It was on January 29, 1980 that Pope John Paul II had decreed the establishment of the Diocese of Lake Charles breaking off the five westernmost civil parishes of the Diocese of Lafayette to create the new diocese.  The then-Msgr. Jude Speyrer had been the Chancellor and Vicar General of the Diocese of Lafayette when he was tabbed as the Founding Bishop of Lake Charles. The Lake Charles Civic Center was the site of the grand celebration on that last Friday in April and the thousands who attended or who watched live on television will remember the great joy they experienced in seeing the beginning of a new era for the local church of Southwest Louisiana.
  
Over these last 30 years, the clergy and laity of the diocese have seen God’s grace working in many marvelous and wonderful ways.
  
The observance of the milestone began Saturday, April 24, with Bishop Glen John Provost hosting an Anniversary Banquet, featuring The Most Reverend Gregory Aymond, Archbishop of New Orleans, as the keynote speaker. Bishop Speyrer, now Bishop-emeritus, was in attendance as was Washington, D.C Auxiliary Bishop-emeritus Leonard Olivier, a native son of Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Lake Charles; Bishop Michael Jarrell of Lafayette; and Bishop Curtis Guillory, a Louisiana native and Bishop of Beaumont, Texas. More than 300 people attended the banquet. Funds raised from the event are benefitting Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Lake Charles. Serving as waiters and waitresses for the event were the members of the Diocesan Youth Ministry Core Team.

The Diocese was also honored by members of the Louisiana State Legislature - Rep. Mike Danahay of Sulphur and Sen. Dan Morrish of Jennings - who presented a special tribute to the Diocese on its anniversary from the Legislature.
  
Archbishop Aymond, who served as Rector of Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans prior to his elevation to the Episcopacy as Bishop of Austin, Texas, was named Archbishop of New Orleans on June 12, 2009.
  
In his remarks, the Archbishop noted that, “one of the greatest compliments that you can give to another person is to say ‘at a very young age you have accomplished a great deal and you have done so with integrity’.  May I suggest that that high compliment is one that goes to you as the people of God of the Diocese of Lake Charles. You are only 30 years old. We still call that in our world today, young and, perhaps, young adult. But also, when you look at the history of our Church, when you look back over 2,000 years, you are indeed a very, very young Diocese. Yet, you have accomplished so much as the People of God here in Lake Charles for this local Church.”
  
Archbishop Aymond then listed numerous programs and missions of the Diocese of Lake Charles that “you have embraced, that the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ is very active and alive here.”
  
Among items of note he pointed to the opening of new parishes, the growth of Catholic education, a very active permanent diaconate, a Seafarers Center, the opening of the Saint Charles Center, active youth ministry on the diocesan and the national level, the Catholic Leadership institute, strong participation in the National Black Catholic Congress, vocations to the priesthood and the religious life with nine current seminarians, active campus ministry at McNeese, care for the elderly, promoting family life, honoring people at their milestone anniversaries and a strong commitment to religious education and the training of catechists.
 
“You have the Catholic Calendar as an opportunity to evangelize others and to inform Catholics, Glad Tidings on television and a great missionary spirit through the Pontifical Mission Societies and your trips to Nicaragua to care for the poor and the needy,” the Archbishop said. “A strong Bishop’s Services Appeal, the annual Red Mass, Hispanic Ministry, many, many pro-life activities and the list goes on. I bring that litany of accomplishments to you, in order that you and I together can certainly give thanks to God because all that we do and accomplish is because of the gifts that God has given to us and because of the energy and the influence that the Spirit of God gives us to accomplish them. I also give you that list as a way to say thank you for making this Local Church so alive and so faith-filled and so faithful to mission and ministry of Christ.”
  
He also noted the unwelcome visitors that the Diocese had over the past several years – the hurricanes of 2005 and 2008. “As you know, better than I do, every parish and school was affected in one way or another – some greatly, some less – but another great accomplishment is your hope and perseverance. Hope and perseverance that not even those tragedies would prevent you from fulfilling the mandate of Christ to go and to truly proclaim the Gospel, and to care for the poor and the needy,” Bishop Aymond said.
  
“As you know as a Church, we are not just a diocese, not just a province, not just the United States of Catholics but we are indeed the universal Church,” he continued. “Each of our dioceses, through the presence of the Bishop, is connected directly to our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI.  You obviously understand by the theology and the accomplishments of this local Church that you are indeed part of the Universal Church. You understand we are Catholic, we are worldwide, we belong to the Church that Christ has given to us.
  
“At times of anniversaries, as Christians and as Catholics, I believe that God has three challenges that he gives to us,” Archbishop Aymond said. “ First is, as you celebrate this jubilee year, this 30th anniversary in prayer, individually and as a community, to ask the important question to God, “Where do you lead us from here?” With your grace and with your help we have accomplished much over the last 30 years. “Where do you lead us from here? What else is it that you want for this local Church and for our Universal Church that we can accomplish with your help?
 
“Secondly, it seems to me that in any jubilee year or anniversary year it is an opportunity to reach out to those who are away from the church, who may have been hurt by the church or fallen off on the sides for whatever reasons,” he continued. “It is not our purpose to judge them, but during this jubilee year it is a time when we can reach out and invite them back and to remind them that there is a chair at the table that is waiting for them and that that chair has their name on it.
  
“Thirdly and lastly, during this jubilee year I think it is wonderful opportunity to pray again and to encourage again vocations to the priesthood and to religious life as Sisters and Brothers,” he said. “I do sincerely congratulate you for nine seminarians. I am sure there are others out there whom God is calling. I believe that in every parish - this is my conviction - there is someone who is being called. Our responsibility is to pray for that person even if we do not know their name and, if we see those gifts and qualities in them for priesthood or religious life, we should tell them what we see and to invite them to think about it. We should pray for their parents that they be words of encouragement, not discouragement as we see sometimes in our families today.
  
“I think those are the three things that a jubilee year calls us to do – to work for vocations and think about the future of the church; to invite back those who are not part of our family for whatever reason and to ask God to lead us,” the Archbishop concluded.
  
On Sunday, April 25, Bishop Glen John Provost celebrated the Mass in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception for the hundreds of neophytes, who were received into the Catholic Church throughout the Diocese of Lake Charles at the most recent Easter Vigil and gave them a special blessing.  These new members of the Catholic Church bear witness to the continued growth of the Body of Christ in our area and the work of the Holy Spirit whom Our Lord promised would always be with His Church.      
Future events in observance of the Thirtieth Anniversary are scheduled closer to the Solemn Feast of St. Peter Claver, the Diocesan Patron, in September of this year.  As the Diocese begins its next decade in this Easter Season, the clergy and laity give thanks to God for His bounteous goodness and pray that the work He began thirty years ago will always bring forth abundant blessings.