Office of Black Catholics in the Diocese of Baton Rouge

08/27/2026

MEMORIAL OF SAINT MONICA

Paul, called to be an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, to the Church of God that is in Corinth, to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy, with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I give thanks to my God always on your account for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus, that in him you were enriched in every way, with all discourse and all knowledge, as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

08/21/2026

In 1842, free people of color in the Tremé neighborhood pulled off something almost nobody expects to hear about antebellum Louisiana: they out-bought white parishioners for pews at St. Augustine Catholic Church. ⛪ When the church was being built, free Black Creole families and white residents competed to purchase pews, and the free people of color won decisively, buying up more seats than the white families who had tried to control the parish.

Then they did something even more remarkable. Those same free families turned around and purchased an entire side aisle of pews specifically for enslaved worshippers, guaranteeing that enslaved people would have a dedicated place inside the church at a time when many congregations barred them entirely or forced them into standing room only. Locals at the time called it the War of the Pews, and it remains one of the clearest documented examples of free people of color using their limited economic power to protect enslaved members of their own community.

St. Augustine still holds Mass today, and in 2004 the church dedicated the Tomb of the Unknown Slave in its courtyard, a memorial made of chains and a cross honoring enslaved people buried in unmarked graves throughout New Orleans. The congregation is still mixed, still active, and still standing on the same ground where that 1842 pew fight happened. 🕯️ Does your family have a home church with a history like this one, one that goes back further than anyone currently living can fully explain?

08/12/2026

08/08/2026

Louisiana native and youngest Catholic bishop in the U.S. answers questions about food, faith https://www.nola.com/lake_charles/louisiana-native-youngest-catholic-bishop/article_b3dea561-32ca-509f-8ef4-9ac25d71faf3.html?utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook

The Most Rev. Robert Boxie III, of Lake Charles, is the youngest Catholic bishop in the U.S., who serves the Archdiocese in Washington. We sat down with him for a Q&A session.

08/07/2026

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