Faith at Work: May 2023

For the month of May, we are happy to highlight Father Patrick Riviere in our “Faith at Work” series!

Fr. Patrick was born and raised in Thibodaux where he attended elementary school at St. Joseph Elementary. Patrick’s Catholic school education continued at E.D. White Catholic High School where he was part of the swim team, before going to Nicholls State University to study pre-med while coaching swim team. Fr. Patrick was “swimming” along with his own life plans, but little did he know that the Lord would soon reveal other plans, and he would later find himself in the seminary on his journey to the priesthood!

While at Nicholls, Fr. Patrick first began thinking about when he got involved at the St. Thomas Catholic Center. He began praying regularly for the first time and said “as God became more real to me, I was more and more attracted to giving my life to Him.  Eventually, seminary was the next logical step I had to take!” On June 1st of 2019, Fr. Patrick did just that, and was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux by Bishop Fabre.

Today, Fr. Patrick is the administrator of Our Lady of Prompt Succor in Chackbay and works for the Office of Parish Support and Office of the Priesthood. In addition to his work with his parish and offices, Fr. Patrick is no stranger to our Foundation. He first was introduced to the Foundation while in seminary and has since taken an active role in several of our projects. Fr. Patrick said, “It’s always a joy to work with the Catholic Foundation team and they do an excellent job supporting the parishes and diocese!” When asked what his favorite part working with the Catholic Foundation is, Fr. Patrick said, “the people who work for the Catholic Foundation.” He graciously mentioned that each one of them is a gift and anytime he has the opportunity to speak or work with one of them, “It’s a real joy!” He mentions that he knows they do all they can to help support him and the parish he is so blessed to serve.

Fr. Patrick is grateful for the endowment started by Fr. Benie to support the long-term stability of Our Lady of Prompt Succor in Chackbay. He expresses that his parishioners are so generous and that the Catholic Foundation helps maximize the benefits received from the parishioners’ gifts.

Thank you Fr. Patrick for your hard work and dedication to our diocese and the mission of the Catholic Foundation! If you are interested in the work the Catholic Foundation is doing within our community and want to get involved, please take a look around our website, give us a call at 985-850-3116, or send us an email at cfsl@htdiocese.org to learn more.