A Message from Father Mark E. Thibodeaux, SJ

I am writing to let you know that I will be stepping down as pastor of HNJ Parish and School on April 6, 2026, in order to take on my new mission as Novice Director for the Jesuits. On the one hand, I’m terribly sorry to leave a work and community that I love so much (you!). On the other hand, I’m deeply grateful for the time I have had with you, and I am also honored and moved by the Jesuits’ trust in me as I take on this important role for our province.

This announcement may seem abrupt and surprising to you, but I have been expecting “the call” for a while now. I am the longest-serving pastor of HNJ for over 40 years. So, my time has come. What necessitated this particular move is that our current novice director has just been named the next provincial of the UCS province. This appointment requires him to leave his role as novice director fairly quickly. Because I have previously served in this role, I am uniquely qualified to slip right into this position.

You can think of a novice director as a seminary director. I will be living and working with men in the first two years of their lives as Jesuits. They will not yet have taken religious vows, so together each individual novice and I will discern if this indeed is the life to which God is calling them. To have served as novice director for ten years before coming to HNJ was one of the greatest honors of my life, and I found the work deeply fulfilling. To be asked a second time was beyond my imagination.

I leave Holy Name with gratitude and pride for all that we have accomplished together. Many will look back on this period of our history and relish the enormously successful Capital Campaign, which has allowed us to do some wonderful and much-needed renovations to our church in addition to constructing a huge new classroom and gymnasium building. While I cannot be more proud of us for those achievements, they are not the things that bring me the most joy as I look back on my time at Holy Name. As I leave here, I am most grateful for the smiles and warm hugs of our children, for the many adults becoming full Catholics through our parish, for the faithful “old guard” who have remained loyal to this community in good times and in bad, for our increase in young adults and young families who now regularly worship here, and for our expanded work with the poor and the forgotten.

What will happen next? On the evening of April 6th, we will have a party celebrating our wonderful years together (mark your calendars!!). Then, Father Eddie Gros, SJ, will take over as acting pastor until our new pastor arrives on July 1, 2026.

And I’m delighted to introduce you to your new pastor! Father Mark Kramer, SJ, will be joining you in the summer. I am delighted that such a loving and talented priest has been chosen for this role. Father Kramer was pastor of our Jesuit parish in Grand Coteau, LA, for many years, which included overseeing St. Ignatius Catholic School. He was wildly successful in this role and was beloved by the parishioners and the school community alike. He will be a magnificent pastor of HNJ Parish and School.

Please indulge me with one last favor. It is important to me that I remain “light on my feet” as a Jesuit and a man of religious poverty. If you felt inclined to give me a gift that I would have to pack in my bag, please instead make a contribution in my name to our campaign.

I cannot thank you enough for providing me with some of the happiest years of my life. You will remain in my heart forever. Please pray for me as I move to our Denver Novitiate to help form some new future pastors of Holy Name of Jesus!

Yours in Christ,

Mark E. Thibodeaux, SJ