Catholic school students in the Diocese of Baton Rouge will be able to receive free breakfast and lunch, courtesy of a federal program initially launched a year ago and extended for the 2021-22 school year.

Once considered a best kept secret in Baton Rouge, Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University is on the verge of taking its rightful place as an educational giant. 

In the July 16 issue we focused on how the sheep hear the voice of the shepherd, thus they follow him. Here we continue the thread of the Good Shepherd, turning now to the most basic need of life … food. Food for the body; food for the soul; food for eternal life. God provides.

On Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, a national campaign will kick off to encourage and inspire participation in the Vatican’s global action platform based on Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si’” (“On Care for Our Common Home”). 

Weather has taken a toll on what was once majestic beauty, a beacon of faith that soothed generations of faithful for more than a century. Beneath the sun-induced wrinkles and-rain-pelted blotches, her elegance remains, crying for a dab of makeup and perhaps even a hint of gloss. St. Mary’s Chapel stands proudly on River Road in Union, shuttered but with the voices and images of 150 years of memories etched in her charming interior. The chapel, originally built in 1875, continues to hold a special place for those who grew up attending Mass in the church that calls the Sunshine Bridge in Donaldsonville its neighbor.

Although thunderstorms could be heard rumbling throughout the area, only a few sprinkles fell on the annual Marian procession at Our Lady of Pompeii Church in Tickfaw. 

Perhaps well into the future, when the occasion calls for Father Danny Roussel to use his personal chalice while celebrating Mass, memories will reflect back to a special time shortly before his ordination.

A pair of clothing drives in Baton Rouge and Hammond will help address a growing need among all ages in the Diocese of Baton Rouge.

The Catholic Health Association, a national group comprised of more than 600 hospitals and 1,600 long-term care and other health facilities in all 50 states, awarded Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge its Achievement Citation, the organization’s top annual honor.

Several people gathered July 2 to pray the rosary outside of the Baton Rouge studio of Catholic Community Radio. Those gathered include, from left, President and General Manager David Dawson, Sharon Hebert, Director of Development Alicia Quebedeaux and Damian Calato. The rosary is prayed on the first Friday of every month at 8 a.m., and the public is always invited to attend. Photo provided by Gaby Smith | Catholic Community Radio

As late spring’s tepidity two-stepped into summer’s sauna and the dreaded June 1 date inched closer, the eyes of Lisa Lee and C.J. Roy were focused on the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and beyond.

A popular psalm of the Bible will resound as we celebrate the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, only a week later to be followed by the beginning of the most profound discourse in the Gospel of St. John, The Bread of Life Discourse, proclaimed during the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Convert baptized, confirmed

Children discovered the wonders of God’s universe while learning God’s love and earthly mission for them dwell inside their hearts during St. Alphonsus Church’s in Greenwell Spring’s vacation Bible school on June 14–18.

A young Irishman from the Emerald Isle, Father Michael Moroney began his pastoral journey as assistant pastor at St. Mary of False River in New Roads in June 1971, one month after his ordination.

Father Paul Counce, former pastor at St. Joseph Cathedral in Baton Rouge, greets well-wishers at a reception at the parish hall after he had celebrated his final Sunday Mass on June 27. Father Counce, who had served at the cathedral for 12 years, retired from active parish administration June 30 but will remain as judicial vicar for the Diocese of Baton Rouge. Photo by Richard Meek | The Catholic Commentator