Announcements

The school will be open Monday-Thursday 8am-2pm. 

The campus will be closed: June 26-July 6. 

Chastity is a gift from God, not a curse.

That was the overall message from Jason Evert, Chastity Project founder, when he presented a 90-minute talk on “Love or Lust” to St. Louis Catholic High School students on February 27.

The Catholic author and national speaker touched on the topics of purity, modesty, pornography, dating, cohabitating, singleness, and relationships. He reminded the students that their bodies were created in the image of God and were not intended to be used as objects with no self-worth.

Evert mixed humor with down-to-earth practicality making the difficult conversations about love much easier. He also spoke to a group of 400 parents and teenagers (13+) at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Sulphur on February 26 in a double feature event giving two talks: “Purified” and “Gender & Theology of Your Body.”

Students were given the opportunity to pick up and sign a “Pure Commitment” card promising to seek God’s help to grow in purity of heart, mind, and body so that they can be free to love in the vocation to which God is calling each one of them.

Both events were hosted by St. Louis Catholic High School. Free resources were distributed to all who attended. For more on the Chastity Project, visit https://chastity.com

By Pamela Seal, Diocese of Lake Charles 

By Pamela Seal 
Diocese of Lake Charles

The St. Louis Catholic High School Concert Choir has been invited to perform in the National Memorial Day Choral Festival in Washington, D.C., May 26-29, 2023.

The musical tribute saluting America’s military and fallen heroes is hosted by Music Celebrations International in partnership with the United States Air Force and the American Veterans Center.

“They were surprised when they learned about it but also excited,” said Tanner. “I have never been to the ceremony, so I am just as excited as they are. When you are chosen to perform at festivals, it is always about the experience.”

The St. Louis choir will have the distinguished honor of being featured in concert with the U.S. Air Force Symphony on Sunday, May 28, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts along with choral groups from around the country.  

Ahead of the Memorial Day Parade on Monday, May 29, the choir will sing in front of the National Archives Building on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Tanner said the invitation to perform comes at a good time for the choral group made up of 24 students.

“I had already told the students that I wanted them to go somewhere. We are in a rebuilding phase for the choir,” Tanner noted. “There was a time when the choir had 65-70 voices in it. I am trying to give them as many of the typical experiences that you would get in a choral program as possible.”

In addition to state and district competitions, Broadway musicals, and three yearly concerts, the choir sings for three diocesan Masses throughout the year — Clergy and Religious Recognition Mass in September, Catholic Schools Week Diocesan Mass, and the Chrism Mass during Holy Week.

The Memorial Day Choral Festival will be a chance for them to bring their talent to the national level.

Other highlights will include performing at the Festival Wreath Laying Ceremony and Recital at the National World War II Memorial on Saturday, May 27, honoring veterans. The SLCHS singers will lay a custom-made wreath at the Louisiana column of the Memorial on behalf of St. Louis Catholic High School and the people of Louisiana in gratitude for the those who have served our country.

Members of the St. Louis Catholic High School Concert Choir
performed recently at the annual Catholic Schools Week Mass
on February 1 in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.
The Mass is one of several at which they perform throughout
the school year in the Diocese of Lake Charles.
Following the wreath laying ceremony, the students will attend Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception where they have been invited to perform a half-hour concert of sacred music after Mass.

“The students want to sing A Ukrainian Prayer by composer John Rutter in response to the global tragedy in Ukraine,” said Tanner. “The students love this song and had hoped we could remain in the Basilica after Mass for a few minutes to sing the prayer. Being invited to perform a concert is a gift for all of us.”

While there are various patriotic events throughout the year, Tanner said she is especially grateful the St. Louis choir was chosen to sing for the national Memorial Day concert.

“Singing for Memorial Day gives a religious connotation that we can harken to because we are a Catholic school,” she said. “We can delve into the fact that it is an act of mercy, burying the dead, honoring the dead. It speaks specifically to veterans who have passed, and we memorialize that. In a way, we are participating in a Corporal Work of Mercy.”

Despite the obstacles thrown at them with back-to-back hurricanes in 2020 and other weather-related disasters that followed in 2021, the students have overcome many challenges.  

“I think the St. Louis administration and the Diocese of Lake Charles have done a tremendous job with creating as positive an environment as they can with a temporary campus,” Tanner said. “The students always rise above and sing so beautifully. I am so blessed to be able to work with them.”

Tanner said the chance for the students to be with other high school choral students is priceless.

