By Pamela Seal
Diocese of Lake Charles
LAKE CHARLES — St. Louis Catholic High School announced on October 3 it will begin advertising for bids on October 10 for two significant projects — construction of its new campus on Corbina Road and demolition of its hurricane-damaged Bank Street campus.
The announcement is a pivotal step in recovery from the back-to-back hurricanes of Laura and Delta in 2020. The only high school in the Diocese of Lake Charles has been operating in modular buildings in the time since.
Champeaux Evans Hotard, APAC, a local architect firm, will oversee the bidding process through centralbidding.com.
Earlier this year, FEMA obligated $32.2 million to build a new campus. The Corbina Road site was blessed on August 25 by Bishop Glen John Provost who said he sees this opportunity to rebuild the school as a moment of grace in conformity to God’s Will.
Catholic High School will be built, was held on Sunday, August 25.
From left, are: Kimberlee Gazzolo, Superintendent of Catholic Schools
for the Diocese of Lake Charles; Very Rev. Ruben J. Buller, Rector
of St. Louis Catholic High School; His Excellency, Bishop Glen John
Provost; Kelly DeMolle, Principal of St. Louis; and Rev. Whitney Miller,
Chairman of “Spreading Roots, Growing Saints” Capital Campaign.
“Our task, our work, must always be to do God’s Will. This was certainly the example that St. Louis King of France, the patron of our school, left us,” said Bishop Provost. “It is a lesson also taught by our great Catholic saints, like St. Thomas Aquinas, the patron of Catholic education.”
Remarking that God is giving an opportunity to build something even better, the bishop said, “We must seize the moment, make the most of it, not be discouraged by setbacks, and always move forward with courage and hope.”
Father Ruben J. Buller, Rector of St. Louis, and Kelly DeMolle, Principal, expressed their heartfelt gratitude for the unwavering support of Bishop Provost, the recovery team, and the St. Louis Catholic community throughout these past four years.
DeMolle said that she is dedicated to “ensuring the values that define St. Louis Catholic High School remain central to our mission.”
“While we embrace this new chapter, our focus will always be on the needs and aspirations of our current students,” she added. “Together, we will honor our past while looking forward, creating a vibrant environment that nurtures both faith and learning.”
Father Buller noted that St. Louis is a school that has always grown and changed, reflecting back on how it was formed in 1970.
“From the locales of Sacred Heart High School on Mill Street and St. Charles Academy on Ryan Street, joining with Landry Memorial High, a new school was formed on Bank Street: St. Louis Catholic High,” said Buller.
“With a phenomenal faculty and staff already in place in spite of the circumstances of the storms, it only makes sense to move forward with an opportunity to have a campus that serves to help their task and our mission at St. Louis: forming a new generation of young people in the Catholic Tradition, forming a new generation of Saints,” he added.
The sale of the Bank Street property in early September to St. Nicholas Center for Children also gives the green light for demolition of the storm-battered high school paving the way for significant new chapters for both institutions.
“The location at Bank Street will continue its original mission with the St. Nicholas Center for Children,” said Father Buller, thus fulfilling Bishop Provost’s desire that the property be used for a good an honorable purpose that upholds the values of Catholic Education.
The state-of-the-art new campus by Champeaux Evans Hotard, APAC, will incorporate many design elements to honor and preserve the school’s rich history.
“The main academic building is an architectural nod to the Landry Memorial Gym,” said Bridget Evans, principal architect. “The center of the new campus will be named the Sacred Heart Plaza, which is anchored at one end with the Landry Memorial Library and at the other end with the St. Louis Chapel.”
In his short time as Rector of St. Louis, Father Buller, a 2000 graduate of the school, said that he was surprised just how much of a homecoming it was for him.
“Individuals who I went to school with were now teaching at St. Louis, sending their children to St. Louis, and now even serving as the principal,” he noted. “Regardless of location and circumstances, the spirit of St. Louis continues on.”
As principal and a 1999 graduate, DeMolle recognizes the history, tradition and uniqueness of St. Louis.
“I know that these things are not simply found in structures and buildings, but in what I consider the spirit of St. Louis Catholic High School,” said DeMolle.
“This spirit is found in the students, the faculty, and the SLC community,” she added. “This spirit is found in every extra-curricular event, school competition and club. This spirit is found in every prayer and every good deed throughout this school. St. Louis Catholic High School, and its spirit, is simply special.”
All inquiries regarding the bidding process should be directed to Champeaux Evans Hotard, APAC, at 337-439-8871. Details regarding the groundbreaking ceremony on Corbina Road will be announced soon.
