By Bonny Van
The Catholic Commentator
On the second day into the New Year, alumni, family and friends of St. Michael the Archangel High in Baton Rouge gathered to remember and to pray for Carley McCord, a member of the Class of 2007.
Father Ryan Hallford, chaplain for St. Michael the Archangel High School in Baton Rouge, leads a rosary for Carley McCord on Jan. 2. McCord, a 2007 graduate, died Dec. 28 in a plane crash in Lafayette. She worked as a sports sideline reporter for multiple media outlets. Photo by Bonny Van | The Catholic Commentator
McCord died just days earlier, on Dec. 28, in a plane crash in Lafayette. The plane
By Richard Meek
The Catholic Commentator
Citing the leadership skills of King Louis IX of France, Archbishop Greg M. Aymond of the Archdiocese of New Orleans delivered a homily of hope for the future and asked Gov. John Bel Edwards to follow God during the next four years during the Louisiana Governor’s Mass on Jan. 13 at St. Joseph Cathedral in Baton Rouge.
Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond of the Archdiocese of New Orleans,
By Richard Meek
The Catholic Commentator
As executive director of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Michael Acaldo directs the agency providing shelter to highest percentage of the homeless population in the Baton Rouge area.
So concern was his first reaction when he learned of the random murder of a homeless couple in Baton Rouge, not far from the St. Vincent campus.
His concern was heightened when a third homeless person was murdered two weeks later and police were able to determine the murders were connected.
“We’ve never seen anything like that,” Acaldo
By Richard Meek
The Catholic Commentator
As executive director of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Michael Acaldo directs the agency providing shelter to highest percentage of the homeless population in the Baton Rouge area.
So concern was his first reaction when he learned of
By Richard Meek
The Catholic Commentator
Citing the leadership skills of King Louis IX of France, Archbishop Greg M. Aymond of the Archdiocese of New Orleans delivered a
Bishop Michael G. Duca, left, assisted by Father Michael Moroney, pastor of St. Alphonsus Church in Greenwell Springs, blesses a relic of St. Alphonsus Liguori that was recently placed in the church’s altar on Jan.
By Bonny Van
The Catholic Commentator
On the second day into the New Year, alumni, family and friends of St. Michael the Archangel High in Baton Rouge gathered to remember and to
Ott shelter helps family start over
By Richard Meek
The Catholic Commentator
By Bonny Van
The Catholic Commentator
On a quiet street in Baton Rouge, not far from a busy, elevated section of I-10, St. Francis Xavier School in Baton Rouge stands as
Bishop Michael G. Duca distributed hundreds of toys to children at the annual St. Vincent de Paul Society gift giveaway on Dec. 21. This was one of several
By Barry Schoedel
Special to The Catholic Commentator
This year, on the liturgical memorial of St. Jerome, Pope Francis announced that the third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jan. 26, “is to be devoted to the celebration, study and dissemination of the Word of God.” Similar to
By Debbie Shelley
The Catholic Commentator
Dr. Edward Sri, theologian, co-founder of FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) and developer of Bible studies utilized by many
Happy New Year and new decade! The number ‘2020’ at times denotes clear vision rather than a calendar year. The American Optometric Association states, “20/20 vision does not necessarily mean you have perfect vision. It only indicates
Capital Area United Way celebrated the holidays with third- and fourth-graders at Redemptorist St. Gerard School in Baton Rouge who have been participating in Vello, a one-on-one online tutoring program that helps local children improve
Creation and redemption depicted in stained glass
By Debbie Shelley
The Catholic Commentator
Step through the chapel doors of the new Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital and through
A message from Bishop Duca
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
On Tuesday, Dec. 3, I had an opportunity with the Bishops of Region V (which includes the dioceses of Louisiana) and Region IV to have a visit with the Holy Father, Pope Francis. The
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Baton Rouge distributed bikes and bags filled with gifts to more than 400 families for its 2019 Community Comes Together for Christmas Program. Families were sponsored by area church and community organizations. Photo by Bonny
The Catholic Commentator
Parishioners, visitors and guests at Immaculate Conception Church in Baton Rouge were greeted by smiling ushers as they walked through the massive glass foyer flooded with sunshine on Dec. 15 for a special Mass for the
The Catholic Commentator
Wearing a bright red shirt and pants, topped off with a green fleece jacket, Greg Oivanki walks into a Baton Rouge grocery with his wife Sarah who is pushing a grocery cart and checking out the produce.
By Debbie Shelley
The Catholic Commentator
A group of youth at St. Joseph Church in Ponchatoula are navigating their teenage years with the help of Mary who drew them into a deeper knowledge of her son Jesus in a Marian consecration focusing on
Every year as Christmas draws near I call to mind good memories of family celebrations, Christmas feasts, the gathering of relatives, the lighting of the final candle of our family Advent wreath and midnight Mass.
I am sure that many
El Comentarista Católico
Rita Rangel acarició ansiosamente la taza de café, dándole un abrazo al tipo Barrosco como si fuera su propio Trofeo de Heisman personal.
Quizás lo fue.
Para Rangel, la taza, presentada por su clase de inglés como segunda lengua,
The Catholic Commentator
Bundled up in coats and sweatshirts over school uniforms, almost 475 students from kindergarten through eighth-graders gathered on sidewalks and second-floor balconies surrounding the courtyard at St. Jean Vianney School in Baton Rouge.
With one collective happy
By Debbie Shelley
The Catholic Commentator
Basking in the afterglow of the “Baton Rouge Big Buddy 40th Birthday Bash” block party in October, program organizers brought out a large green storage tub full of nostalgic photos and laughed as they shared “remember when
By Bonny Van
The Catholic Commentator
The encouraging news is Louisiana no longer leads the country and the world with the highest prison population per capita (that title now goes to Oklahoma) thanks to sweeping criminal justices reforms measures passed in 2017 but
Paula Davis, clinical director for Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Baton Rouge, is presented the 2019 Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute Angels in Adoption Award by Sen. John Kennedy on Nov. 14. The Angels in Adoption program honors individuals, couples,
Debbie Shelley
The Catholic Commentator
When holiday blues turn black through substance abuse or any other addiction, people need treatment, support and ultimately God’s healing hand, say medical experts and clergy of the Diocese of Baton Rouge.
Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University board members, from left, Quentin Messer Jr., Dolores “Dee” LeJeune, Edgar Silvey, Donna Saurage, Leo Hamilton and FranU president Dr. Tina Holland enjoy the celebration of Fête des Fidèles (Feast of the Faithful)
By Debbie Shelley
The Catholic Commentator
Many young Catholics lament that when it comes to faith and morality “the church is telling us what to
By Richard Meek
The Catholic Commentator
On an unusually balmy December day when the mercury topped out at 75 and the Saints were putting the finishing
By Richard Meek
The Catholic Commentator
Bishop Michael G. Duca, in consultation with
By Richard Meek
The Catholic Commentator
The grand lady looked fatigued, her beauty rankled by too much time in unrelenting heat and bone-chilling cold.
The exterior of St. Margaret Queen of Scotland Church is
Author recalls fond memories at Carville
By Debbie Shelley
The Catholic Commentator
Anne Harmon Brett’s favorite childhood memories include “stolen moments” when
