Roman Catholic Diocese of Lake Charles

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The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lake Charles, located in southwest Louisiana (USA) is a fairly new diocese of the Roman Catholic Church, being founded in 1980.

The diocese is administered from the City of Lake Charles and was formerly part of the Diocese of Lafayette. The patron saint of the diocese is St. Peter Claver and the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception serves as the Episcopal see. The mission statement of the Diocese reads as follows:

"We, the Roman Catholics of Southwest Louisiana, are a people called by God, to worship Him, to praise His great name and to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to Him through Jesus Christ. Chosen by God and made His own through Baptism, we seek to declare the wonderful deeds of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. We, the faithful of the Diocese of Lake Charles, gathered with our bishop, pledge to carry on the work of Christ under the guidance of the Holy Spirit by promoting personal holiness for ourselves and increasing the flock under His care."

The Diocese comprises five parishes in Louisiana: Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, and Jefferson Davis.

The statue of the Millennium Christ is located in Bilbo Cemetery in Lake Charles. The actual name of the statue is "Jesus Christ Our Citizen of the Centuries" and it stands atop an eight-foot Labrador green granite base. The statue was sculpted by Janie Stine LaCroix, a native of nearby Sulphur and a descendant of John Jacob Ryan Jr., who is regarded as being the 'Father of Lake Charles'; Ryan is buried in the cemetery. The statue is regarded as being a symbol of peace and unity for all citizens and faiths of southwest Louisiana.

The diocese experienced a two-year without a bishop following the appointment of Bishop Edward Kenneth Braxton to the Bishop of Belleville in 2005. On 6 March 2007 Pope Benedict XVI named Glen Provost as the new bishop. On 23 April 2007, Bishop Provost was ordained to the episcopate, and formally installed by the Archbishop of New Orleans, Alfred C. Hughes.