed to judgefor us whether a particular treatment orinterventionwill havecertain effectsonalovedoneoronus.Theyneedtoleaveit to us, in consultation with our familyandclergy,todeterminewhatmeaningorvalue we find in the situation.

This is what the parents of Baby Jo-seph, together with Priests for Life andmanyothers,aretryingtosay.BabyJo-seph’sparents,whowanttocareforhimnomatterhowlongorshorthislifemaybe,were told that this lifewasn’tworthextending.It’stimetodrawalineinthesandandtellthemedicalprofessionthatthisisnottheirrole.“Lifenotworthliv-ing”belongs toaphilosophy that led toone of the world’s greatest holocausts,whichendedwiththedeclaration“NeverAgain.”

Our efforts onbehalf ofBaby Josephcanactuallybesummarizedbythosetwowords.

WhoisBabyJosephandwhyshouldIcare?

The Knights of Peter Claver Fourth Degree Ladies of Grace, Mother Katherine Drexel Chapter 7, recently exemplified five new members in a ceremony which was held at Holy Ghost School in Opelousas. Those in attendance included (L/R): Gracious La-dies Mary Butler, Lorraine Marks, Cynthia Singleton, Hilda Wiltz (National Lay Board Member), Jacqueline Simien-Guillory (Supreme Outer Sentinel), Paula Jordan, and Danielle Belson. Photo submitted by Cynthia Singleton

Ladies of Grace exemplification


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Carencro Catholic School students, par-ents, and community members recently participated in the school’s first annual 5K race and 1 mile Fun Run. The day’s theme was “Seek Peace and Pursue It” and included a health fair on the campus grounds. Photo submitted by Carencro Catholic School.

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Celebrating

with great devotion ministered tothe people of God of the diocesewhich included what is now theDioceseofLakeCharles.Hewasmuchbelovedandhighlyrespect-ed wherever he served as pastor,administrator, or Catholic highschool principal. Greatly valuedforhisexpertiseandmanagementskills, Msgr. Benefiel and his de-cades of priestly service will belongrememberedasatremendousgiftfromGodtoallofus.”BishopJarrellsaidinhisstatement.

In his homily, Msgr. Greenerecalled years of friendship andspiritual bonding, “his incessantzealforbringingpeopletochurchtoJesus.”Asanexamplehecitedanunclewhohadalifelongfriend-ship with Msgr. Benefiel, who was reconciledwith thechurchbeforedeath.

Obituaries described Msgr.Benefiel as “an avid golfer.” Msgr. Greene announced that the hostcommittee of the 18th LouisianaClergyOpenhaddecided tohon-or the former priest golfer at itsforthcomingtournamentinMayatAcadianHills.“Wehadhopedto

surpriseHarry,”hesaid.Thetour-nament still will be dedicated toMsgr. Benefiel.

Msgr.Greeneassuredthefam-ilyof“ourcontinuingsupportandprayers,knowingwithallcertaintyyourunclewasawonderfulpersonandatrulyoutstandingpriest.”

SingingtheMasswasthechoirof St. Pius X Church directed byKaren Melancon. Readers wereCarolyn Jourdan and Judy Mah-took. Servers were Robert Gu-chereau Jr.. George Jourdan andJ.D.Morein

Born in Kenner, La. Benefiel earnedaB.A. fromSouthwesternLouisiana Institute (ULL) in La-fayettebeforeservingintheCoastGuard, Pacific Theater, in World WarII.HeearnedanM.S.inBusi-ness Administration from LSU,then headed the Department ofCommerceatMcNeeseStateUni-versity, Lake Charles. He madehis seminary studies at BostonCollege and St. John’s Seminary,LittleRock,Ark.

He was ordained for the Dio-cese of Lafayette on May 21, 1960 and had pastoral assignments at

Msgr. Harry E. Benefiel, Jr, 90, priest, educator, administratorContinued from page 3

St. John’s Cathedral, principal ofLandryHighSchool,LakeCharles;first pastor of St. Pius X, Lafayette; pastorofSt.Anthony,Eunice;Sa-credHeartBroussard.

As an educator he was associ-ated with three schools, LandryHigh, Lake Charles, St. Edmund,Eunice,andSt.Cecilia,Broussard.

He was made a monsignor in1970 . He held the following ad-ministrative positions: diocesanfiscal affairs coordinator, vicar for management and finance, diocesan consultor, coordinator for healthaffairs, chairman of building re-view board,memberofdiocesanfinance board, parish review board, clergy welfare committee, prop-ertyandliabilityinsurance,healthinsurance,parishboundaries,newparish development, Holy RosaryBoardoftrustees.

He was also a member of theLafayette Parks and RecreationCommission.

Anavidgolfer,healsoenjoyedhunting and fishing.

Memorial donations may bemadetoSt.EdmundHighSchool,Eunice.

IntermentwasinSt.JohnCem-eteryinLafayette.

