Mary’s Mission: The Kids are Back The Kids are Back!

mary’s mission

“The Kids are Back! The Kids are Back!”

Mary Arcement Alexander, Licensed Professional Counselor, Diocesan Victim Assistance Coordinator

If the walls of St. Joseph School could talk, this is what I imagine they would say: The kids are back! The kids are back! We love this time of year when summer is coming to an end and our doors are once again opening up. We know the kids and teachers get tired of us after nine months and for the most part, we get it. With that said, we all secretly wish the doors would stay open year round. You may be thinking, “But why? Aren’t you tired of having kids run up and down your hallways, yelling and being obnoxious? Aren’t you ready for a little peace and quiet?” To some degree yes, we are ready for some peace and quiet, however, a few days here and there are sufficient for us. The weekends and holidays offer us more than enough time to recoup and gather ourselves together. It can be frustrating at times seeing the kids not care if they mark us up with their backpacks and other random items as well as challenging when they do not want to pick up after themselves. Despite it all, we are happiest in August when the doors fly open, the lights come on, and we hear the hustle and bustle of kids, teachers, and staff roaming the hallways, filling up the offices and classrooms. The chaos is familiar, oddly comforting. To us, the sound of children laughing is like an angel serenating God. In case you did not know, we turned 70 years old last year! Is that not amazing? Being in existence for 70 years, speaks volumes about our importance to the Church and the community around us. We all feel so proud to have been built all those years ago and even more proud of how we have grown and flourished over the years. We want to share a few fun facts with you (please pardon our bragging): First, St. Joseph Parish was established in 1949, by the Most Reverend Charles P. Greco, Bishop of the Diocese of Alexandria. Fr. Joseph Gremillion presided over the church as our first pastor. Soon afterwards, the community of believers recognized the great need for a Catholic school, thus we were born. Second, the Sisters of the Order of Divine Providence served St. Joseph Catholic School from 1951 until 1976. In 1976, we welcomed our very first layperson as principal, Ms. Glenna Arnold. Third, our middle school kids are able to receive two Carnegie Units in Algebra I and Spanish plus two additional Carnegie Units in World Geography and Health thanks in part to our partnership with Loyola College Prep. Lastly (and most importantly), the kids at Saint Joseph School begin every day with prayer and attend Mass every week. This is one of my favorite things about being a part of this great school. Being able to stand by as we listen attentively to the sweet sound of children praying, is truly the highlight of our day. You may now be thinking, “Don’t you wish you were the walls of one of the larger public schools that have more children and more things offered?” Our answer is a simple no. We can honestly say that we have never been jealous of those schools whose walls reach up higher and stretch out longer, whose hallways are more massive and whose rooms offer more extracurricular activities. The reason is simple, while they have more “stuff and fluff,” we here at St. Joseph School have Jesus. We not only have Jesus but we proudly display Him in the school while simultaneously worshiping Him. We firmly believe, as lifelong walls of a Catholic school, that prayer is the first defense for the protection of our children. We believe that we are sacred because we were built as a Catholic school. We also believe that Jesus, God our Father and Mary our Mother, roam our hallways and bless every person who enters. We are grateful to be here and pray that God allows us to continue to stand strong in 70 more years. St. Joseph School has a wonderful philosophy; here is a portion of it that we would like to comment further on, St. Joseph Catholic School recognizes that parents are the primary educators of their children, and we view the school as an extension of the family. It is the school’s responsibility to help educate the child in a Christian environment. We recognize that each child has individual gifts and needs. Through a carefully planned curriculum and qualified staff, we help to develop these gifts and meet the needs of every child. A few key words are, parents are primary educators of their children and Christian environment. First, we, as the walls of St. Joseph’s school, were formulated and built because of the families in this parish. The mothers and fathers, along with Fr. Gremillion, desired not only good education for the children, but more importantly, a Christian education for their children. Parents are vital to our success, and when we see them walking their kids down our hallways or volunteering in our classrooms, we love hearing their thoughts, concerns, and ideas. Everything begins in the home. We are the literal foundation that protects the children while in school, but the parents and the home they provide is the emotional, mental, and spiritual foundation for their children. In the words of Sister Sledge, “We are family!” Welcome back to school Falcons!

Shreveport Martyrs Receive Tomb Markers

Dr. Cheryl White

Three of the five “Shreveport Martyrs of 1873,” priests who made offerings of their own lives during the city’s great yellow fever epidemic, have had their tombs modified with new epitaphs that recognize their status as “Servants of God” in the Vatican canonization process. Due to the generosity of local donors interested in their cause, and in the ongoing preservation of historic St. Joseph Cemetery, Father Jean Pierre, Father Isidore Quémerais, and Father Francois LeVézouët, all received new memorial ledgers, which were placed atop their tombs on Wednesday, June 15, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. In addition to acknowledging their titles of “Servants of God,” the ledgers also provide expanded biographical information and theological reflection for visitors and pilgrims to the site. This will include the planned visit of religious and civil officials from France in October 2023, marking the sesquicentennial of the 1873 epidemic. The story of the Shreveport Martyrs has been the subject of a book and a major feature documentary, The Five Priests, which has received international attention and acclaim. The remains of Fathers Pierre, Quémerais, and LeVézouët, were exhumed from Holy Trinity Church in 1884 and moved to their current location at the prominent “Calvary Mound” inside St. Joseph Cemetery. The transfer of their remains was accompanied by a public procession from the church to the cemetery, followed by a memorial Mass with hundreds in attendance, as recorded in the surviving diary of Father Joseph Gentille, then pastor of Holy Trinity Church. Bishop Francis Malone of the Diocese of Shreveport, upon receiving the necessary nihil obstat from the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints affirming that an inquiry for sainthood could begin, held a public ceremony at Holy Trinity Church on December 8, 2020 to officially recognize all five priests as “Servants of God.” Two of the other five “Shreveport Martyrs,” Father Jean Marie Biler and Father Louis Gergaud, are buried elsewhere – Biler at Forest Park Cemetery in Shreveport, and Gergaud in St. Matthew’s Cemetery in Monroe, Louisiana.