Father Shenan J. Boquet, National Chaplain

Father Shenan J. Boquet was ordained in 1993 and is a priest of the Houma-Thibodaux Roman Catholic Diocese in Louisiana, his home state, where he served before joining HLI in August 2011. Father Boquet has earned a BA from Saint Joseph Seminary College, a Master of Divinity (MDiv) from Notre Dame Seminary Graduate School of Theology, a Certification in Health Care Ethics from the National Catholic Bioethics Center, and a Master of Science in Bioethics (MSBe) from the University of Mary in Bismarck. In 2018, Father Boquet was awarded an honorary visiting professorship by the Benedict XVI Catholic University in Trujillo, Peru. Father Boquet is a Fourth Degree Knight of Columbus, a Knight of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem (EOHSJ), and currently serves as National Chaplain for the Catholic Daughters of the Americas.

As president of Human Life International, Father Boquet is a leading expert on the international pro-life and family movement, having journeyed to nearly 90 countries on pro-life missions over the last decade. In service of HLI’s global mission, Father Boquet collaborates with Vatican officials, (arch)bishops, and Church and civil leaders. He educates and mentors seminarians, priests, consecrated religious, and the laity. Father Boquet gives numerous talks at conferences and symposia in the United States, as well as at several international conferences; speaking on issues in the field of Bioethics, as they relate to human dignity and the sacredness of human life from conception to natural death. Father Boquet also works with pro-life and family leaders in over 100 counties that partner with HLI to proclaim and advance the Gospel of Life.

A frequent guest on various media programs, Father Boquet has appeared on EWTN television and radio shows, Catholic Answers Live, Ave Maria Radio, Vatican Radio, as well as several local Catholic radio programs in the U.S. and in other international media outlets. His writings have appeared in numerous publications such as: LifeSiteNews, LifeNews, Catholic Exchange, CNSNews, Catholic Lane, Catholic Online, Crux, Legatus, SHARE, and The Wanderer. Father Boquet’s weekly newsletter, “Spirit and Life,” goes online Mondays at ww.HLI.org, along with hosting a weekly podcast, “Living a Culture of Life.”

Father Boquet was raised in the small town of Bourg, Louisiana, in a devoutly Catholic family and community, who provided his initial formation in Christ. His earliest and most influential examples were his parents, grandparents, godmother, and parish priests, all of whom instilled in him at a young age a love for Christ and His Church, and an active faith that was to be lived, and not merely held. He was very active as a youth in pro-life advocacy and in service projects, particularly with Catholic Charities and other groups that ministered to families, the elderly, the sick, the poor, and the marginalized. This active faith grew naturally into a vocation to the priesthood. Father Boquet has been persecuted at times for preaching the Church’s perennial teaching, notably as it relates to the Gospel of Life. Despite these difficulties, he has remained steadfast and dedicated to authentic Catholic teaching and advocacy.