The year, 2018, will be an important date for all of us who are members of the Diocese of Lafayette. It was one hundred years ago that the Diocese of Lafayette was established as a separate Diocese. On January 11, 1918, the Holy See formally made the Diocese of Lafayette a reality. Up until then, our area was part of the Archdiocese of New Orleans which was established in 1793. The Diocese of Lafayette included all the civil parishes west of New Orleans from the Atchafalaya to the Sabine River. The Holy See appointed Msgr. Jules Benjamin Jeanmard, the Vicar General of the New Orleans Archdiocese as the first Bishop of the new Diocese. That announcement was made on July 18, 1918, by his Holy Father, Pope Benedict XV. The formal consecration and ordination of the Bishop of the new Diocese was on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8, 1918, at St. John’s Cathedral in Lafayette.
Bishop Jeanmard was the first native Louisianan to be ordained a Catholic Bishop. He was born in Breaux Bridge and ordained a Priest in 1903 for the Archdiocese of New Orleans. The young Father Jeanmard was talented, gifted and charismatic. After a few parish assignments, he became Vicar General of the Archdiocese and the Secretary for Archbishop Blenk, the Ordinary of New Orleans. The Archbishop died in 1917 and Msgr. Jeanmard was appointed Administrator of the Archdiocese. Msgr. Jeanmard held that position until he was consecrated Bishop of Lafayette. Bishop Jeanmard was 39 years of age when he became the Bishop of Lafayette and served for 38 years. His accomplishments are impressive and his vision for the new Diocese have been influential and significant. Bishop Jules Benjamin Jeanmard died on February 23, 1957, in Lake Charles and was buried in St. John’s Cathedral in Lafayette.
Since Bishop Jeanmard, the Diocese of Lafayette has had six other Shepherds; Bishop Maurice Schexnayder (1956-1972), Bishop Gerard Frey (1972-1989), Bishop Harry Flynn (1989-1994), Bishop Edward O’Donnell (1994-2002), Bishop Michael Jarrell (2002-2016) and our present Ordinary, Bishop Douglas Deshotel who was appointed by Pope Francis in March 2016. Of our seven Bishops, four have passed away: Bishops Jeanmard, Schexnayder, Frey and O’Donnell. All four are buried in St. John’s Cathedral in Lafayette. May they rest in peace and may they be remembered for their years of service to God, to the people of God and to the Church of the Diocese of Lafayette.
Plans to observe the Centennial of the Diocese have been in place for some time now. In 2018, each Church Parish will be asked to celebrate the establishment of the Parish with an Evening of Prayer the day before the official date and a Parish Mass on the day the Parish was founded. In our case, we here at St. Elizabeth Seton will acknowledge our official beginnings on September 14, 2018 with an Evening of Prayer on September 13, 2018. More information will be given to you in the days to come. There will be some diocesan observances that will be open to the public. These events will be announced at appropriate times in the future. The Parish Bulletin, the Parish Website and the Diocesan Website will be great sources of communication.
In the first half of 2016, St. Elizabeth Seton Church Parish was involved in the Centennial Campaign: Building Our Future Together. This campaign was begun as a way of observing the 100th Anniversary of the Diocese in 2018 and raising significant funds for the Diocese to support the education of our Seminarians, to care for our Retired Priests, to assist the Building Program at Our Lady of Wisdom at UL, to provide funds to help the needy and the poor of the area and to help with parish projects. We as a Parish pledged $805,570. I am deeply grateful to all of you for your generosity to this appeal. May we all follow through on our pledges and make the Centennial Campaign a real success.
My prayers, best wishes, love and gratitude to you and to your loved ones, for who you are, for all you do for the Lord and for the good of St. Elizabeth Seton Church Parish. “One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)
SHALOM!
Fr. Gary
Homework for the week of March 5 – March 11
