St. Augustine Church, 1210 Gov. Nicholls St., New Orleans, will offer a Memorial Mass and celebration of life Jan. 26 for Divine Word Father Jerome LeDoux, the longtime St. Augustine pastor, who died Jan. 7. The Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m., followed by a celebration of life from noon to 4 p.m. Father LeDoux served as pastor of St. Augustine in New Orleans from 1990-2006. In his retirement, he lived at St. Augustine Seminary and then at Holy Ghost Church in Opelousas from 2016 until his death.

En la próxima reunión sobre protección de menores, el papa Francisco quiere que los líderes de las conferencias episcopales del mundo entiendan claramente lo que tiene que hacerse para prevenir el abuso, atender a las víctimas y asegurar que ningún caso sea ocultado o encubierto. “El papa quiere que sea una asamblea de pastores, no una conferencia académica: una reunión caracterizada por la oración y el discernimiento; una reunión catequética y de trabajo”, dijo a los reporteros Alessandro Gisotti, director interino de la oficina de prensa del Vaticano, el 16 de enero. La reunión del 21 al 24 de febrero sobre la protección de los niños en la iglesia “tiene un objetivo concreto: la finalidad es que todos los obispos entiendan claramente lo que necesitan hacer para prevenir y combatir el problema mundial del abuso de menores”, dijo Gisotti, leyendo un comunicado escrito en italiano y español. “El papa Francisco sabe que un problema global puede resolverse solamente con una respuesta global”, dijo.

Ham and cheese fly into slices of bread inside the St. Angela Merici’s parish center kitchen every Wednesday morning, thanks to some willing and able young hands. On that day, rotating groups of seventh graders from St. Angela Merici School’s Young Vincentians group report a half-hour before the morning bell to make 120 breakfast sandwiches for delivery by St. Angela’s adult St. Vincent de Paul conference to homeless and hungry guests at the Rebuild Center at St. Joseph Church on Tulane Avenue. Their work is completed in about 20 minutes, with the added timesaver of not having to spread condiments on the bread (mayonnaise and mustard are provided at the Rebuild Center). 

As the principal of a high school run by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, Brother Martin’s Ryan Gallagher had  to take one for the team: A summer retreat in Rome. Hey, it was a tough job, but someone had to do it. The focus of the retreat, which brought together administrators from Sacred Heart schools across the world, was the charism of the order founded in 1821 by Father Andre Coindre, a priest born in Lyon, France. “One of the things that the Brothers basically reminded us in Rome was that the Brothers of the Sacred Heart essentially began in the prisons,” Gallagher said. “Father Andre started his work with the young and the imprisoned children. He started by visiting the prisons and taking boys who were orphaned and subsequently imprisoned and starting a school for them.”

BILOXI, Miss. (CNS) – Bishop Joseph Lawson Howze, the founding bishop of the Diocese of Biloxi and the first black bishop in the 20th century to head a U.S. diocese, died Jan. 9. He was 95. A funeral Mass was celebrated Jan. 16 at Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Cathedral in Biloxi, with burial following in the new Bishops' Prayer Garden behind the cathedral. “While we are saddened by the death of Bishop Joseph Lawson Howze, we rejoice in his life,” said Bishop Louis F. Kihneman III of Biloxi. “His was a life well lived in faithful service to almighty God and to the people of Mississippi, both as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Natchez-Jackson and later as first bishop of Biloxi from 1977 to 2001.”

This week we join the nation in celebrating Catholic Schools Week, a celebration of our schools, our students, our educators, our parents and all who make up our Catholic school community. In reflecting on the National Catholic Educational Association’s Catholic Schools Week theme – “Catholic Schools: Learn. Serve. Lead. Succeed.” – I began to think of all the ways our schools follow through with this theme on a daily basis. 

Catholic Schools Week will be celebrated this week (Jan. 28-Feb. 3). The annual celebration is an opportunity to give thanks for the great gift of education and formation that the church has given to our youth and young adults in the United States. The mission of Catholic schools is not only to teach the regular academic subjects but also to teach religion and to help students come to know Jesus and to be formed by his life and values. In my conversations with Catholic school students, I’m often impressed by how much they know about their faith. The environment of a Catholic school helps the young church become more aware of the values of Jesus and how these can be lived out in daily life.

