Church members of Destrehan-based St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, located at 13396 River Road, have been waiting all year for the church’s upcoming celebration day on November 4, a date set aside to mark the church’s 300th anniversary.
The church will hold a special Tricentennial Mass on Saturday, November 4th at 11 a.m. to be attended by prominent church dignitaries, former pastors of the church, volunteers and other church members. Additional planned events for the celebration will include historical lectures, artifact exhibits and cemetery tours.
Tracing its origins back to 1723, St. Charles Borromeo stands as one of the oldest churches in the state. The church’s cemetery is also one of distinction as the oldest German cemetery in the South, featuring tombs from as long ago as the 16th century.
“It is the second oldest church in Louisiana, just behind the St. Louis Cathedral parish, which was started in 1718,” Louis Authement, chairman of the church’s 300th Anniversary Celebration Publicity Committee, said. “It’s been kind of a cornerstone of the local community.”
The church has had multiple rebirths over the centuries, starting out as a small chapel that would later burn down in 1806. Faithful locals quickly replaced the chapel with the famous “Little Red Church” structure, a building that became a landmark for Mississippi riverboat pilots and locals alike. The “Little Red Church” was later replaced in 1921 with the current St. Charles Borromeo Church, which has undergone several expansions and major renovations over the last century.
Church members and leaders have held meetings for over a year in preparation for November’s celebration, with several smaller events held in the last 12 months leading up to next month’s special mass. A memorial book is also currently being prepared for publication, documenting the church’s 300-year history, including photos and information from centuries past.
Church leaders recently decided to add a few permanent features to the church in honor of reaching its 300th year milestone, some of which are now on display.
“We’ve got a new chandelier in the entrance of the church that has 38 separate light fixtures representing the 38 pastors [the church has had] over the last 300 years,” Authement mentioned. “We’ve [also] got a permanent structure being build right next to our cemetery that’s called Ascension Plaza, to commemorate the 300th year.”
Watercolor painting reproductions recently went on display at the church’s campus, showing off the skills of one of the church’s most prominent early pastors, a Frenchman priest and artist named Father Joseph Paret who served at the church from 1848 to 1869.
The original paintings, of which art historians have commented remain as some of the most important Louisiana landscape paintings created during the pre-Civil War era, were discovered around 1987. They were found in an old trunk in Pe’lussin, France, where they were quietly stowed away for over a century before images of the priest’s work were finally shared with the public via LSU publications.
As the year-long 300th celebration comes to its conclusion in early November, Authement said this past year has been special for St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church members, a year of events that have served to connect parishioners of the present day with its many former church members of the last 300 years.
“I think what’s important for all parishioners to recognize is that throughout this year we’ve been presented with a once in a lifetime opportunity to participate in a milestone of history,” Authement said. “It’s a history-making moment that makes a mark in space and time – for three centuries, people have been gathering here for the same reason that we continue to gather now.”
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