News - December 2025 RSS Feed

A Christmas message from Bishop Duca

St. Vincent de Paul Baton Rouge (SVDPBR) of Baton Rouge hosted its inaugural Santa Shop, a festive community event full of holiday joy and family fun. The Santa Shop was a dignified experience where parents selected toys for their children and families shared in the magic of the season.

Archive records contain a treasure trove of resources that provide depth and detail to the experiences of enslaved African Americans. It also sheds truth and light so sins and mistakes of the past can be corrected, and the descendants of the enslaved can heal and move forward with their lives.

Stephen Sclafani received the gold Congressional Award in a Washington, D.C. ceremony. The award the highest honor a youth civilian can achieve through the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives.

Ruth Fabre celebrated her 100th birthday on Dec. 14. Her family hosted its official celebration on Dec. 13 with lunch with family members followed by 4 p.m. Mass at St. Augustine Church in New Roads. At the Mass Kevin Zayas, of the Knights of Peter Claver Council #41, presented to Fabre a proclamation from New Roads Mayor Theron Smith declaring her birthday Ruth Fabre Day in the City of New Roads. She is the mother of Paula Fabre, former principal of St. Francis Xavier School in Baton Rouge and the aunt of New Roads native Archbishop Shelton Fabre of the Archdiocese of Lexington, Kentucky. Photo provided by Paula Fabre

In today's tumultuous world, many families seek to build a domestic church with a foundation built upon rock. Through a new consecration to the Holy Family, they have St. Joseph as their master builder, Mary as their nurturing presence, and Jesus as their pathway to a heavenly home.

As Pope Leo XIV reminds us, “God has a special place in his heart for those who are discriminated against and oppressed, and he asks us, his Church, to make a decisive and radical choice in favor of the weakest” (Dilexi te, §16). Bishop Duca issues a statement regarding Mass obligations during this climate of fear and anxiety currently experienced by many in our faith communities.

Receiving messages of hope … planting seeds of hope. This evangelistic cycle during Advent helps "pilgrims of hope" shine the light of Christ in a darkened world as the Jubilee Year of Hope draws to a close.

The Diocese of Baton Rouge is launching a community-wide food drive on Friday, December 5th from 9 AM to 4 PM. All are invited to contribute non-perishable food items to help feed food-insecure families throughout our region. Collection bins will be placed outside of the Westerfield Building at the Catholic Life Center, and volunteers will be available to assist with donations.

Dreams have always fascinated me – especially when I can actually remember details from them. Like John Lennon noted in his Imagine song, “You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.” And I, like most folks, really get goose bumps when I hear Martin Luther King's famous “I Have A Dream” speech! Sometimes, I've actually noticed how much in sync a dream's message may have been with some resolution to a concern or problem that I had been coping with.

St. Paul writes in Hebrews 11:1, "Faith is the realization of what is hoped for, and evidence of things not seen." During Advent in this Jubilee Year of Hope, the Church's liturgy and teachings move the faithful to wait with such confident hope for the first and second comings of Christ