HOW TO GET MORE OUT OF MASS, a presentation by Father Nile Gross, director of liturgy at Notre Dame Seminary, Feb. 2, 9:30-11:30 a.m., St. Francis Xavier Church, 444 Metairie Road, Metairie. SLIDELL MAGNIFICAT’S FEBRUARY BREAKFAST, Feb. 2, 9 a.m.-noon (doors open at 8:30 a.m.), Pinewood Plantation, 405 Country Club Blvd., Slidell. Guest speaker: Karen Gibbs, wife, mother and writer for Inside Northside magazine. A cradle Catholic, Karen did all the “Catholic” things she was supposed to do yet felt something was missing. Tickets: $20 include breakfast. www.Eventbrite.com through Feb. 1. Details: (985) 502-0349.

Our Lady of Divine Providence Elementary in Metairie and Holy Rosary Elementary and High School in New Orleans will close permanently in May, paving the way for a new school designed exclusively for elementary and secondary students with mild to moderate learning challenges, the Office of Catholic Schools announced Jan. 16. Catholic Schools Superintendent Dr. RaeNell Houston said the new school, to be named St. Thérèse Academy, will open this fall at Our Lady of Divine Providence’s campus at 1000 North Starrett Road. Although the earliest available grade of entry to the new school has not yet been finalized, St. Thérèse will provide a seamless and personalized education to students diagnosed with mild-to-moderate special needs from the elementary ages through the 12th grade.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – They came in 10 busloads from the Archdiocese of New Orleans, praying the rosary, lifting up the sanctity of life and letting the world know that their young voices must be heard. More than 500 students from high schools in the archdiocese traveled to the nation’s capitol Jan. 15-20 to lend their voices to the 46th Annual March for Life, a rallying cry that is being promoted in stronger ways than ever by young people often stereotyped as self-absorbed and disengaged. “There’s no doubt, that if you talk to the majority of our young people today, they are pro-life,” Archbishop Gregory Aymond said before leading the archdiocesan contingent on the march along the National Mall. “It is my generation that was pro-choice. It’s my generation when Roe vs. Wade took place. “That was very dominant for a long time, but attitudes (toward unborn life) have changed, and I think that’s in large part due to the young church, the young adult church. They don’t just speak about pro-life. We have 500 people here who are willing to go to Washington and march and say they are pro-life.”

La Semana de las Escuelas Católicas, se celebrará esta semana (del 28 de enero al 3 de febrero). La celebración anual, es una oportunidad para dar gracias por el gran don de educación y formación que, la Iglesia ha dado a nuestros jóvenes y, jóvenes adultos en los Estados Unidos. La misión de las escuelas Católicas, no es solo enseñar las materias académicas regulares, sino también, enseñar religión y, ayudar a los estudiantes a conocer a Jesús y, ser formados por su vida y, sus valores. En mis conversaciones con estudiantes de escuelas Católicas, a menudo me impresiona lo mucho que saben sobre su fe. El ambiente de una escuela Católica, ayuda a la Iglesia joven, a ser más consciente de los valores de Jesús, y de cómo se puede vivir en la vida diaria. La Semana de las Escuelas Católicas, también, es una oportunidad para agradecer a todos los presidentes, directores, administradores y personal, de las escuelas Católicas, por su ministerio. Del mismo modo, expreso mi más sincero agradecimiento a todos los maestros que han elegido la educación Católica, y lo veo como su vocación, para formar a los jóvenes intelectualmente, y en los caminos de Cristo. Estoy consciente de que, hay muchos jóvenes y padres, que desean participar en la educación Católica, pero que no pueden hacerlo, debido a sus finanzas. Cada vez que escucho una de estas historias, mi corazón se rompe.

To pray well, people need to have the heart of a child – a child who feels safe and loved in a father’s tender embrace, Pope Francis said. If people have become estranged from God, feel lonely, abandoned or have realized their mistakes and are paralyzed by guilt, “we can still find the strength to pray” by starting with the word, “Father,” pronounced with the tenderness of a child, he said. No matter what problems or feelings a person is experiencing or the mistakes someone has made, God “will not hide his face. He will not close himself up in silence. Say, ‘Father,’ and he will answer,’” the pope said Jan. 16 during his weekly general audience.

