One year after its possible closure, St. Mark Catholic Church celebrates 50th anniversary

A mass is celebrated at St. Mark Catholic Church.

Last year, the fate of St. Mark Catholic Church in Ama was unknown. Would the Archdiocese of New Orleans merge the parish with a neighboring one, or let it stand alone?

In a year-long study, the Archdiocese considered the fate of 15 total parishes, including St. Mark, and last October, it decided that St. Gertrude of Des Allemands would merge with St. John the Baptist of Paradis, according to nola.com

But St. Mark would continue to stand alone. And, on Nov. 2, the parish will celebrate its 50th anniversary.

A small church

Mary Loup, the director of religious education and music ministry at St. Mark, said she is thankful the Archdiocese decided not to close the church.

“By prayer, and determination, and by being resilient we were able to prove our argument that we were viable and that we could stay open,” Loup said. “To me that is a big blessing of our Lord that we are going to remain open and, not only that, but we are able to celebrate our 50th anniversary.”

Loup said she has been a parishioner of St. Mark for 30 years. The church has about 200 parishioners, she said.

“We’re a small parish,” she said. “We’ve very connected, not only as a Catholic parish but as a community.”

The Archbishop of New Orleans Gregory M. Aymond will perform the anniversary mass on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 4 p.m. The mass will also include a confirmation of three student parishioners. After the mass, parishioners will celebrate the anniversary with a reception at the church’s family center.

The church’s history

Fr. Peter Akpoghiran, the pastor at St. Mark, said the church’s history dates to 1898 when Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary in Hahnville started a mission church. Records show that 12 children made their First Communion at St. Mark on August 28, 1899, and the first record of a marriage ceremony at the church was for Joseph Friloux and Elmina Zeringue on Jan. 30, 1902, Akpoghiran said.

In 1935, the chapel was moved from its spot closer by the Mississippi River to its current location, and in 1946 the church’s construction was complete. St. Mark was established as a parish on Jan. 19, 1974, according to Akpoghiran.

Akpoghiran said the founding parish pastor, Fr. Donald R. Cote, died in 1989. In January 1992, the church’s family center was renamed the Father Cote Center.

Akpoghiran, who is originally from Nigeria and has been with the Archdiocese of New Orleans for the past 13 years, said the people of the parish are resilient in their faith and committed to the parish.

“Like the proverbial mustard seed, St. Mark Parish has grown from a mission church to a parish of its own,” he said. “I want the parish community and the Ama community in general to affirm the beautiful hymn composed by Albert A. Goodson, which says ‘We’ve Come This Far by Faith.’”

He said he is looking forward to the anniversary mass and the joyous spirit of the celebration and the reception.

“This anniversary could not have been possible if the parish had been closed last year,” he said. “We are a small community, but the Lord has been good to us. We thank Archbishop Aymond for his support of the parish.”

Akpoghiran said next year he hopes to celebrate the full repair and restoration of the Father Cote Center, which was badly damaged in Hurricane Ida in 2021.

“Repairs have begun in the center, and they will be completed next year,” he said. “Thank God.”