The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lake Charles (Latin: ''Dioecesis Lacus Carolini''), is a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

spanning

Allen Allen, Allen's or Allens may refer to: Buildings * Allen Arena, an indoor arena at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee * Allen Center, a skyscraper complex in downtown Houston, Texas * Allen Fieldhouse, an indoor sports arena on the Unive ...

, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, and

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...

(civil) parishes in the southwest corner of the state of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Lake Charles is its cathedral church, and Glen John Provost is the current diocesan bishop. The diocese is a

suffragan see A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, ...

of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of New Orleans.

History

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

canonically erected the Diocese of Lake Charles on 29 January 1980, taking its territory from the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana, officially the Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana ( Latin: ''Dioecesis Lafayettensis'', french: Diocèse de Lafayette en Louisiane), is a diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States, an ...

, designating the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Lake Charles as its cathedral and making it a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of New Orleans.

Sexual abuse

The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office and

Louisiana State Police The Louisiana State Police (French: Police d’Etat de Louisiane) is the state police agency of Louisiana, which has jurisdiction anywhere in the state, headquartered in Baton Rouge. It falls under the authority of the Louisiana Department of P ...

arrested Mark Broussard, 56, on Thursday, March 22, 2012, on charges of abusing three boys as young as 8 years old while serving at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Catholic Church and St. Henry's Catholic Church in Lake Charles, La. Broussard had subsequently served as pastor of St. Eugene Catholic Church in Grand Chenier, where he resigned from ministry in 1994. At the time of his arrest, Broussard's personnel file contained documents indicating the Diocese of Lake Charles knew Broussard had sexual contact with at least four other children but these incidents were never reported to law enforcement. The civil authorities eventually charged him with 224 counts of abuse, but subsequently consolidated the charges to 10 counts to ease the burden on the victims. Three additional victims declined to pursue charges against Broussard."Sex abuse charges against former priest adjusted", "Lake Charles American Press"
/ref>

Bishops

Bishops of Lake Charles

Jude Speyrer Jude Speyrer (April 14, 1929 – July 21, 2013) D.D. was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the first bishop of the Diocese of Lake Charles, Louisiana. Biography Born on April 14, 1929, in Leonville, Louisiana, Speyre ...

(1980-2000) # Edward Kenneth Braxton (2000-2005), appointed Bishop of Belleville # Glen John Provost (2007–present)

Other priests of this diocese who became a bishop

* Sam Joseph Galip Jacobs, appointed Bishop of Alexandria in 1989

Mission statement

The mission statement of the

reads as follows: :The Diocese of Lake Charles embraces fully the mission of the Roman Catholic Church to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Church in Southwest Louisiana by entering into the Mystery of the Life, Death, and Resurrection of Christ in the sacramental nature of the Catholic Church and with particular emphasis on the call to holiness, service to the poor and marginalized, the education of young people, the promotion of natural marriage and the family, fostering a respect for human life at all stages, responding to the needs of victims of violence and abuse, and witnessing faithfully to the Truth of Jesus Christ in local society and daily life.

Schools

The diocese operates six schools, including a high school, St. Louis Catholic High School.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Lake Charles Official Site
{{authority control Lake Charles Lake Charles 1980 establishments in Louisiana Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles Lake Charles