Opelousas Catholic School recently an-nounced its “Students of the Year” for the 2010-2011 school year. Based on their outstanding academic achieve-ments and strong leadership qualities and character traits as shown through their presentation of personal portfo-lios and interviews, these students were selected. From left are Courtney Arce-neaux, 12th grade; Camille Arceneaux, 8th grade; and Mcall Thibodeaux, 5th grade. Courtney and Camille are sisters and are the daughters of Thomas and Stephanie Arceneaux of Opelousas; while Mcall is the daughter of Buck and Lace Thibodeaux of Washington.

OpelousasCatholicStudentsoftheYear

Stewardshipcalled‘practicalspirituality’thatfollowsJesus’exampleEDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (CNS)

If you think stewardship isjust a fancy way a parish asksfor more in the collection bas-ket,FatherDanielMahan,invitesyoutothinkagain.“Stewardshipis much more important thanmoney,muchmorevaluablethansilver or gold,” the priest fromIndiana said during the recentstewardship conference of theArchdioceseofSt.PaulandMin-

neapolis..“Holiness is our goal. Stew-

ardship is apractical spiritualitythat gets us there.” Stewardshipcalls people to imitate Jesus inhisgenerousself-giving,headd-ed,“andwhenwedothat,webe-comemoreChrist-like.Wegrowinholiness.”


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A Vacation with the LordOur Lady of the Oaks Retreat House, Grand Coteau, La. (337) 662-5410

www.ourladyoftheoaks.com

ListeningwiththeHeartInourbusyandhecticworld,weoftenfeelpressuredtomakede-

cisions quickly. As we try to discern the best choices for ourselves, ourco-workersandourfamilies,weareoftenleftwonderingifweare doing the right thing. We flounder without clear guidelines for decision-making.

St.IgnatiusofLoyolawasdeeplyconcernedaboutthewayaper-sondecidedanissue.HeknewthatGod’swillismanifestwithinus,andcouldbeapproachedbythecarefulsortingofourfeelings,ex-periences,thoughts,anddesires.HisseminalworkinthisareagavebirthtotheIgnatianprincipleofdiscernment.

FatherMarkE.Thibodeaux,S.J.,alocalJesuitpriest,haswrittenanewbookentitled,God’sVoiceWithin:TheIgnatianWaytoDiscov-erGod’sWill.Inthisinformativebook,FatherThibodeauxexploresindepth thepromptingsof thefalsespirit,which is thevoice thatleads us away from God and causes desolation, sadness, and disquiet withinus,andthetruespirit,whichleadsustowardGodandinstillspeace,joy,andaclosenesstoChrist.Usingreal-lifestoriesandIgna-tianprinciples,heprovidestoolstobroadenourunderstandingoftheworkofthespiritwithinusandtobringlighttoourdecision-making.Welearntolisten,notjustwiththemindandintellect,butwiththeheartaswell.Thisbookiswidelyavailableandmaybejustthetoolyouarelookingforasyoufacelife’schoices.

*********************************Toprovidefurtherinformationintheareasofdiscernmentand

listeningtoGod’svoice,RobinHebertandLynHolleyDoucetwillhostaday-retreatatOurLadyoftheOaksonTuesday,May17,from 9-3. To sign up for Listening with the Heart, go to ourlady-oftheoaks.comanddownloadaregistrationsheet,writingthetitleoftheretreatanditsdateuponit.Mailitin.Thecostoftheretreatis$25.00andspaceislimited,sodon’tdelay.

**********************************WeatOurLadyoftheOakswishyouablessedLentandurge

youtoconsidermakingaretreatintheIgnatiantradition.AsRenee’Taylorsaidinourlastarticle,Jesusisleavinghislighton,justforyou.WeinviteyoutocomehometoOurLadyoftheOaks.

Lyn Holley DoucetChristian Counselor, Director of Spiritual Formation

Our Lady of the Oaks

ABBEVILLESt. Mary Magdalen Church

will present a Tenebrae serviceonSunday,April17at7:00p.m.inthechurch.

TenebraeisaLatinwordmean-ing“shadows,”areferencetotheextinguishingofcandlesandthedimmingoflightsinthechurch.The Tenebrae service is amongtheoldest liturgiesknownto themodern church. The chants forTenebrae are some of the mostpoignantmelodiesinWesternli-turgicalmusic.TheVoicesofSt.Mary Magdalen Choir and chil-dren’s choir will sing selectionsbothacappellaandaccompaniedbyorganandviolin.

With its themes of lamenta-tions and abandonment, Tene-braeisassociatedwiththehoursofdarkness. Itpromisestobeabeautiful service in preparationforthePaschalTriduumandEas-terSundaycelebration.St.MaryMagdalen’sversionoftheservice

differs from the form of the an-cient rite, but does preserve theliturgicaldramaofextinguishingofcandlesanddimmingoflightsin church thus increasing thedarknessduringtheTenebraeles-sons.Thepresentationofpsalmsandscripturereadingsrecallstheancientformoftheservice.

Celebrant of the service willbeFatherWilliamBlanda,pastor.ChanterswillbeFathersThomasHabetz and Barry F. Crochet.ThechoirisunderthedirectionofTommyGuidry. TheChildren’sChoir is under the direction ofJenniferMelancon.

Everyoneisinvitedtoattend.

