St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

and second-oldest

ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

in the

Archdiocese of New Orleans The Archdiocese of New Orleans (; ; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical division of the Catholic Church spanning Jefferson (except Grand Isle), Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, St. Tammany, and Washingto ...

. The church and grounds are located at 13396 River Road in

Destrehan, Louisiana Destrehan is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, United States. At the 2020 census, its population was 11,340. It is located on the east bank of the Mississippi River. Destrehan is par ...

Early ecclesiastical parish history

La Paroisse de St. Jean des Allemands

The ecclesiastical parish and chapel, ''La Paroisse de St. Jean des Allemands'' (The Parish of St. John, of the Germans), were founded in 1723 in Karlstein by Capuchin missionary priests. The site was on the westbank of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

near present-day

Taft, Louisiana Taft is a census-designated place (CDP) in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, United States, located on the west bank of the Mississippi River. History Taft is the location of a phosphate processing facility owned by The Mosaic Company (formerly IM ...

Church history

St. Charles Chapel

In 1740, the ecclesiastical parish and chapel relocated to the present-day site of the church on the eastbank of the Mississippi River. A

log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a minimally finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first-generation home building by settl ...

structure was built and both the ecclesiastical parish and chapel were renamed St. Charles in honor of

St. Charles Borromeo Charles Borromeo (; ; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was an Italian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584. He was made a cardinal in 1560. Borromeo founded the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine and was a ...

Little Red Church

The log cabin chapel built in 1740, burned in 1806 and was replaced by a wood-framed church painted red during that same year. The church became known as the " Little Red Church". It was a famous

riverboat A riverboat is a watercraft designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury ...

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern-day use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures ...

where boat captains traditionally paid off their crews. In 1877, a fire destroyed the

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...

and left the church without a

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

. Starting in 1890, the church entered a period of

interdict In Catholic canon law, an interdict () is an ecclesiastical censure, or ban that prohibits certain persons or groups from participating in particular rites, or that the rites and services of the church are prohibited in certain territories for ...

ion, losing the pastoral support of

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Francis Janssens due to conflicts with the church charter and wardens. In 1917, a parochial charter was adopted and St. Charles Borromeo ecclesiastical parish was reinstated to the

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

by Archbishop James Blenk. In 1921, the "Little Red Church" burned and the current church was built on the property that same year.

St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church

St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church was dedicated on January 25, 1922. It was constructed with a white

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

and a Spanish tile roof. A

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or Casting (metalworking), cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to ...

of Saint Charles Borromeo is enshrined in front of the church. The altar stone of the church rests on a

walnut tree Walnut trees are any species of tree in the plant genus ''Juglans'', the type genus of the family (biology), family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are referred to as walnuts. All species are deciduous trees, tall, with pinnate leaves , with ...

trunk Trunk may refer to: Biology * Trunk (anatomy), synonym for torso * Trunk (botany), a tree's central superstructure, and the stem of woody plants * Trunk of corpus callosum, in neuroanatomy * Elephant trunk, the proboscis of an elephant Comput ...

imported from Arona, Italy. The tree is estimated to be four-hundred years old and dates back to the time Charles Borromeo was in Arona, Italy (16th century). In 1929, a

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

was built and the rectory was rebuilt by elevating the ground buildings and closing in the ground level.

Cemetery

A cemetery was established at the site as early as 1723. The St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church cemetery is today recognized as the South’s oldest German cemetery.Paroisse de St. Jean des Allemands Catholic Church
scphistory.org

Charles Frederick d'Arensbourg Charles Frederic d’Arensbourg (sometimes written D’Arensbourg or Darensbourg) (1693–1777), born Carl Friedrich Arensburg, was an early leader in the settlement of the German Coast region of Louisiana.

, leader of the

German Coast The German Coast (French: ''Côte des Allemands'', Spanish: ''Costa Alemana'', German: ''Deutsche Küste'') was a region of early Louisiana settlement located above New Orleans, and on the west bank of the Mississippi River. Specifically, from ...

, is buried in the cemetery, but his grave was lost due to the shifting Mississippi River. The Destréhan Family tombs are located in the cemetery. Louisiana state senator

Jean Noël Destréhan Jean-Noël Destréhan de Tours (1754 – October 4, 1823) was a Louisiana Creole people, Creole politician in Louisiana and one-time owner of St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, St. Charles Parish's Destrehan Plantation, one of Louisiana's histori ...

, who died in 1823, is buried in the cemetery, but his grave was also lost due to the shifting Mississippi River. He is the namesake for the town, one-time owner of Destrehan Plantation, and the first

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

elected from Louisiana, along with Allan B. Magruder. Nicolas Noël Destréhan (d. 1848), fourth son of Jean Noël Destréhan, and another son René Noël Destréhan (1807–1836), are buried in the cemetery; as is their sister, Marie Eléonore "Zelia" Destréhan Henderson (1800–1830). The oldest remaining burial plot is of Elizabeth Dubord, who died in 1777. This plot also contains the remains of François Trepagnier, who died in the

1811 German Coast uprising The 1811 German Coast uprising was a slave rebellion which occurred in the Territory of Orleans from January 8–10, 1811. It occurred on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the modern-day Louisiana parishes of St. John the Baptist Paris ...

Schools

St. Charles Borromeo School

In 1929, an

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

was built on the grounds. It was the first

parochial school A parochial school is a private school, private Primary school, primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathem ...

opened between

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

. It is still located on the church grounds in Destrehan.

St. Charles Borromeo High School

In 1948, a parochial high school, St. Charles Borromeo High School, opened on the church grounds. It was operated by the Sisters of the Congregation of the Immaculate Conception. In 1960, the Sisters of the Most Holy Sacrament took over operation of the high school and in 1978 it moved to LaPlace, Louisiana becoming St. Charles Catholic High School.

Gallery

File:St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, Destrehan, Louisiana Historical Plaque.jpg, St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church Historical Plaque File:St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, Destrehan, Louisiana Nave.jpg, St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church Nave File:St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, Destrehan, LA Interior.jpg, St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church Interior File:St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, Destrehan, Louisiana Gallery.jpg, St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church Gallery File:Little Red Church model entrance at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, Destrehan, LA.jpg, Little Red Church Model at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church

References

External links

St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, Destrehan, Louisiana Churches in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana Roman Catholic churches in Louisiana French-American culture in Louisiana Religious organizations established in the 1720s Roman Catholic churches completed in 1921 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans Charles Borromeo