News and Press

LAKE CHARLES – The second annual presentation of the “Pro Vita” awards highlighted the 2017 Respect Life Banquet, sponsored by the Office of Pro-Life of the Diocese of Lake Charles, held recently. Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, the founder and president of the Ruth Institute, a global non-profit organization, dedicated to creating a Christ-like solution to family breakdown was the guest speaker.  The honorees were Hailey Guth of Our Lady Queen of Heaven Catholic Church in the youth category and Lea Poncho of St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church in the adult layperson classification.

I, The Most Reverend Glen John Provost, Bishop of Lake Charles, hereby announce the following pastoral assignments for the Diocese of Lake Charles, Louisiana:

 LAKE CHARLES – Mrs. Kimberlee Gazzolo, superintendent of Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Lake Charles, has been appointed as the nonpublic representative on the Accountability Commission of the Louisiana Board of Secondary Education (BESE).


On September 1, 2015, His Holiness, Pope Francis announced that all priests during the Year of Mercy would have the faculty to forgive the sin of abortion. At the conclusion of the Year of Mercy on the Feast of Christ the King, November 20, 2016, Pope Francis announced that all of the priests of the world would retain this faculty indefinitely. The Diocese of Lake Charles wants to assure the Christian faithful that all priests serving in the Diocese of Lake Charles have had for many years the faculty to forgive the sin of abortion and to lift the canonical penalty if incurred. It is common practice in the United States for Ordinaries to grant this faculty.

A training video for Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion in the parishes of the Diocese of Lake Charles can now be accessed on the website of the Diocese of Lake Charles under “Special Videos” in the Resources Menu above or by purchasing a two-DVD set through the Office of Communications of the Diocese – 337-439-7400 - or by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The cost for the set is $25.00.

By Bishop Glen John Provost