The resolution also declares that the Louisiana Senate recognizes and commemorates the period of December 8, 2020, to December 8, 2021, as the "Year of St. Joseph".
The resolution also recognizes May 1 as a day dedicated to working Louisiana men and women “who get up every day and work hard to provide for and lift-up their families, their communities, the state of Louisiana, and the United States of America.”
Upon signing of the resolution, a copy has been sent to Father Donald H. Calloway, MIC, Father Michael Champagne, CJC, Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, Bishop Douglas Deshotels of the Diocese of Lafayette, the Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the governor of Louisiana.
Fr. Champagne, who supported Mills in drafting the resolution’s language, told CNA, “down here the Catholic faith is very much the fragrance of the culture and the people."
The resolution highlights the movement within the Church toward devotion to St. Joseph as a reason for passing the resolution.
The resolution particularly names certain priests because of their work and devotion to St. Joseph. Father Michael Champagne was named for his creation of the "Exodus 290 St. Joseph Pilgrimage," a pilgrimage encouraging the faithful and the citizens of Louisiana to retrace the same distance Joseph traveled in the Bible.