About

Parish Established in 1723

St. Charles Borromeo and its parishioners have been an integral part of South Louisiana and its history. Our cemetery holds tombs dating back to the 1700’s, including the Destrehan Family Tomb. Our church parish began as a little log chapel, on the river bank in 1772. The first German settlers in this area built the chapel as a symbol of their faith, thankful for their arrival to this land.

By 1860, the little chapel was replaced by the frame Little Red Church which for many years was a landmark for steamboat pilots who traveled the Mississippi River. (picture above) When the Little Red Church came into view, the passengers hailed its sight, knowing their journey was near its end.

Our school buildings began in 1929 with the school and convent built first. The auditorium and school alterations in 1950, the Savio that is no longer in existence was built in 1951 and the Pius with covered walk ways in 1953. The cafeteria was added in 1954 to compliment our education ministry.

In 1978, our parish completed and dedicated our beautiful expansion to our “House of the Lord”- the Parish church. This project included a new altar, more pews to seat a total of 558 worshipers and mainly badly needed repairs. A new asphalt parking lot was constructed in front of the church along with lighting and landscaping.

In 1994, the Pierre F. Friloux Early Childhood Development Center was completed and now houses eight classes from 3 year old to Kindergarten.

On December 10th, 1995 the parishioners of St. Charles Borromeo began a commitment to our Lord to worship the Blessed Sacrament thus beginning the Adoration Chapel. Several hundred adorers come weekly to the chapel to praise God for His goodness and offer their petitions. All are welcome to visit with our Lord any time of the day or night.

The Fred J. Roth Memorial Activity Center housing the new gymnasium along with the renovation of the Auditorium/meeting rooms and additional office space were completed in November of 1997. It is hard to imagine how busy parish like St. Charles Borromeo was able to function without this multi-purpose facility for so many years.

In 2001, the interior of the church received a new coat of paint. The ceiling tiles were replaced with brighter white tiles and a lighter color carpet was installed over stronger, better-insulated sub-flooring. The old pews were removed and distributed to those families who donated funds for the new pews.

With the growth of several new housing developments in the surrounding area, it was decided that changes needed to be made with our school facilities to provide a more secure environment for our children to grow spiritually, academically, physically and emotionally. Beginning in 1999, we began the 1st of several phases to construct a two story, sixteen classroom facilities equipped with a 36 stations computer lab and state of the art science lab. Supporting restrooms, teacher’s lounges, and administrative offices are also included in this project. Since the new structure was built over the old Savio Building, the name was changed to recognize the pastor who spearheaded the project before his death. On Trinity Sunday, May 22, 2005, in the presence of countless friends, family dignitaries and parishioners, the education center was dedicated to Monsignor John N. Phuc.  

In 2020, we dedicated to our Blessed Mother a beautiful, new, stand-alone Perpetural Adoration Chapel appropriately positioned behind our Fatima Building.  Also, four restrooms were added to the interior of our church along with a second sacristy and improvements to our existing sacristy.

St. Charles Borromeo is a Catholic Community which provides a Faith-Nurturing environment for the growth of all people through the ministries of spirituality, community, education, and administration, in order to become a living example of God's Word.