St.MaryMagdalenChurchwillholdTenebraeservice

A Tenebrae service will be held at St. Mary Magdalen Church in Abbeville in prepara-tion for the Paschal Triduum and Easter Sunday celebration. Tenebrae is a Latin word meaning “shadows,” a reference to the extinguishing of candles and the dimming of lights in the church. Photo furnished by St. Mary Magdalen Church.

To subscribe to

Please call (337) 261-5650


LAFAYETTESeventy-five years, three quar-

tersofacentury,isagoodmeasureofage,oroflongevityorprayersfor the Church and the commu-nity. The Discalced CarmelitesoftheMonasteryofMary

Mother of Grace will be cel-ebrating 75 years in LafayettewithaMassofThanksgivingonMonday, May 16 at 5:30 p.m. BishopMichaelJarrellofLafay-ette will be principal celebrant.Msgr. Robie Robichaux will behomilist.

The Carmelites first monastery

Carmelites to celebrate 75th anniversary May 16, 2011inLafayettewastheformerMar-tin residence on College, nowUniversity Avenue, a site nowoccupied by Lafayette ParishGovernment. The lateBishopJules B. Jeanmard, first Bishop ofLafayette,whohadinvitedthenuns to Lafayette, was the cele-brant of their first Mass in 1936. HomilistwasFatherSamH.Ray,S.J.,directorofOurLadyoftheOaks Retreat House, Grand Co-teau.Foratime,BishopJean-mard,wholivedonlyablockorsoawayfromtheCathedral,wasthe first chaplain.

Intimethecommunityofnunsoutgrew the first location and the presentmonasteryonCarmelAve-nue (named for the nuns) was built andoccupied.BishopJeanmard,althoughinfailinghealth,wasableto officiate at the dedication of the new structure in 1957.

The first prioress, Mother Dolo-resCaillouet andMotherTheresaMargaret Hermes, co-foundersofthemonasteryinLafayette,areburiedon themonasterygrounds.The anniversary celebration will

notetheirlongtenureandsucceed-ingprioresses.

Throughtheyearsthemonasteryhasattractedhundredsofthefaith-ful to novenas and other specialevents and distinguished visitors– cardinals, bishops, prelates ofotherrites,butmostlytheordinarylaitywhohavecometoknowthemonasteryasfountainofprayer.

Historicpicturesandmoreaboutthe75-yearhistoryofthisCarmelwillbepublishedintheMayAca-diana Catholic.

Discalced Carmelite nuns of Mary, Mother of Grace Monastery, Lafayette. (File photo)

LAFAYETTEThe 11th annual fundraiser

knownas“DimesfortheDiner”willbeheldonWednesday,May4. Citizens are encouraged todineoutattheirchoiceofseverallocalrestaurantsthathaveagreedto donate 10% of the day’s to-talsalesinsupportofSt.JosephDiner.

St.JosephDinerisapartofLa-fayette Catholic Service Centersandhasbeenhelpingtofeedtheneedy in Acadiana since 1983. In 2010, the diner was responsiblefor serving over 50,000 mealsto the poor and homeless in thearea.

Thedineralsooverseeseffortstoprovidebreadandcommodityboxestolowincomeseniors,andtodistributefoodbasketstothoseinneedduringtheEaster,Thanks-giving, and Christmas seasons.These serviceswouldbe impos-sible without the support of thecommunity,andthegenerosityofall the localbusinesses thatpar-ticipatein“DimesfortheDiner”eachyear.

Local schools can also con-tributebyencouraging their stu-dents and staff to collect dimesthroughout the month of April.

EatoutonMay4toearn“DimesfortheDiner”

AllmonetarydonationswillalsobeusedtohelpfeedthehungryofAcadiana.

Restaurants that have con-firmed their participation in this year’s “Dimes for the Diner”fundraiserare:

CharleyG’sChris’ Poboys (all locations)FatPat’sBar&GrilliMonelliNimbeaux’sRestaurantPicanteMexicanRestaurantRomacelli (both locations)Antoni’sItalianCafeBJ’sPizza&DeliOldeTymeGroceryDean-O’sVillageCaféVillageMarketBailey’sRestaurantJolie’sLouisianaBistroCityClubBar&GrillLagneaux’s“KingofSeafood”

RestaurantAnotherBrokenEggGreatHarvestBreadCo.Chic Fil A (Ambassador &

LouisianaAve.locations)Otherrestaurantsmaybeadd-

edpriortotheactualfundraisingeventonMay4.Forthemostup-to-datelist,pleasevisitonlineatwww.catholicservice.org.

Sherrie Mudge, at the podium, re-cently facilitated the catecthist retreat which was sponsored by the Office of Christian Formation for the diocese. The retreat is held in a different region of the diocese each year.


St. Patrick Catholic Church, Lafayette, recently celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with its 12th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast, held this year at The Petroleum Club. Pictured enjoying the fes-tivities are Father Keith LaBove, pastor of St. Patrick, and Father Thomas James, SVD, VE, Episcopal Vicar for the Central Re-gion. Also present were Msgr. Robert Angelle and Msgr. Charles Mallet.

