LAFAYETTE PARISH — LAFAYETTE, La. — For more than a century, St. Paul Catholic Church has stood as a spiritual home for generations of African American Catholics in Lafayette — a legacy parishioners say was born from the fight to worship with dignity.
This year, the church is marking 115 years of history, celebrating its roots as the first Catholic church established specifically to serve Lafayette’s African American community.
For lifelong member Gobbriel Williams, the church’s history is deeply personal.
“I have been a member of this church after being baptized. I made my communion and confirmation here,” Williams said. “I've been coming here all my life.”
Founded in 1911, St. Paul emerged during a time when segregation shaped nearly every aspect of life in the South including inside houses of worship. African American Catholics in Lafayette often had to sit in the back of other churches or in designated sections and were required to wait until white parishioners received communion first.
“It was very separated,” said parishioner Geralyn Shelvin. “You couldn't even come up for communion. The priest had to come to the back or the loft to give it to you.”
Williams recalls stories from earlier generations describing similar experiences.
“If the cathedral got full, we had to get up and let the white people sit down — all because you were Black,” he said.
The discrimination sparked conversations within the local Catholic community and church leadership. An article in the Archdiocesan newspaper The Morning Star once suggested African American parishioners were content worshiping in segregated areas. The piece drew the attention of Archbishop James Hubert Blenk of New Orleans, who oversaw the region at the time.
Blenk contacted William Teurlings, then a monsignor serving Lafayette Catholics, to investigate whether the claims were accurate. Teurlings found that many African American Catholics wanted their own parish where they could worship freely and with respect.
After consulting with three African American Catholic benevolent societies in Lafayette, Teurlings secured approval to establish a new church.
A site was purchased at the corner of St. John and Simcoe streets — then the center of Lafayette’s Black community — and St. Paul Catholic Church was founded in 1911. The church was formally dedicated on March 10, 1912, by Archbishop Blenk. Teurlings celebrated the first Mass as people traveled from surrounding communities to attend.
Teurlings later described the parish as “an experiment in Lafayette.”
What began as that experiment quickly became a cornerstone of faith for African American Catholics in the region.
“St. Paul — I call it the flagship because it started the Catholic community here in Lafayette,” Shelvin said.
Williams says the church was also built through the sacrifice of local families — including his own.
“All the sacrifices my grandmother, grandfather, aunts and uncles made — those sacrifices were not in vain,” he said.
Over the decades, the parish expanded its reach. In 1950, the Chapel of Our Lady of Good Hope was established as an annex to serve parishioners in Lafayette’s historic neighborhoods of Freetown, Port Rico and Mills Addition.
Today, members say St. Paul remains more than a historic landmark. It continues to serve as a place where generations of families gather to worship, celebrate milestones and preserve their shared history.
“For us, this was a sanctuary — a place where we felt like we belonged,” Williams said.
As the church commemorates its 115th anniversary, he hopes the community will continue supporting the parish for years to come.
“I just ask that they help keep this church alive,” Williams said. “Don’t let it die. And all those who left — please come back.”
A celebration Mass will be held Saturday, March 14, at 4 p.m., followed by a reception at the Cathedral of St. John.
