Former Holy Cross associate pastor will lead Notre Dame Seminary

The Rev. Joshua J. Rodrigue, a former associate pastor at Holy Cross Catholic Church is Morgan City, has been appointed to be the next rector/president of Notre Dame Seminary.
Rodrigue will assume the post July 1. The seminary’s board of trustees confirmed the appointment Oct. 14 by New Orleans Archbishop Gregary Aymond.
“Fr. Rodrigue comes to us eminently qualified and with much experience in priestly formation,” Aymond said in a press release. “I am very pleased to make this appointment and thank him for his willingness to take on this new role and important ministry of priestly formation at Notre Dame Seminary.”
Aymond also thanked the Rev. Jim Wehner for his 10 years as rector/president.
Rodrigue grew up in the St. James community in Thibodaux and graduated from E.D. White Catholic High School. After completing minor seminary studies at St. Joseph Seminary in Covington, Rodrigue spent five years in Rome at the Pontifical North American College and was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux on Aug. 10, 2002. Following his ordination, Rodrigue returned to Rome for his last year of studies to complete the licentiate degree in sacramental theology.
After returning to the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, Rodrigue served in the diocese as associate pastor at Holy Cross Church in Morgan City, pastor at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Bayou Black, and gector at the Cathedral of St. Francis de Sales in Houma.
In 2017, Rodrigue was granted permission to serve at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, where he has served as director of pastoral formation and a formation adviser and then as director of spiritual formation and as a spiritual director.
Since 2006, Rodrigue has been involved in seminary formation and over the years, has taught as an adjunct professor of theology at St. Joseph Seminary College (2006-2017), Notre Dame Seminary (2008-2009), the Pontifical Gregorian University (2017-2018), and the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (2018-present).
“Fr. Josh has blessed our diocese with his ministerial gifts for the past two decades,” Houma-Thibodaux Bishop Shelton J. Fabre said in the press release.
“It is a great honor that one of our own is now responsible for the formation of our priests for hopefully a great many more years to come. While a wonderfully gifted parish priest, it also became quite obvious to all of us years ago that Fr. Josh was uniquely qualified in the pastoral and spiritual formation of the next generation of priests.”
“I express my profound gratitude to Archbishop Aymond and the Board of Trustees for their confidence and trust in appointing me Rector of Notre Dame Seminary. I am also grateful to Bishop Fabre, my Ordinary, for his generosity in allowing me to continue working in seminary formation.
“Being able to serve the local and universal Church as rector of Notre Dame is a great honor and gift that I can only receive in gratitude and joy before the Lord.”
Rodrigue will be officially installed as rector by Archbishop Aymond during the Mass of the Holy Spirit in fall 2022.