The Official Monthly Publication of the Diocese of Lafayette
Acadiana Catholic
August 2012
Volume 28
Number 8
3rd annual Life Awareness Vocation Discernment retreat
by Wynard Boutté LAKE CHARLES The third annual Life Awareness Vocation Discernment Retreat (LAR) sponsored by the Dioceses of Lafayette, Baton Rouge and Lake Charles is scheduled for August 31 – September 2, 2012 at the St. Charles Retreat Center in Moss Bluff, LA. The cost is only $25 for the entire weekend. The theme selected for the retreat is the scripture passage from John 15:16: “It was not you who choose me, but I who chose you.” Life Awareness is a vocation program aimed towards single males and females, who are age 17 - 45 and discerning a possible vocation to the priesthood or religious life. The weekend will feature a keynote address, presentations, and panel discussions that focus on the various Fr. Michael Delcambre stages of dis-
The Life Awareness Vocation Discernment retreat is about providing participants with an opportunity to ask questions and learn about the options available to them regarding religious vocations, but at no time are they pressured to make any commitment to the pursuit of such a calling. Photo submitted by Wynard Boutté
cernment and formation. Participants will have the opportunity to take part in group discussions, Mass, prayer led by priests, sisters, brothers, and seminarians, and share in conversations with a religious. At no point will the participants be pressured to make a decision regarding the pursuit of a vocational calling—this is
a time for them to ask questions and learn about the options available for the possibility of their vocations. This year’s keynote speaker is Fr. Michael Delcambre, pastor of St. Joseph and St. Rose of Lima Churches in Cecilia. Other speakers will include representatives from religious orders such as
Cardinal DiNardo to visit Lafayette Diocese in September 2013
by Stephanie R. Martin LAFAYETTE Bishop Michael Jarrell is pleased to confirm that arrangements have been made with Cardinal Daniel DiNardo to visit the Lafayette Diocese as part of the local celebration of the Year of Faith (October 2012-November 2013). The Cajundome Convention Center in Lafayette has been booked for Wednesday, September 11, 2013, for a special event featuring Cardinal DiNardo as the guest speaker for the evening. Further details will be released to the public via the Acadiana Catholic as they become available. Cardinal Daniel DiNardo is the Archbishop of the Diocese of Galveston-Houston, Texas. Born in Ohio in 1949, he later moved
with his family to Pittsburg and graduated there from the Jesuit Bishop’s Latin School. He earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the Catholic University of American in Washington, DC, and studied for the priesthood at St. Paul Seminary. He also received theological degrees from the Pontifical North American College in Rome, where he later taught. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Pittsburg Diocese in 1977, and for a time worked for the Congregation of Bishops in Rome. He was appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Sioux City, Iowa, in 1997, and then Coadjutor Bishop of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston in 2004. He became Archbishop in 2006, and
the Nashville Dominican Sisters, Sisters of St. Joseph, Our Lady of Sorrows Sisters, Sacred Heart Brothers, Order of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Order of Franciscans, Daughters of St. Paul, and Marianites of the Holy Cross. Many other religious communities will also be represented, and several seminarians and diocesan priests will be in attendance. You should think about participating in a Life Awareness weekend if you are: o Looking for an opportunity to provide service to others, o Wondering if the religious life as a priest, brother or sister might be what you’re looking for, o Or, even if you haven’t reached that point, but you have that quiet, subtle, nagging feeling that it’s something you should know more about. Life Awareness does several things: o Provides a means of discerning if a vocation exists and continued on page 9
Inside this issue
August calendar. . . . . . . . . . . 5 Bishop Jarrell’s column. . . . 11 Sacred Heart Church’s mission trip to Honduras. . . . . . . . . . 12 Tell the People program schedule for August. . . . . . . . . . . .17 From drug dealer to Catholic Monk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Cardinal Daniel Dinardo
was elevated to the College of Cardinals by Pope Benedict XVI on November 24, 2007. This made him the first Cardinal Archcontinued on page 8
Unusual collection from Vietnam Veterans Memorial reflects a unique war. . . . . 24-25 Father Lafleur Memorial Mass on September 7. . . . . . . . . . 30 Catholic bible study. . . . . . . 38