Facts about the State of Louisiana

Map of Louisiana showing the civil parishes.

· The capital of Louisiana is the city of Baton Rouge.

· The Largest city is New Orleans.

· Louisiana is the only state to be divided into civil parishes.

· The highest elevation is 535 ft. above sea level, the lowest is 8 feet below sea level.

· Time Zone: Central.

cultural divisions of the state

· Louisiana is named for King Louis XIV of France.

· It was discovered and claimed for the Kingdom of France by Rene Cavelier and Sieur de La Salle.

· Louisiana was acquired by the United States in 1803, during the administration of President Thomas Jefferson.

· 15 states have been carved out of the original landmass that constituted the territory of colonial Louisiana.

· The State of Louisiana has a sub-tropical climate.

Archbishop Aymond.

--The predominant religion in the state is Protestantism. 60% of the population belongs in some Protestant denomination. The bulk of the Protestant population lives in the northern parishes, with the Southern Baptist convention claiming 70% of Protestants.

--30% of the population are Catholics, and these live largely in the southern part of the state. The Catholic Church is the largest single group of Christians.

--The ecclesiastical provence of New Orleans (Novae Aureliae) covers the same land area as the civil state. The Province is composed of the Archdiocese of New Orleans which is the Metropolitan seat of the Province, and six other dioceses: Alexandria; Baton Rouge; Houma-Thibodaux; Lafayette; Lake Charles; Shreveport. Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond is the present Metropolitan.

The end of an assignment

The front of Saint Aloysius' church

My replacement here at Saint Aloysius has arrived. He is from India and has been a priest for 16 years, though to look at him one would say he could not be older than 20 years of age. That is what virtues living does to you.

I spoke to Father Van last night. He is getting things ready for his departure. I am happy that I will be able to spend sometime with him before he goes to war.

Father "C"

Father Van Constant blessing water during

the celebration of the Easter Vigil at

the Monastery of the Sacred Heart

home of the Lockport Dominicans

Father Constant, a priest of the diocese of Houma-Thibodaux has recently been called into active duty by the Louisiana National Guard, and will be serving his country as a chaplain overseas. I have the distinct privilege of being able to help this great priest and great American serve his country and save souls during his year long absence from Blessed Sacrament Chapel. Let us all remember to pray for his safety and quick return to his people.

Lockport Dominicans

A novice in veneration before

the Holy Crucifix on Good Friday.

One of Father Constant's favorite responsibility is saying Mass for the Dominican nuns in Lockport Louisiana. I will soon be blessed with this same task as well, and I expect to enjoy saying Holy Mass for the Nuns as much as I know Father Constant enjoys his time with the good sisters.

The Lockport Dominicans are a very special group of nuns. They are members of the Second Order of Preachers-thats Dominican code for cloistered sisters. These brides of Christ and daughters of Saint Dominic are currently re-founding the Lockport community. They are noted for their fidelity to the holy habit and to the customs of the order, and I have no doubt that they will be very successful in their holy enterprise . I am told that they have a long list of young ladies who have expressed interest in the community. Use of the internet apparently has played a key role in this regard-Those Guzman girls are something else.

The Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux

Map of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux

At the start of January 2010, I will be stationed for one year in the quasi-parish of the Blessed Sacrament, in the diocese of Houma-Thibodaux.

The diocese of Houma-Thibodaux is located South West of the city of New Orleans Louisiana, in what is colorfully referred to as the Bayou (the Mississippi delta ie. The Houma, Thibodaux, Morgan City area south of New Orleans).

The area was first explored and colonized by the French, which goes a long way to explaining the area’s deep rooted Catholicism.

Pope Paul VI established the Diocese in 1977 with 36 parishes carved out of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, Bishop Warren Boudreaux was appointed its first bishop. Since that time the diocese has had two other bishops; Michael Jareell, consecrated and enthroned in 1993, and Bishop Jacobs the current bishop who was enthroned in October of 2003.

In 1981 the Monastery of the Sacred Heart in Lockport, a Dominican community of Nuns, was establish. I will be working with these sisters once I am firmly in place at Blessed Sacrament.

The current interior of Saint Joseph's Co-Cathedral in Thibodaux