A Heart For Local Community

Karla Alvarez, Director of Multicultural Ministries

Deacon

CHARLES IS KNOWN IN HIS COMMUNITY AS A MAN WITH A HEART READY TO LOVE AND SERVE HOWEVER HE CAN. One of the most evident forms of his service is volunteering at Praise Academy, especially on Tuesdays where he participates in a reading workshop. Praise Academy Principal, Joan Pingel, says, “He is a reliable volunteer with a gentle spirit about him. He’s there to serve the students. He’ll do whatever we ask…He greets all the students and the faculty with kindness. I enjoy that he is a male presence working with our boys who don’t always have a male presence in their lives. We just love him!”

Deacon Charles is a permanent Deacon at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Church in downtown Shreveport and is a member of the Knights of St. Peter Claver. He was ordained as a deacon in June 2014, and he recalls feeling God’s presence right after the ordination. He mentions “we were outside of St. Michael’s Chapel, and I remember it was very silent and all I could hear were the birds and it was very peaceful.” What a beautiful experience!

Deacon Charles mentioned how he has been supported by his wife, Nadalie, throughout this journey and that she serves alongside him. I asked him what advice he would give to someone discerning the permanent diaconate and he said, “talk about it with your spouse because it is something you do together.” One of the ways they serve together is on Wednesdays. “My wife has hundreds of soup recipes and on Wednesdays, after scripture study, we enjoy the soup that she made.”

There is not enough room on this page to share all the wonderful stories about the servant heart of Deacon Charles, but I would like to thank him for who he is and for all he has done and continues to do in the local community. Thank you, Deacon

Charles, for your ‘yes’ to God and for the guidance that you give to so many of us.

I encourage you to reach out to him and thank him for his servant heart inside and outside of the Church. I also encourage you to continue to pray for him.

Thank you Deacon Charles!

On April 15, the Sacrament of Confirmation was conferred by Bishop Malone at Our Lady of Fatima Church in Monroe. Recipients of the sacrament were Charli Lisa Laurent, Immanuel Michael Laurent, and Catherine Mae Operario (from Our Lady of Fatima Parish); and Mary Ava Cannon and Isabella Clementina Gonzalez (from St. Lawrence Parish).