Good News!
“Children’s Liturgy of the Word”
returns to Christ the King!

Sunday Scripture presented for Children
1 st – 4 th Grade age

Begins: Sat, Jan 15 & Sun, Jan 16

Vigil Mass - 6:30 pm (Spanish)
Sunday Mass - 10:30 am (English)
(Children are dismissed during the Liturgy of the Word
and return to present the Gifts)

 

ONLINE GIVING IS NOW AVAILABLE
FOR CHRIST THE KING
OFFERTORY DONATIONS!!

 Please click on the OSV Hub Link below and “Sign In- to set up your new account”and complete your initial account registration. 

Fr. Michael Nam and Christ the King appreciate your continued support!   Thank You!

If you have questions, please call the church office 361-1500.

 Online Giving Link:

 OSV Hub
 

RITE OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION OF ADULTS

RCIA is for adults considering the call
to become Catholic Christians.
If you or someone you know living in our area
is unbaptized or of another Christian faith
and has an interest in becoming Catholic
or seeking spiritual growth,
call the parish office for more information. 361-1500 

Baptized Catholic Adults seeking to complete their Sacraments of Initiation ( Eucharist and Confirmation), contact the parish office for information to begin the preparation process and celebrated at the Cathedral on Pentecost Sunday.

ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW ORLEANS
 OFFICE  OF  SAFE  ENVIRONMENT

Website for access to Archdiocesan Safe Environment polices:
https://nolacatholic.org/policies-and-procedures-of-the-archdiocese-of-new-orleans

Procedure to report suspected abuse of a minor by a member of the clergy, and employee or volunteer of the Archdiocese:
Call hotline phone number: 504-861-6253
(Your call will be returned within 24 hours if you leave a message).
Joseph Pistorius – Victims Assistance Coordinator

Nativity scene legacy continues at Christ the King

By Christine Bordelon, Clarion Herald

A collection of two Fontanini figurines that Christ the King Church’s former pastor, Father Jose Ladra, began in Cuba in 1958 before he fled to the United States during the Cuban Revolution, has grown into a nativity scene of the town of Bethlehem that encompasses an 18-by-18-foot space inside the Gretna church’s cry room.

“It’s become quite a tradition,” said Linda Gober Smith, who coordinates the Nativity scene with Father Jose Nativity Committee members Karen Coombs, Patrick Fremin, Milagros Matthews, Rachel Hymel, and Neva Frazier.

Due to COVID, the nativity will not be revealed this year.

Smith and other parishioners didn’t want to see Father Ladra’s tradition end when he died in 2006, so they petitioned their new pastor, Father Michael Nam Nguyen, to allow them to keep it going.

Smith has never counted all the pieces, but committee members estimate that it is close to 1,000 pieces since, in addition to the larger pieces of houses, buildings, village scenes, trees and animals, and a working fountain, there are tiny loaves of bread, fruit, carrots, brass containers, doves, etc., all packed inside tackle boxes.

Bethlehem comes alive

The mammoth display depicts many scenes, including a wedding, a bazaar, a fair, marketplace, a village with two guard towers at the entrance, an olive grove, and a vineyard.

While most of the pieces are from the Italian company Fontanini, Father Ladra had amassed a few mechanical structures that are now used in what Smith calls “the forest.”

And, the display changes every year. Four years ago, Herod’s Temple was added. Two years ago, a volunteer replaced the lake made from Katrina-tarp with a new one, and Christmas music was added.

“We are constantly adding, taking away, and changing,” Smith said. “It’s new each year. We try to compose a scene as to how it actually would have looked at the time.”

Parishioners welcome the display and tell the committee they look forward to it annually.

“Parishioners have favorite scenes and pieces and ask where they are,” committee member Patrick Freeman said.

They also have been supportive in donations to buy 32 new tables on which to hold the display and to pay for the climate-controlled storage where the figures sit year-round.

Smith said an anonymous donor helped pay for a new backdrop that has been used. She’s hoping to add new lights and possibly synchronize the lights with the Christmas music.

A dream of Smith’s is that one day people will be able to walk around the village. “So people can see (the beauty) of everything up close.”

“Carrying on the legacy brings a lot of life here and brings the community together,” Smith said.

The Parish Office is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.