“I am glad they will have the opportunity to see they are just as good as choir members in areas that have not constantly had to overcome obstacles thrust on them by weather,” she said.

Tanner added, “Singing in a choir becomes a humanistic experience in that we all work together to help each other on a communal plane that creates something beautiful beyond what we could do by ourselves.”

National events like these are not without costs. Tanner said the trip for each student, including airfare, hotel accommodations, meals, and tickets to all events, will be $2,000.

Anyone interested in donating or in sponsoring a choir member may contact St. Louis Catholic High School at 337-436-7275 or donate through the following link: https://stlouiscatholichighschool.factsmgtadmin.com/form/DxfPNFxFE?i=&authToken=__token__

Special T-shirts are being made for the students to wear on the trip. To underwrite the expenses for the national choral festival, Tanner said sponsors will be listed on the shirts.

“This is a fantastic group of kids,” said Tanner. “Some of them have been in a choral situation since fourth grade. They are immensely talented and so positive.” 

All 8th Grade students are invited to attend Saint for a Day on Wednesday, February 8 from 10:30-1:30pm! This time honored event will be an opportunity for all interested 8th graders to come spend the day with our Saints Ambassadors and discover why the only thing missing is you! All partner schools will be attending this event so no need to sign up!

The Louisiana Scholarship is Now Open! The application will be open from December 12th to January 27th. Families have until January 27th to provide all the necessary documentation.

To be eligible to receive a Scholarship, new students must:

Be a current resident of Louisiana
Be one of the following:
Currently attending a “C,” “D,” “F,” or “T” public school on both October 1 and February 1 of the current school year OR
Entering kindergarten for the first time at a “C,” “D,” “F,” or “T” public school for the upcoming school year.
Have a family household income that does not 250% of 2021 Federal Poverty Guidelines (see below for more information).

Click here to apply now! 

Visit https://www.slchs.org/admissions/scholarships.cfm for more information about other scholarship opportunities on campus! 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DEC. 1, 2022

LAKE CHARLES — Land has been purchased for a new home for St. Louis Catholic High School — the next
step in its recovery from the 2020 hurricanes. The new site is a 47-acre tract on Corbina Road in east
Lake Charles.

St. Louis Catholic, the Diocese of Lake Charles’ lone Catholic high school, was largely destroyed by
Hurricane Laura in 2020. It has operated as a temporary campus in modular buildings in the time since.
“We are excited to announce this purchase for several reasons,” said the Rev. Nathan Long, rector of St.
Louis Catholic High School. “Practically, because this means we can begin adding structures the very
moment the funding becomes available. Symbolically, because this means the future is wide open to St.
Louis Catholic. We will have 47 acres on which to grow and form lifelong Saints.”

With the school’s current storm-damaged campus limited to approximately 15.5 acres, the new, larger
property offers opportunities to expand.

“Curriculum development requires the right facilities, ministry opportunities call for a beautiful worship
space, and reaching more students means more classrooms,” Long said. “All of this will soon be
possible. We will all be blessed to have a school that truly addresses future needs: one that can navigate the tough cultural waters ahead, allow for growth over time, and honor God through worship in a full-
sized chapel.”

The recovery process has taken more than two years to reach this milestone. "Just as with our black-
eyed Saint mascot, it’s not the challenges and obstacles that define us — it’s how we refuse to give up the fight,” said Mia Touchet, principal. “That’s what makes this place so special."

In the new year, the milestone — the acquisition of the property for the new campus — will be
commemorated with a “ground blessing” and community celebration at the site.
“While this process has not been comfortable or easy, I believe that in the end it will have been worth
the wait and challenges,” Long said. “No longer will we have doubts such as ‘Can we do it?’ now that we
have the space. We would always much rather say yes to our students’ educational and formational
needs.”

Touchet said, “Future Saints and their families will look back and recognize the dedication and
perseverance of this school community in making this project become a reality. Like the leaders from
our three founding schools in 1971 — St. Charles Academy, Landry Memorial and Sacred Heart High
School — we envision a bright future for generations to come.”
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For interviews or more information:
Mia Touchet, St. Louis Catholic High School — 337-436-7275 / mtouchet@slchs.org
Matt Fontenot, St. Louis Catholic High School — 337-436-7275 Ext. 230 / mfontenot@slchs.org
Brett Downer, O’Carroll Group — 337-515-0942 / brett@ocarroll.com