St.PatrickChurchcelebrateswithSt.Paddy’sDaybreakfast

LAFAYETTE“As Jesus’ disciples, we are

calledtocareforourbrothersandsisters in need both around thecornerandaroundtheworld.ThisLent,Iencourageyourfaithcom-munity to participate in CatholicRelief Services’ Operation RiceBowl as one way to fulfill this ob-ligation to reach out beyond ourowncommunityboundaries.”

In early February, Bishop Mi-chael Jarrell addressed thesewords to the pastors, administra-tors, and parish life coordinatorsineverychurchparishwithintheLafayetteDiocese.HisletterwentontoencouragethemalltoutilizetheresourcesfromOperationRiceBowltoenrichtheirparish’sLent-en activities, and simultaneouslyshowtheirsupportforthisworthycause.

Since 1975, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has utilized Oper-ationRiceBowlasaLentenpro-gram that allows U.S. Catholicstoextendahelpinghandtoothersaroundtheworld.EachLent,anestimated13,000faithcommuni-tiesparticipate inOperationRiceBowl to raisemoneyandaware-nessforthelessfortunate.

Withtheassistanceofthefundsgenerated by Operation RiceBowl,CRSstrivestomakeadif-ference in countries like Haiti,Senegal, and Honduras—just toname a few—where more thanhalfoftheoverallpopulationlivesindirepoverty.

CRSdedicates75%ofallfundsraisedbyOperationRiceBowltodevelopandsupportvariouspro-gramsdesignedtoalleviate thesevery issues. Theremaining25%ofthefundsareusedtosupportlo-cal anti-poverty programs withintheareainwhichthemoneywasraised.

LastyearintheLafayetteDio-cese,totaldonationstoOperationRiceBowlfelljustshyof$22,000.Thatmeansthatthepeopleofthediocese contributed not quite $16, 500 to international anti-povertyefforts, while a little more than$5,400 was applied toward thecontinued operation of 13 localfood banks, soup kitchens, andservicecenters.However,Opera-tionRiceBowlisaboutmorethansimplydonatingmoneytoawor-thycause.Itisalsoaboutembrac-ingourglobalcommunitythroughprayer, education, and sacrifice—

prayingwithourlocalfamiliesforthewellbeingofothersthrough-out theworld, learningabout theculturaldifferencesandstrugglesfacedbyour international neigh-bors,andfastingtostrengthenoursolidaritywiththosewhohavenochoicebuttodowithout.

“Your prayers and contribu-tionsduringtheseasonofLentdomakeadifference,”BishopJarrellconcludedinhis letter insupportof the program. “On behalf ofall those who benefit from your participation in Catholic ReliefServices’OperationRiceBowl,Ithankyouforyourcontinuedsup-port.”

Additional informationandre-sourcesrelatedtoOperationRiceBowl may be accessed online atwww.orb.crs.org.

OperationRiceBowl:aLententradition of sacrifice & support

ComeandSeeRetreatscheduledforApr.15-17COVINGTON

St.JosephSeminaryCollegeinCovingtonwillhostaComeandSeeretreatduringtheweekendofApril15-17.Theretreatisopenat no cost to all men from highschoolageandup,andservesasanopportunity for them tomeetwiththefacultyandseminariansofthecollegeastheyprayaboutapriestlyvocation.

Transportation to Coving-ton will be provided, and thosewho are interested in participat-ing should contactFatherAaronMelancon (Director of Vocations, Lafayette Diocese) at (337) 261-5690 to sign up. Registration is encouragedassoonaspossible.


NEWIBERIATy’riana Wilson, a senior at

CatholicHighofNewIberia,hasbeenchosenasoneofthe“Loui-siana Young Heroes” for 2011.Outof141nomineesthroughoutthe state of Louisiana, Ty’rianais one of only eight students toreceive this year’s honor; shewillberecognizedalongsidetheother recipients in special cere-monieshostedbythegovernor’smansionand theMarriot inBa-tonRougeonApril20.

The Louisiana Young HeroesprogramispresentedbyLouisi-ana Public Broadcasting (LPB), in conjunction with the RotaryClubofBatonRouge,andunder-writtenbyBlueCross andBlueShieldofLouisianaandExxon-Mobil. Now in its 16th year, the programrecognizestheachieve-mentsofoutstandingstudentsingrades7-12;thesestudentshaveproven themselves through ex-cellent classroom performanceand service to their communitywhile overcoming personal ad-versity.

Ty’riana was nominated for

was in middle school, Ty’rianahadsetherhopesonenrollingatCatholicHigh, because shewasso certain such an opportunitywould help her achieve a betterlifeforherselfaswellasforhergrandmother.Onthatdayintheprincipal’s office, Ty’riana’s ob-vious determination convincedMs.Heberttohelpthisyoungsteralong. She became Ty’riana’sanonymoussponsor,thuspayingthegirl’stuitionsoshecouldat-tendCHSjustasshedreamed.

“Ty’rianawouldwritea‘thankyou’notetobothhersponsorandtome,deliver it tome,andbegme to tellherwhoherbenefac-tor was,” Ms. Hebert recalled.“Year after year, she told methatsheonlywantedtoknowsoher benefactor would be proud,know how well she was doing,and that shewasgoing tomakethemproudandbecomeagreatsuccess.”

