Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel of the Diocese of Lafayette announced today that Fr. Dustin P. Dought has been named by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in Washington, DC as Associate Director of the Secretariat of Divine Worship.
Fr. Dought is a priest of the Diocese of Lafayette who currently serves as Pastor of St. Leo the Great Catholic Church in Lafayette, Director of the Diocese of Lafayette Office of Worship and Chaplain of Teurlings Catholic High School.
The Divine Worship Secretariat of the USCCB oversees liturgical celebrations of the bishops at national meetings, the preparation and publication of liturgical books used in Catholic Church parishes across the country, leadership in liturgical formation and sacramental catechesis, and serves as a resource for bishops and diocesan liturgical commissions and Offices of Worship seeking advice.
“I am very happy to announce that at the request of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Fr. Dustin Dought has been released for temporary service as Associate Director of the Secretariat of Divine Worship. This organ of the USCCB researches and advises the Bishops of the United States on all matters liturgical. Father Dought has done extensive studies in Liturgy and it is a great honor for him to serve the Conference in this capacity. As a Diocese, we are proud of Fr. Dought and wish him well in this new area of service to the Church.”
+Most Reverend J. Douglas Deshotel
Bishop of Lafayette
Fr. Dought holds a B.A. in Philosophy and Theological Studies from St. Joseph Seminary College in St. Benedict, Louisiana, a Bachelor of Sacred Theology from the Catholic University of America and a Licentiate in Sacred Theology and Liturgical Studies, also from Catholic University. Following his ordination as a priest in 2013, he served in various pastoral assignments in the Diocese of Lafayette, including as Parochial Vicar of St. Anthony of Padua Church in Eunice and the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Duralde before being appointed Pastor of St. Leo the Great Church in 2017.
Fr. Dought said “I am humbled to receive this invitation to serve the bishops of the United States and their respective dioceses. I look forward to supporting them in their mission of liturgical formation and celebration.”
The effective date of Fr. Dought’s new assignment in Washington, DC is February 8, 2021. He will serve for a period of three years. A new pastor for St. Leo the Great Church will be named in the near future.
Catholic Charities of Acadiana, a faith-based social services organization based in the Diocese of Lafayette, announced today that it has been selected to receive a $5 million grant |
For the first time in 40 years, the Diocese of Lafayette
will welcome a new Catholic church parish.
St. Andrew Dung-Lac and Companions Parish will be established under the patronage of a Vietnamese priest, martyr and saint who was brutally tortured and beheaded on December 21, 1839 for refusing to renounce his Catholic faith. In all 117 gave their lives for Christ; 96 were native Vietnamese: 37 priests and 59 lay people (some of whom were catechists). One was a lay woman and mother of 6 children. Twenty-one were European missionaries (including 6 bishops). The ancient adage that, “The blood of martyrs is the seedbed of the Church,” proved true once again as the persecution had the contrary effect of rousing even greater faith among thousands of Vietnamese Catholics who died for their faith over the past three centuries. The parishioners of the new parish follow devotedly in this same line of witnesses. The Vietnamese elders of this parish crossed 8,000 miles of ocean to our diocese as living seeds of faith. Together with their children and grandchildren they now join together to form a new parish family. St. Andrew Dung-Lac was beatified by Pope Leo XIII in 1900 and canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1988.
The 122nd parish of the Diocese of Lafayette will be formally established on Tuesday, November 24, 2020, the feast day of St. Andrew Dung-Lac. However, a larger weekend Mass celebrating the new parish will be held at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, November 22 at the Vietnamese Community Center in Abbeville, located on LaFitte Road off the Highway 14 bypass. Bishop Douglas Deshotel will celebrate the Mass, assisted by Fr. James Nguyen, the founding pastor of the new parish. Groundbreaking for construction of the new church is expected to begin in the near future. The church will be built adjacent to the current Vietnamese Community Center.
Bishop Deshotel said “St. Andrew Dung Lac will be established as a personal, non-territorial parish. A personal parish is established to meet the spiritual and cultural needs of a group in a Diocese. The Vietnamese community is a vibrant and growing ethnic group in Acadiana and their Catholic faith is intimately connected to the Vietnamese culture. It is a non-territorial parish, meaning that it will serve Vietnamese Catholics throughout the Diocese of Lafayette. St. Andrew Dung Lac and his companions were martyred because they would not renounce their Catholic faith in the midst of the worst kind of violence and intimidation. The saints inspire us to never give up, and to be enthusiastic about our faith even in the midst of challenging and difficult circumstances in our lives. I pray that by establishing this parish, Vietnamese in the Diocese of Lafayette will grow in their spiritual lives and be even greater witnesses to their Catholic faith in the Diocese of Lafayette.”
Congratulations to Fr. Nguyen and parishioners
of the new St. Andrew Dung-Lac Church!
Photo courtesy of St. Paul Catholic Church, Westerville, Ohio
The Diocese of Lafayette will kick off “The Year of St. Joseph” during a special Mass and celebration this weekend at St. Joseph Church in Patterson. Bishop Douglas Deshotel will celebrate the Mass, which begins at 9 a.m. on Sunday, August 16. The Mass will be live streamed on the Diocese of Lafayette YouTube channel.
On December 8, 1870, St. Joseph was declared patron of the Universal Church by Pope Pius X in his decree Quemadmodum Deus, and 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of that declaration.
Catholic Dioceses around the world are joining the celebration to honor a saint who played a pivotal role in the life of Christ, as Jesus’ earthly father, as the protector of the Holy Family and the loving, chaste spouse of the Holy Mother. “The Year of St. Joseph” in the Diocese of Lafayette will conclude on May 1, 2021, the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker, with a closing Mass at St. Joseph Church in Milton. Throughout the year, Masses and parish missions will be held at all thirteen St. Joseph Churches in Acadiana. In addition to Patterson and Milton, St. Joseph Churches are located in Broussard, Cecilia, Centerville, Evangeline, Iota, Loreauville, Maurice, Parks, Plaisance, Rayne and Ville Platte. In the Year of St. Joseph, the Catholic faithful are encouraged to make pilgrimages to one or more of the St. Joseph Churches to receive a Plenary Indulgence granted by Pope Francis.