John Paul the Great Academy

It is with great joy that we share that Fr. Stephen Melancon was ordained this past Saturday! Fr. Melancon graduated from John Paul the Great Academy in 2018 and is our fourth alumni priest! We are excited for your future visits to campus and for celebrating the gift of your priesthood!

Our JPG Family Work Day is next week on Saturday, June 20th, from 7:00 a.m. to Noon! Breakfast is provided. Come together as a community to keep our campus beautiful and ready for the next school year! Outdoor work includes:

🌻 Lawn Work
🌻 Tree Work
🌻 Power Washing
🌻 Tree Trimming
🌻 Mulch Spreading
🌻 Gardening
🌻 W**d Eating

No sign-up required to attend- this is the last opportunity for service hours for the 25-26 school year!

☀️ Our Summer Office Hours begin today!

Happy Summer, Guardians!

As our Upper School students concluded finals today, we wish all our John Paul the Great Academy students, families, faculty, and staff a safe and fun summer break!

☀️ Our Summer office hours resume next week: Monday-Wednesday 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

📸 Photo from Ninth Grade Physics class experiment with bottle rockets.

Mark your calendars! Next Saturday, one of our JPG alumni seminarians: Dcn. Stephen Melancon ('18) will be ordained!

SAVE THE DATE! Join us for a joyful and historic celebration as the Diocese of Lafayette gathers for the Ordination to the Priesthood of five of our transitional deacons.

The Rite of Ordination to the Holy Priesthood will take place on Saturday, June 6, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Lafayette. The Most Reverend Douglas Deshotel will celebrate the Mass and confer the Sacrament of Holy Orders through the laying on of hands and the Prayer of Ordination. All are invited to attend this beautiful liturgy as these men offer their lives in service to Christ and His Church.

Those to be ordained are:

Deacon Francis Xavier Gyles is a native of Meaux and a graduate of North Vermilion High School (2016). He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from St. Joseph Seminary College and a Master of Divinity from Notre Dame Seminary. He is the son of James and Pamela Gyles.

Deacon Evan Hebert, raised in Rayne and a graduate of Notre Dame High School in Crowley (2018). He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from St. Joseph Seminary College and a Master of Divinity from Notre Dame Seminary. He is sponsored by St. Joseph Church in Rayne and is the son of Phillip and Kimberly Hebert.

Deacon Bret Lee, a native of Esther and graduate of Vermilion Catholic High School in Abbeville (2017). He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from St. Joseph Seminary College and both a Master of Divinity and Bachelor of Sacred Theology from Mount St. Mary’s Seminary. Sponsored by St. Mary Magdalen Church in Abbeville, he is the son of Al and Leisa Lee.

Deacon Stephen Melancon, raised in Parks and a graduate of John Paul the Great Academy in Lafayette (2018). He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from St. Joseph Seminary College and a Master of Divinity from Notre Dame Seminary. He is sponsored by St. Joseph Church in Parks and is the son of Margaret and the late Randal Melancon.

Deacon Cole Zaunbrecher, a native of Roberts Cove and graduate of Notre Dame High School in Crowley (2018). He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from St. Joseph Seminary College and a Master of Divinity from Mount St. Mary’s Seminary. Sponsored by St. Leo IV Church in Roberts Cove, he is the son of Quentin and Roxanne Zaunbrecher.

Please continue to pray for these men as they prepare to be ordained priests for the Diocese of Lafayette. All are welcome to attend. Seating may be limited, so please plan accordingly.

Today we celebrated our Lower School students with Lower School Awards!

Headmaster’s Reading Challenge: This reading challenge extends the experience of wonderful literature beyond the classroom. Students awarded met or exceeded the required reading for their grade level.

Clouds of Witnesses Award: This award recognizes one student in each class for embodying the particular virtues of their classroom’s patron saint.

St. Josémaria Escrivá Award: this award is the highest honor that a lower school student at John Paul the Great Academy can receive. It is given each year to a student who pursues excellence and demonstrates virtue in every area of his or her life: from academics to friendships to the practice of the faith and everything in between. 

Congratulations to all our students in their dedication to excellence and virtue. View all the photos on our website, on the photos and videos page!

It is with great joy that we share our new Head of Lower School: Mrs. Ali Angelle! Mrs. Angelle brings over seven years of classroom teaching experience to John Paul the Great Academy, and was recently recognized last year as the Louisiana State Elementary Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Angelle shared with us:

“I have come to believe deeply that joy and wonder are some of the greatest pathways to learning. Children thrive when they delight in what they are discovering, and I am passionate about helping cultivate an environment where students feel known, inspired, and excited to learn.

What first drew me to JPG was the beautiful way this community lives out its faith and centers each day around serving the Lord. I have felt a pull toward this school since my college years, but as my husband and I began praying more intentionally about the kind of environment we hoped our own daughters would grow up in, the Lord continued leading us back here. It has been such a gift to watch His hand guide this journey.

My husband and I are raising three little girls — Mable, Vivienne, and Camille — and are eagerly awaiting the arrival of our fourth daughter, Frances. Our family loves gardening, baking sourdough bread with a starter passed down from my great-grandmother, and serving in our parish community through catechism and youth ministry. I also love to crochet whenever I can find a quiet moment!

I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to serve this community and cannot wait to get to know the students, families, and faculty of JPG. I already feel so blessed to be part of something so deeply rooted in truth, beauty, goodness, and faith.”

Join us in welcoming Mrs. Ali Angelle to John Paul the Great Academy!

Lower School Field Day fun!

☀️ Check out all the photos from yesterday’s day on our Facebook and website on the photos and videos page.