After serving as a featurespeaker at CHS’s senior retreatthis past fall, Ty’riana finally learnedthatMs.Heberthasbeentheonetosponsorherallalong.

Ty’riana Wilson

CatholicHighstudentnamed2011LouisianaYoungHerotheLouisianaYoungHeroespro-gram by Jamie Nelson-Hebert,DevelopmentDirectorforCatho-licHighofNewIberia.“Myhis-tory withTy ’ r i a n agoes backfive years, whena12-y e a r - o l dA f r i c a nAmericangirl walkedinto myprincipal’soffice, declaring that she wanted to attend Catholic High Schooland would do anything withinher power to register,” Ms. He-bertwroteinthenominationlet-ter.Itwasonlythetipofaverytouchingstory.

WhenTy’rianawasinsecondgrade, she lost her mother—ayoung woman in her 20’s—very suddenly to cancer. Shewas taken inbyher70-year-oldgrandmotherand,despitesuffer-ingabusefromthehandsofan-other familymember, continuedto persevere. By the time she

Throughout her high schoolcareer, Ty’riana has maintainedhonorrollstatusdespiteaddition-alresponsibilitiesthatcouldhavedistractedher.Shebeganwork-ing at the age of 16, in order to helpsupportherselfand tosavemoneytoprovideforhercollegeeducation. She has helped tocare for her great-grandmother,who has been diagnosed withAlzheimer’s Disease, and evenbecametheprimarycaregiverforboth her great-grandmother andhergrandmotherafterhergrand-mothersufferedaheartattackinthefall.

“To say we are excited forthisyoungladyisanunderstate-ment,”statedMs.Hebert.“ManyofushereatCatholicHigh feelthatourliveshavebeenmadesomuchricherfromhavingwatchedhergrow[and]touchthelivesofso many of our students—bothyoungerandolderthanshe—andwatched her do whatever it hastaken toworkherway to attainhergoalofgettingacollegeedu-cation so that she can make abetterlifeforherselfandforhergrandmother!”


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ABBEVILLECub Scout Pack 326 of Ab-

bevillewasrecentlyawardedthePope Paul VI National CatholicQualityUnitAward.

This prestigious award rec-ognizes a Scout unit for serviceto its charter organization, worktowards rank advancement andScout religious emblems, andadult religious training. Pack 326 ischarteredtoSt.MaryMagdalenParishandKnightsofColumbusCouncil2281.

Several members of the Packalsoearnedreligiousmedals:.

ScoutswhoreceivedtheLightofChristMedal:

St.MaryMagdalenCubScoutsreceiveawards

Cub Scout Pack 326 is pictured above with their leaders and Father William Blanda, pastor of St. Mary Magdalen Church in Abbeville. Photo furnished by Cub Scout Pack 326.

Brock Bourque, Hunter Fon-tenot,ReedGuarino,RyanKirk-patrick, Slade Lester, JoshuaListi,JacobNoegel,SethNoegel,JudeRoger,NathanSavoie,Phil-ipSavoie,andIanWaskom

Scouts who received thePar-vuli Dei (Children of God) Med-al:

Austin Bourque, Zachary Broussard, Chase Guidry, EmileHebert,LucHebert,JackHenry,Matthew Romero, Luke Roger,andStuartSonnier

The Pack, family members,and friends celebrated NationalScoutSundayatMassonFebru-ary 6th at St. Mary Magdalen.

Eighth grade student Emily Navarre, daughter of Emile and Polly Navarre and fifth grade student Brennan Stanley, son of Robert and Cherie Stanley, were selected as St. Francis School Students of the Year for school year 2010-11. This selection is based on academics, citizenship, and service. Pictured above are, from left to right, Cindy Habetz, SFS principal; Brennan Stanley, Emily Navarre, and Father Mikel Polson, SFS chancellor. Photo furnished by St. Francis School.

St.FrancisSchoolstudentsoftheyear

The Sacrament of Confirmation was celebrated at St. Margaret Church, Estherwood on March 16, with Bishop Michael Jarrell conferring the Sacrament on candidates from Estherwood, Morse, Lyons Point, Midland and Mermentau. After the celebration, new-ly confirmed and their families and friends gathered for a reception under the “bigtop,” a tent set up in St. Margaret’s parking lot. Father Donald Pousson is pastor.

Confirmation at St. Margaret, Estherwood

RegisternowforCycle3ofVLCFFLAFAYETTE

RegistrationisnowopenforCy-cle3oftheUniversityofDaytonVirtual Learning Community forFaith Formation (VLCFF). Regis-trationwillcloseonApril27,andtheclasseswillbeconductedfromMay1-June4.

ThosewithintheLafayetteDi-ocese may participate in theVL-CFFatthecostof$40percourse,andcoursecreditsmaybeappliedtoward a Certificate in Catechesis from the University of Dayton,in partnership with the LafayetteDiocese.Catechistsmayalsousethese online courses to fulfill the continuing education hours re-quired by the diocese’s Office of CatholicSchools.

