Twelve Months and Counting

Twelve months ago the College of Consultors met after Bishop William B. Friend received his letter from the Pope accepting his retirement. The Consultors voted for me to be the Diocesan Administrator until the Pope appoints a new bishop for our diocese.

This past year has been most enjoyable but extremely busy with meetings and appointments. It was my decision to remain as pastor of Holy Trinity Parish while at the same time assuming the duties of Diocesan Administrator for the diocese.

All of the priests and lay people have been extremely supportive and helpful during this time. I have tried to visit every deanery and presently am in the process of visiting every Catholic school in our diocese. I have scheduled a Mass at each of the Catholic schools with a time set aside to visit with the students and faculty. This has truly been an enjoyable experience especially saying Mass for the little school children. It has reminded me of my many years at Camp Maryhill.

I find people of the Diocese of Shreveport are very friendly and very spiritual. Our diocesan people are all eager to learn more about Jesus and to allow the Spirit to move within them. This is one thing that I find is very dominant as I travel throughout the Diocese—the high level of spirituality and strong desire to accept Christ as our Lord and Savior and to live a Christian life. That is one thing that I admire about Bishop Friend, he left the diocese with a happy, spiritual atmosphere.

Also, I would like to commend the entire staff at the Catholic Center for their hard work and dedication for the Church. It is not always easy to satisfy everybody on their time table, but I can truly say that they serve the people of the diocese in a very timely fashion. As I travel about the State in visiting other dioceses, we have the best staff in our whole Province. I commend our hardworking staff for how they minister to people at every level. I especially appreciate how the different departments work together and how it is so evident that we all have a common goal to serve God and to minister to His people.

It is hard to believe that on December 23rd I will have held this position for one full year. I continue to ask God to give me strength to keep the spiritual life alive in our diocese until we receive a new bishop. Many people have asked the important question: “When will this take place?” The only answer that I give is that it has been taking about 2-1/2 years.

I promise you I will do my best to continue giving the Diocese of Shreveport one hundred percent of my time and I pray to God that I will be a good servant.