On Tuesday, June 1, Sheriff Bobby Webre named Father Josh Johnson of Holy Rosary Catholic Church as an Honorary Sheriff.

Father Josh was the guest speaker for the sheriff’s office enrichment program. Father Josh spoke about the need to form strong community bonds based upon mutual aid and respect, and ways to improve ourselves in the law enforcement profession by seeking to understand the perspectives of others.

The enrichment program is a quarterly series for all leaders of the sheriff’s office and focuses on leadership, diversity, and other topics each quarter.  

Father Josh has served as the priest of Holy Rosary Catholic Church in St. Amant since 2016, following the historic flood where the church suffered significant damage from flood waters. He has brought several programs to the church such as making the food pantry more visible with the Full of Grace Café that opened in 2019. He added a laundry facility free to anyone in need of clothes cleaning services. 

To take it a step further, Father Josh implemented a legal service program, free of charge to those in need, and maternity services and a diaper bank.

Most recently, Father Josh opened the Holy Rosary Retreat Center in January 2021, allowing people who want to go on a silent retreat or spend time with a spiritual director that was socially distanced in the height of Covid-19.

Father Josh started at St. Joseph’s Seminary College in Covington in 2006 and went on to earn his master’s in theology from Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans.

Father Josh, affectionately known as the “rapping priest” is also an author and a host of the “Ask Father Josh” podcast which focuses on helping Catholics navigate the tricky times in life by answering questions from viewers.

“We are so thankful to have Father Josh in our community who touches the lives of so many doing what he loves. We thank him for his dedication, hard work, and unremitting devotion of doing God’s work,” said Sheriff Bobby Webre. “It expresses the truth of his character, reveals his pure heart, and his commitment to the special calling on his life.”