TheVLCFFconductsatotalofseven separate cycles throughoutthe calendar year, with coursesvaryingfromcycletocycle.SomecoursesbeingofferedduringCycle3are: AdvancedCatholicSocialTeaching; Introduction to Practi-calMorality; andSacraments. AcompletelistofCycle3courses—alongwithdetaileddescriptions—is accessible through www.vlc.udayton.edu.Informationonothercyclesandfuturecoursesmayalsobeaccessedthroughthissite.

Forfurtherdetailsregardingthebenefits of the partnership between theUniversityofDaytonInstituteforPastoralInitiativeandtheLa-fayetteDiocese,pleasecontacttheOffice of Christian Formation at (337) 261-5550.


Under the direction of teacher Ferne LeBlanc (Home Economics) and Reba Brous-sard (senior Theology), students at Vermilion Catholic High School in Abbeville have adopted Project Casserole, which will allow them to cook and deliver meals to the homebound. Approximately 25 people will receive the meals, along with prayer cards to remind them that they are being remembered daily in the students’ prayers. Pictured above is Pat Hebert as he receives his meal from members of the Vermilion Catholic senior class. Photo submitted by Vermilion Catholic High School.

VermilionCatholicstudentsdelivermealstohomebound

Kristie Carline of the Miles Perret Cancer Service Center visited with students at Our Mother of Peace Catholic School in Church Point. Over the past three years, Our Mother of Peace students have raised nearly $9,000.00 for the Miles Perret “Change for Miles” program. The center offers free resourses, programs, and hope for individu-als, as well of their families, who are fighting cancer. For more information on Miles Perret Cancer Services go to www.milesperret.org or call 337-984-1920.

OurMotherofPeaceraisesfundsforMilesPerretCancerServices

Diocese of Baton RougeCatholic Schools Office

Curriculum CoordinatorThe Diocese of Baton Rouge has thirty-two schools in eight civil parishes, with strong Catholic identity the focus in all schools. The district is accredited by the Southern Association of Col-leges and Schools, and ACT and Terra Nova standardized test scores are above state and national averages. Catholic schools in the Diocese of Baton Rouge… Evangelize Hearts, Educate Minds and Embrace the Future

--

Applicants must meet the following criteria: 1. Practicing Catholic

experience in Catholic education

6. Availability prior to or on July 1, 2011

to

P.O. Box 2028 Baton Rouge, LA 70821-2028

Deadline for application: April 15, 2011The schools of the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, admit students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at its schools. They do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in ad-ministration of educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school administered programs.

Following a Redemptorist Catholic School Mass at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Crowley, 8th grade students, Luke Ar-sement (left), and Theresa Schmid (right), were announced as the 2010-2011 Mr. & Miss Redemptorist. Pictured presenting the students with their awards are Carl LeJeune, RCS principal and Father Matthew Higginbotham, IHM pastor. Photo furnished by Redemptorist Catholic School.

2010-2011Mr.&MissRedemptorist

Dr. John Bruchalski, founder of the Te-peyac Family Center in Fairfax, Va., is seen in a 2009 file photo in Washing-ton. Bruchalski recently completed a two-week, 15-state speaking tour at 23 medical schools and universities, where he shared his own journey from being an abortion provider to becoming a pro-life obstetrician and gynecologist and en-couraged students to challenge those who think pro-life doctors have no place in medicine. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)


Members of Catholic High of New Iberia’s Junior Beta club recently took part in Jr. Beta District Day at Iberia Middle School. Participating students included (L/R) Mac Duhe (4th place, Social Studies), Hailey Blanchard (4th place, Math), and Jon Michael Judice (2nd place, Public Speaking). Jon Michael will also compete at the Jr. Beta State convention, which will be in Lafayette’s CajunDome May 5-6. Photo submitted by Catholic High—New Iberia.

CatholicHighJr.BetaClubmembersparticipateinJr.BetaDay

Notre Dame High School in Crowley recently hosted the Quality Assurance Review Team of AdvancED SACS CASI for its five-year evaluation. The Review Team met with faculty, students, advisory council members and community representatives, looked at evidence, surveys and test scores to determine Notre Dame’s accreditation status. At the end of the process J.W. Cook, SACS CASI chairperson, read the final report to a capacity crowd; the school achieved the highest possible marks in each of the seven areas of study, and the overall Highly Functional score extends Notre Dame’s accredi-tation through 2016. Photo submitted by Notre Dame High School.

NotreDamereceiveshighmarksinevaluation

St. Peter School of Gueydan students gathered recently, for the “Change for Miles” dumping day. Representatives from Miles Perret Cancer Services were present, in-cluding Hunter Perret, the brother of Miles. Once each student dumped their bottles of change into the moneybags, the Miles Perret representatives were greatly surprised at the number of bags for such a small school. The total amount raised was $ 4,421.71. Photo furnished by St. Peter School.

St.PeterSchool,Gueydanstudentscollect“ChangeforMiles”

Over 20 students from Rayne Catholic School donated locks of their hair to the “Locks of Love” project which donates hair for wigs to be used for children undergoing chemo-therapy and illnesses that result in hair loss. Photo by Rayne Catholic School.

