News Post

St. Joseph’s Academy celebrated the annual Unity Mass on February 24. Father Joshua Johnson, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, was the presider. The Eucharistic celebration was held in the Academy Student Center. 

Senior Sophie Stelly welcomed the large gathering. “The central charism of the Congregation of St. Joseph is ‘That All May Be One,’” she said. “This charism does not express a desire to make everyone the same; rather, it is about celebrating the many gifts we have in our diversity and bringing all of those gifts together in serving the dear neighbor. Our common bond is that we are all children of God, equally loved by our Creator and deserving of equal love from one another.”

Junior Abby Eldredge lit the candle of remembrance to honor those members of the Academy community who have passed away since the last mass. 

Freshman Emma Jane Prudhomme read from the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians. 

Prayers of the faithful were offered in 10 languages representative of the SJA community. Junior Cheri Nguyen began the prayers with the Diocesan Prayer for Racial Harmony.

Participating students and the languages spoken were junior Cheri Nguyen, Vietnamese; junior Grace Courville, Portuguese; senior Angela Le, Vietnamese; freshman Emely Guevara, Spanish; sophomore Reese Ledoux, American Sign Language; senior Lizzie Bertucci, Polish; senior Edie Crow, Latin; freshman Belle Camp, French; senior Danielle Mistric, Portuguese; and faculty member Beatrice Bellony, Creole. 

Danielle Baird directed the Liturgy Choir. Angela Sneed was the keyboardist. Senior Anna Craig and junior Caroline Bull were cantors. 

Following mass, Dean of Women Christina Richardson recognized the faculty and staff members who were honored during Catholic Schools Week for milestone anniversaries in service to Catholic schools. With 10 years are Allison Bruton, Amanda Henley, Bonnie Rader, Cord McKeithen, Holly Browning, Jade McCune, Meredith Smith and Linda Thompson. Serving 15 years are Hugo Andricain, Sharon Cashio, Stephanie Faucette and Lauren Sommer. Celebrating 20 years are Aubrey DeJohn, Cristina Latiolais, Greg Hanner, Michelle Lofland and Sara Rounds. With 30 years of service are Stacia Andricain, Cecilia Methvin and Angelle Saia. 

Richardson also announced that SJA President Jan Breen, who has spent 53 years in Catholic education, was the recipient of the Diocese of Baton Rouge’s Distinguished Catholic School Lifetime Achievement Award. She was then nominated by Bishop Michael Duca for the Catherine T. McNamee, CSJ Award, one of the National Catholic Educational Association’s President’s Awards, and will be presented the award in Minneapolis.

Campus Minister Chelsea Colomb shared various opportunities for students to engage during the Lenten season, and Assistant Dean of Women Brianna Sommers discussed safety protocols during schoolwide assemblies.

Senior Kaylie Hollis closed the gathering by leading the singing of the alma mater.