This is the stage of the basketball season the stars of the game come out to play, and the 10 pieces of the Clarion Herald’s Elite Team begin to fall in place. Well, St. Augustine is making the task a bit difficult to single out the team’s top individuals. It seems the key players are candidates to bump some deserving guy from another area Catholic school from a spot on the team.

In collaboration with Second Harvest Food Bank, the archdiocesan Office of Evangelization will host a “Mercy Morning of Reflection” Jan. 26 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the food bank, 700 Edwards Ave., Harahan. The free morning will consist of prayer, a service project in the Second Harvest warehouse, a reflection on the Catholic Church’s social teaching principles and the corporal work of mercy from Matthew 25, “When I was hungry you gave me some food,” and the service project. The reflection period will close with a light lunch. The morning is limited to the first 25 participants. Registration is necessary at https://shfbgnoa.volunteerhub.com/lp/archdiocesenola/. “The idea comes from the Year of Mercy,” said Dominican Father David Caron, vicar of evangelization for the archdiocese who was commissioned as a “Missionary of Mercy” by Pope Francis in 2015. “When I went back to Rome (in 2018) with the other missionaries of mercy, the Holy Father extended the invitation to keep teaching and preaching about mercy, especially through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy and the sacrament of reconciliation. Mercy is endless. We are trying to connect people to mercy service opportunities.”

It was the pass that eventually changed two seasons.    The Rams, trailing, 28-14, in the second quarter at the Superdome, were playing a first-and-10 at their own 25 yard-line. Quarterback Jared Goff threw a pass intended for Robert Woods, but it was intercepted by Saints linebacker Alex Anzalone. The Saints took over at the Rams’ 34-yard line. The drive ended with a 1-yard TD run by Alvin Kamara. The Saints, who scored two touchdowns in the space of 43 seconds late in the second quarter, led, 35-14. New Orleans won, 45-35. The Saints and Rams would each win 13 games. But, that game and that pass would help determine homefield advantage in the playoffs.

I was honored to participate in the annual “Sleep Out for Covenant House.” Two hundred thirty sleepers raised more than $623,000! With the support of my family and friends, I raised $6,000 for the homeless youth of my city.

January is recognized by the Catholic Church as the month of the Holy Name of Jesus. In a column last summer, I encouraged a renewed reverence for the Lord’s name. Recognizing the need to make a change but being in an environment where misuse of “His Holy Name” is commonplace, some asked for suggestions on how to approach this specifically with children.   

As a cradle Catholic, I’ve always valued my faith. My mother and father were great examples of the faith for my brother and me growing up. I always wanted to find ways to enhance my prayer life and my faith. I felt like I was constantly searching. Aren’t we all, though? Then, I discovered Catholic radio. I was amazed by the local shows it provided that were 100-percent Catholic! I realized that the Lord was not only calling me to tune in but calling me to work for the radio station.

Queridos hermanos: con la fiesta del Bautismo de Jesús en el Jordán, dábamos fin a las fiestas de Navidad; pero todavía no se han terminado los “signos de Jesús”, o epifanías, que significa “manifestación”, a través de las cuales Jesús, el Hijo de Dios y de María, nacido en Belén, se manifiesta a aquellos extraños personajes “venidos de Oriente”, anunciando a “todo el mundo” que Dios se ha hecho presente en nuestra Historia. 

Project SAVE (Stopping Abuse through Victim Empowerment), a ministry of Archdiocese of New Orleans’ Catholic Charities for the past 25 years, helps abuse victims in Orleans Parish by offering free legal services with no income requirement. Attorney Allyson Tuttle, program director, says two staff attorneys represent approximately 175 females (and a few males) annually in civil district court to obtain restraining orders and protective orders. Project SAVE’s website states that in 2017, “26 percent of all Orleans Parish domestic violence protective orders were obtained through Project SAVE’s two attorneys.” “We are the emergency room to get people interim protection to get them back on their feet,” Tuttle said.