RayneCatholicgirlsdonate“LocksofLove”

Due to their outstanding scholastics and service along with their exceptional character and leadership qualities, ten Opelousas Catholic high school students were recently inducted into the National Honor Society. Pictured above are: (front, L/R) Elizabeth Bragg, Alexis Ardoin, Ashley Robert, Megan Richard, and Victoria Peck. (Back, L/R) Gabe Stelly, N’Kendra Kimble, Benjamin Hargroder, Celeste Quebedeaux, and Peyton Taylor. Photo submitted by Opelousas Catholic School

NationalHonorSocietyinductees

The Sacred Heart (Ville Platte) Varsity Quiz Bowl team recently competed in the Louisi-ana Association for Academic Competition State Quiz Bowl Tournament at Northwest-ern State University in Natchitoches. This tournament is comprised of the top high school quiz bowl teams from across the state. SHS won games up to the quarter finals round in its division eventually losing to Haynes Academy of New Orleans. Shown in the photo are: (left to right) Alexis Fontenot, Catherine Briley, Christopher Sylvester, Taylor McCaulley, Abby Enicke and Mrs. Julia Fontenot. The Sacred Heart School Quiz Bowl participants are coached by Mrs. Julia Fontenot.

SacrtedHeartSchoolplacesinQuizBowl


LAFAYETTEAuthentic femininity will be

the theme of the first annual Wom-an-to-Woman Catholic Confer-ence scheduled on October 15,2011,attheCajundomeConven-

tionCenterin Lafay-ette.

JohnetteBenkovic,host ofE W T N ’ sWomen ofGrace Se-ries, willbe the fea-

turedspeaker.According to Michelle Rob-

erts, one of the conference or-ganizers, there is an acuteneedforthistypeofconference.“Wehave reached the point todaywhere people are thirsting foropportunities to learn how theycanliveouttheirfaithdayinanddayout.Thesuccessof theDi-vineMercyConferenceand theMan-to-Man Catholic Confer-ence confirms this. Our society

has, for too long,allowedovertanti-Christianethicstotakecen-terstageandChristiansarenowfighting back. We can no longer allow our children to be sub-jectedtothehyper-sexualizationandmoralrelativismthatsocietyispreaching.Wemustwork to-gether in order to turn the tide.Ifthisgenerationmissestheop-portunity to return to our God-givenrolesthentheopportunityislost.”

ThechoiceofMrs.Benkovicastheinauguralspeakerisideal.Mrs. Benkovic is the founderandpresidentofLivingHisLifeAbundantlyInternational,Inc.,aCatholic evangelization aposto-latewithoutreach in television,radio, print, and Web commu-nications.She is the founderofWomenofGraceandexecutiveproducerof“WomenofGrace,”a program televised on EWTNthat discusses contemporary is-sues from a Catholic perspec-tive.

Mrs. Benkovic will discussthebeautyofauthenticfeminin-

ity and the unique role God has ordainedforwomen.Accordingto Mrs. Benkovic, “The salva-tion of the world depends onwomen.Aswomen,Goddesiresthat we live out the fullness ofour authentic femininity so thatwecanbethosewomenofgraceinourdayandtime,imagingourBlessedLadythatleadsthisna-tion, this culture, our children,ourfamiliesbacktotruth.”

Conference organizer LetitiaPeyton states that sponsors areneededtohelpdefraythecostofthe conference and keep ticketprices affordable. “As with anyconference of this size, dona-tions are necessary. The costof the conference will be about$35,000andticketsaleswillcov-er half the cost,” states Peyton.“Our goal is to raise $25,000,whichwouldallowustohosttheevent and have seed money fornext year’s conference. We ex-pectbetween800-1,000womentoattend,sotheinitialimpactonourareawillbeimmense.”

“Wehope that thosewhoare

Woman-to-WomanCatholicConferencedetailsannouncedin the position to donate willfeelcalled todosoafter learn-ingaboutthisopportunity.

LiketheMan-to-ManCatho-lic Conference, the Woman-to-Woman Catholic ConferencehaspartneredwiththeCommu-nity Foundation of Acadiana.Any donations, therefore, aretax-deductible.

Women ages 18 and aboveareinvitedtoattendtheconfer-ence. Doors will open at 8:00a.m.andthedaywillculminatewith Holy Mass, celebrated byFr.EdmundSylvia,TheologicalAdvisertoWomenofGrace.

Ticketsare$40and includesacateredlunch.

If you would like to learnmoreabouttheconference,pur-chasea ticketormakeadona-tion to The Woman-to-WomanCatholic Conference pleasevisit their website at www.catholicwomensconference.orgor contact Michelle Roberts [email protected] or 337-356-6971.

Johnette Benkovic

“As the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Remain in my love.”

John 15:9

In Loving Memory of Reverend Monsignor

Harry E. Benefiel, Jr.(1920 -2011)

St. Edmund Catholic School accepts student applications for ad-mission to any grade regardless of race, creed, or national origin.

