The Rev. Hampton Davis is the new priest and pastor at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church.
Davis was assigned to St. Anthony’s Church and the Annunciation of Blessed Virgin Mary in Duralde by Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel of the Diocese of Lafayette. Rev. Davis officially took his post on July 1. He performed his first Mass at St. Anthony’s Church on July 7.
Davis will serve as pastor over St. Edmund Catholic School, and he said he is looking forward to becoming an official fighting Blue Jay. However, he also added, “I am backing up the Eunice Battling Bobcats too.”
Davis, 61, comes here from Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in Lafayette, where he served as pastor for the past 12 years. He also served as the school chancellor at Tuerlings Catholic High School and at affiliated Holy Family School in Lafayette.
A priest for the past 29 years, Davis previously ministered at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Abbeville, Our Lady of Wisdom Church and its catholic student center at USL in Lafayette.
Davis was born in New Orleans and raised in Lafayette. He is a 1975 high school graduate of Cathedral Carmel School in Lafayette. He attended Notre Dame seminary for 10 years and was a faculty member. He lived and endured through Hurricane Katrina during this time.
He is the son of the late Beverly and Happy Davis of Lafayette and the oldest of eight children, four boys and four girls. His father was a cardiovascular surgeon. He has 30 nieces and nephews.
Davis says he is looking forward to meeting Eunice folks, and added, “I have already met some wonderful people and I am definitely pleasantly impressed with their hospitality. They possess warmth, and their gratitude is wonderful. I feel very welcomed. I was impressed just recently on how they handled and overcame Tropical Storm Barry. We decided to cancel several Masses for our people’s safety and they were compassionate and OK with the decision.”
Davis was ordained a priest in June of 1990 by Bishop Harry Flynn.