LAKE CHARLES — Two priests, Father Jude Fernando, T.O.R, a native of Sri Lanka, and the other, Father John Payne, a priest of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, have been appointed to pastoral positions in the Diocese of Lake Charles.
Father Fernando is serving as the temporary administrator of Our Lady of LaSalette Catholic Church in DeQuincy. An author of religious books, he has most recently working as a parish priest in South Africa with ample experience leading parish missions and retreats.
Father Payne, who will arrive in the diocese on June 1, will be released at that time by New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond to serve the Diocese of Lake Charles for a period of three years. He holds a licentiate in Canon Law and will be assigned to duties in the diocesan tribunal.
During June, he will serve as temporary administrator of St. Theodore Parish in Moss Bluff, pending the appointment of a Pastor for St. Theodore Parish by July 1.