ST.EDMUNDCATHOLICSCHOOL

High School Junior High Elementary230 North Third Street

Eunice, LA 70535



“Lentisatimetolearntosay‘no’toourselves,”FatherGilDu-tel told theMarch ‘Food for theJourney’audience. FatherDu-tel,pastorofSt.EdmondChurch,Lafayette, appropriately chosetheseasonofLentasthetopicforhis March 1 talk at the monthly“eating-meeting” at the CrownPlazaHotel.

Healso commended theCen-tral Region of Acadiana whichsponsors Food for the Journey,noting the variety of spiritual/educational programs which arearegularbilloffareintheregionwhich includes church parishesin the civil parish of LafayetteandportionsofSt.Martin.

“We give thanks” he pointedout, “to have been blessed withthe leadership of regional vicarFather Thomas James, S.V.D.and executive assistant MaryBergeron.

He recalled such outstandingeventsastheMercySundaypro-grams, publicationofschedulesfor missions, opportunities for

Lent:atimetosay‘no”toourselvessaysFatherDutel

Father Gilbert Dutel, center, was the guest speaker at the March “Food for the Journey” speakers’ series at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Lafayette. Pictured above with Father Dutel are Father Thomas James, SVD, left, Regional Vicar for the Central Region and Mary Bergeron, right, Regional Assistant to Father James.

confessions in Lent andAdventandotherusefulprograms.

ReturningtohistopicofLent,Father Dutel noted Pope Bene-dictXVIinhisjustissuedpapalletterforthe2011seasonofLent,stresses that prayer, fasting andalms giving should be the chiefcharacteristics of our Lenten

practices.“Christ tells us to love our-

selves,”hecontinued,“andsowemustlearnhowtosay‘no’toour-selves,especiallytosin.Alms-giving is reaching out to otherswhohavealegitimateneed,Itistheabilitytoseethatanythingwedon’tneedmaybeofusetooth-ers.Lentisatimetoreorderourlives,togivetheLordpriority,tobecertainHe isat theheartandcenterofourlives.”

Father Dutel recalled howBaptism, and early Lenten cus-toms of imposing ashes, andpublic penances facilitated con-versionsorareturntothechurch.TheRCIAprogramnowusedinmanychurcheshassomeoriginsinthesecustoms.

“All of these lead up to HolyWeek and the celebration of thePaschal Mystery, which recalls

the suffering, death and Resur-rection of Christ. This is theroadtoperfection,”FatherDutelpointedout,“Thepracticeofsuf-fering,astheexampleofChrist’slifeteachesus,Hissufferinganddeathleadtotheresurrection,andthegloryofEaster.”

Mrs. Bergeron announcedthe April 4 Food for the Jour-neyspeakerwillbeFatherKeithLaBove, pastor of S. PatrickChurch,Lafayette.

Prayersbeforethestartofhurricaneseason

Several church parishesthroughouttheLafayetteDiocesewill be hosting special servicestopromoteprayerandawarenessbefore thestartof the2011hur-ricaneseason.Allareinvitedtoattend.

In theWest Region, St. Fran-ces Cabrini Mission Chapel inKaplan will host a Mass at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 26.

IntheNorthRegion,St.Mathil-daChurchinEunicewillhostanEcumenical Prayer Service, thesametimeanddate.

Lastly, those who live in thediocese’s South Region maychoose to attend an EcumenicalPrayer Service at St. Peter theApostleChurchinFourCorners.ThisservicewillalsobeheldonMay 26, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Those within the Central Re-gion are encouraged to attend aspecialprayer service sponsoredby theCathedralofSt. John theEvangelist on May 19. For fur-therdetails,pleaserefertothear-ticleonPage12.

611 St. Landry St. Lafayette, LA 70506 / www.lourdes.net

As Acadiana’s first cancer network, Our Lady of Lourdes has spent the last 25 years building an alliance of the best and brightest

oncology specialists in the region. Our continued success is the result of unwavering determination to give every single one of our

patients a fighting chance to win against the life-threatening disease. Lourdes is accredited by the American College of Surgeons

Commission on Cancer and offers the most vast and technologically advanced array of cancer services in Lafayette — all of which

are linked by a board-certified nurse practitioner dedicated to guiding patients on their journey through cancer to wellness. We are

an alliance. We are Lourdes Cancer Network. And we are determined to fight the good fight.

Lourdes Cancer Network Armed With Knowledge. United In Hope.

To find out more information on our oncology services, please call us at 337-289-4310.

CAregIverS LIKe THeSe mAKe Up oUr NeTWorK:Shannon guidry, rN; Henry Kaufman, mD;gene Brierre, mD; Sister Hilda mallet, Spiritual Advisor; maitland Deland, mD

preveNTIoN & SCreeNINg / ADvANCeD ImAgINg TeCHNoLogY / meDICAL & SUrgICAL oNCoLogY

perSoNALIZeD pATIeNT eDUCATIoN / SpeCIALIZeD NUrSINg CAre

SoCIAL & SpIrITUAL SUpporT / INpATIeNT & oUTpATIeNT TreATmeNTS

the acadiana catholic

Documents

t i o nwill alsobe available

e n d e dand shouldbe

catholic schools

lpersonalities jesser

thesacramentof reconc

catholic high student

father larry richards

novena of divinemercy