Pastoral Council

The St. Benilde Parish Council was established in the spirit of Vatican II to assist the Pastor in the administration and coordination of parish activities and to participate in the planning and policy-making process of the parish.

The purpose of the Council is to establish policy and make decisions on all matters, spiritual and temporal, which pertain to the needs and mission of this parish, all under the authority of the pastor and within the limits of the teachings of the Catholic Church, and the statutes and policies of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

Membership on the Parish Council is open to all parishioners, of the age of 18 or older, elected in an at-large vote of the parish. There are nine to twelve at-large members of the Council. The members represent, ascertain and bring before the Council the spiritual and temporal interests of the Parish and its Parishioners.

The Council consists of six Commissions and is responsible for evaluating the needs of the parish and providing assistance to meet those needs. Each organization in the parish is an essential component of one of the commissions. The following Commissions serve the needs of the parish:

• Sacramental / Liturgical Life
• Spiritual Life
• Educational Life
• Social Services
• Family Life / Youth
• Administrative Life

The Pastor has charged the St. Benilde Parish Pastoral Council with creating and implementing a pastoral plan for the life of the parish. Pastoral planning begins with a parish-wide dialogue on the mission of the Church, the perceptions of the community, and the current reality of the parish. This dialogue is facilitated by the Parish Pastoral Council.

When completed, the information gathered from these dialogues will be taken by the Parish Pastoral Council and the pastor and used to create a pastoral plan for the future. The pastoral plan articulates the goals and priorities of the parish community for the coming years.

The Parish Pastoral Council will also call forth individuals from the community to implement the goals of the pastoral plan. In this way, the Parish Pastoral Council members are parish leaders charged with developing other leaders.