St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Eunice has a beautiful new oratory!  Bishop Douglas Deshotel traveled to Eunice on Sunday, December 12, 2021 to bless the newly completed Oratory of Our Lady of Eunice.  The oratory, located on the grounds of St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Eunice, is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary to invoke her prayers anad protection for the city.  The project is the vision of pastor, Father Clinton Sensat, that began two years ago.  The oratory is open to visitors for prayer from 5 AM - 10 PM daily.

For a history of the Oratory of Our Lady of Eunice by Rev. Clinton Sensat, read on...
In 2019, Eunice was in trouble.  Among many other things, we had shootings almost every week.  Fr. Sensat was praying about this on his silent retreat at St. Meinrad's Archabbey in Indiana.  While there, he encountered their shrine to Our Lady of Monte Cassino. (You can find the story online; basically, Our Lady under that title saved the town and monastery from smallpox.)  Fr. Sensat was deeply moved aand felt convinced the Virgin would be willing to do the same for Eunice.
He got in touch with numerous parishioners, who all supported the idea.  He researched the history of Eunice to see if any important dates connected to Marian feasts.  Sure enough, the city was founded on September 12th, feast of the holy name of Mary; even more appropriate, 2019 was the 125th anniversary of the founding of Eunice.  Plans were quickly put in place, and an image chosen and crowned.  Green, the color of hope, was connected with Our Lady of Eunice from the beginning.  On September 12, 2019, Bishop Deshotel solemnly consecrated Eunice to God through Our Lady.
Plans were made to build a small building to house the statue.  Following the Code of Canon Law, it was designated an "oratory".  It was hoped that it would be ready for the first anniversary of the consecration.  Then Covid struck, and all plans were put on hold.  On September 12, 2020, the statue was carried on foot in procession for four miles throughout the city, invoking God's mercy and Mary's prayers.  Construction began in 2021, and the Oratory was blessed December 12, 2021 by the bishop.  Bishop Deshotel renewed the solemn consecration of the city in the new Oratory.
The image of Our Lady of Eunice is crowned in gold and green, and clothed in a white dress with an over-robe somewhat between gold and green.  She is in a green alcove behind a golden arch covered in green and white floral decorations.  All of these elements are meant to designate hope:  green, the color of growth and springtime; gold, which doesn't corrupt and is a sign of eternity; white, the color of purity and holiness.  But green is her special color, an image of the new growth in love, faith, and peace for which we hope through her prayers.  Around the sides of the Oratory are depicted the Six Saints of Eunice.  First, the three representing the three church parishes:  St. Anthony, St. Mathilda, and St. Thomas More.  Next, the patron of our Catholic school, St. Edmund.  Then, the patron of the civil parish (county for non-Louisianans), St. Landry.  Finally, St. Agnes, who was our patroness when we were a chapel, before we became a full parish, and who is still honored as basically a co-patron of St. Thomas More.
Above the depiction of each saint is an image of the Blessed Virgin under a title somewhat connected to the saint:
-Above St. Anthony is Our Lady of the Angels, the Franciscan title for Mary.
-Above St. Thomas More is Our Lady of Walsingham, the great English devotion to Mary.
-Above St. Mathilda is Our Lady of Kibeho, in honor of Eunice's great Black Catholic community.
-Above St. Landry is Our Lady of Guadalupe, representing the many Hispanic Catholics in our civil parish.
-Above St. Edmund is Our Lady of Good Help, the only approved apparition of Mary in the United States, when she appeared to Adele Brise in Wisconsin, sending her to teach children.
-Above St. Agnes is Our Lady of Mercy, the centuries-old devotion to which Our Lady of Eunice is most connected.
Eventually, we hope to depict the motto of Our Lady of Eunice above her statue (on the white arch):  Spes Nostra Sub Deo - Our Hope Under God.

After two years of planning and hard work,  the construction of the Oratory of Our Lady of Eunice is finally coming to completion!  A Mass and Blessing of the Oratory of Our Lady of Eunice is scheduled for Sunday, December 12, 2021 at 12:00 noon.  Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel will celebrate Mass at St. Thomas More Church, followed by his blessing of the Oratory.  Everyone is invited to attend the Mass and Blessing, as well as a catered luncheon in the parish Social Hall following the Blessing.  Bring your picnic blankets or lawn chairs to enjoy your meal under the beautiful oak trees surrounding the Oratory (weather permitting).  Dining will also be available inside the Social Hall.  Join us for this very special day!

On September 12, 2019, the feast of the Holy Name of Mary, as well as the 125^th anniversary of the founding of Eunice, Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel, along with the three pastors of Eunice, consecrated our city to God through the Mother of God under her title as Our Lady of Eunice. Parishioners, elected officials, and guests attended from throughout the city.  View a video of the Mass here.  

The following is an excerpt from a Presentation and Dedication composed by Fr. Clinton Sensat:

You are neither blind nor naïve.  You know there has been an increase in crime, an increase in violence, an increase of hatred, an increase of poverty in our city. You know that many have walked away from the faith taught by Jesus Christ Himself by walking away from the Church. You know that a shadow has fallen upon our home. We, the pastors of Eunice, intend to do something about it. We have already begun, in our preaching, in our prayers, in our call to repentance. But this shadow is bigger than us. So we are calling upon the strongest intercessor we have. We are calling upon the help of the Queen of Heaven and Earth, who is also the Queen of Eunice.

The image of Our Lady of Eunice is visiting each of the three parishes in Eunice. As the statue comes to your parish, bring your needs and the needs of our city to the Virgin Mary, so that you and she together can go before God and plead for His goodness and grace. Continue praying after the statue leaves your parish. Continue praying after September 12^th. Eventually, by our donations and the work of our hands, we hope to build a shrine to Our Lady of Eunice on St. Thomas More’s property, at an easily accessible spot, so that all of us can visit the image and pray for our city. But more important even than donations, even than work, even than the shrine itself, are prayers. A new and pretty building would be a blessing. But a deeper conversion of Eunice is our primary goal.

We are not alone. The entire court of heaven sees our struggles, our trials, and our sufferings. And with a mother’s love, Our Lady of Eunice will come to our help, if only we have faith, if only we have hope, if only we are ardent and persevering in our prayers. Our Lord has told us that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we could move mountains. The Virgin Mary has made snow fall in August, has made roses bloom in December, has made healing waters burst forth from a trash heap, and has made the sun dance in the sky. Between Him and her, surely we can move our home out of the darkness and into His wonderful light. We, your fathers, love you. We are not sleeping at our post. We will fight for our beloved city, and we ask you to fight beside us. We ask for your help, for your donations, for your work, and for your prayers. And may the prayers of Our Lady of Eunice work miracles here, as she has worked elsewhere. Because Mary does not love Rome or Guadalupe or Lourdes or Fatima more than she loves Eunice. But perhaps they have trusted her more than we have.

Or perhaps in a hundred years people will make pilgrimage here, just as they do there.

Our Lady of Eunice, pray for us.