About Immaculate Conception Catholic Church · Morse, Louisiana
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church is a small rural parish in the village of Morse, Louisiana, in Acadia Parish, in the heart of South Louisiana's rice-and-crawfish country. Founded in 1959 and served by the Diocese of Lafayette, it shares its pastor — Fr. Arockia Doss Palthasar, HGN — with neighboring St. John the Baptist Church in Lyons Point under the motto 'ONE FAITH – ONE PRIEST – ONE FAMILY.' The parish also operates the mission chapel of St. Aloysius in Midland. The parish is part of the West Deanery of the Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana and is known to local Catholics simply as 'ICC.'
- Established
- 1959
- Patron
- Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Rector
- Rev. Fr. Arockia Doss Palthasar, HGN
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana (West Deanery)
Why belong here
Immaculate Conception offers a close-knit, traditional Catholic community in rural South Acadiana, where three worship sites — the Morse church, the St. John the Baptist chapel in Lyons Point, and the St. Aloysius mission chapel in Midland — share one pastor under the motto 'One Faith, One Priest, One Family.' Daily and Sunday Mass are celebrated in English, confession is offered before every Mass, and the parish sanctuary lamp can be dedicated to a loved one through the parish office. For Catholics in the Morse–Lyons Point–Midland area looking for a parish with steady devotions, accessible confession, and the warmth of a small South Louisiana farming community, Immaculate Conception is home.
Mass times at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- 30 minutes before every Mass
Adoration times
- SJTB Chapel in Lyons Point is open 24/7 (access code available by calling the parish office at 337-783-2968 or emailing [email protected])
Parish Identity & Shared Pastorate
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church of Morse is one of three worship sites shepherded by a single pastor under the parish motto 'ONE FAITH – ONE PRIEST – ONE FAMILY.' The other two sites are St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Lyons Point and the Immaculate Conception Mission Chapel of St. Aloysius in Midland. Together, the three communities form a rural South Acadiana Catholic family, and the parish website refers to them collectively as the 'South Acadia Country Catholics' of Lyons Point, Morse, and Midland.
- Parish: Immaculate Conception, Morse (parent parish)
- Partner parish: St. John the Baptist, Lyons Point
- Mission chapel: St. Aloysius, Midland
- Pastor: Fr. Arockia Doss Palthasar, HGN
- Diocese: Lafayette in Louisiana — West Deanery
History & the 2019 Building Closure
Immaculate Conception was established in 1959 to serve the Catholic families of Morse, Louisiana. For decades the parish worked in tandem with the St. Aloysius mission chapel in Midland. In November 2019, Bishop Douglas Deshotel of the Diocese of Lafayette made the difficult decision to temporarily close the Immaculate Conception church building after engineers and diocesan officials found the structure unsafe — walls were reported falling in, wood was rotted, and mold and leaks had taken hold. Parishioners were directed to attend Mass at St. John the Baptist in Lyons Point, St. Aloysius in Midland, and St. Margaret in Estherwood. The diocese continues to evaluate repairs and the future of the building. The combined pastoral structure of the three worship sites has continued unbroken under the shared pastor.
- 1959 — Parish established (per GCatholic)
- 2019 — Bishop Douglas Deshotel temporarily closed the church building due to structural and safety concerns
- Nearby parishes (Lyons Point, Midland, Estherwood) welcomed ICC parishioners during the closure
- The shared pastorate with St. John the Baptist has continued throughout
Staff & Parish Office
The shared parish office for Immaculate Conception of Morse and St. John the Baptist of Lyons Point is staffed by a small team of lay employees who keep the daily life of the parishes running — from bookkeeping and the bulletin to cemetery records and Safe Environment compliance. Parishioners are encouraged to call the office during business hours with any questions.
- Ms. Leeana Marceaux — Office Bookkeeper (337-581-5338)
- Ms. Gerretta Domingue — Bulletin, Cemetery Plots, Safe Environment (337-581-1203)
- Ms. Donlean Gary — Office Secretary (337-458-2826)
- Office phone: 337-783-2968
- Office email: [email protected]
Sacraments & the Liturgy
The parish celebrates all seven Catholic sacraments in the ordinary way of the Latin Rite. The Liturgy & Sacraments page on the parish website offers a thorough catechetical overview of the seven sacraments — Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Eucharist (the Sacraments of Initiation); Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick (the Sacraments of Healing); and Matrimony and Holy Orders (the Sacraments of Service) — along with explanations of the Liturgy of the Word, the Liturgy of the Hours, and the Lectionary cycles. Reconciliation is offered in practice 30 minutes before every Mass.
- 3 Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist
- 2 Sacraments of Healing: Reconciliation (Confession), Anointing of the Sick
- 2 Sacraments of Service: Matrimony, Holy Orders
- Liturgy of the Word and Liturgy of the Hours explained on parish website
- Sunday and weekday Lectionary cycles (A/B/C and I/II) used at parish Masses
Mass Intentions, Memorials & Sanctuary Lamp
Like most Catholic parishes, Immaculate Conception accepts Mass intentions for the living and the deceased, and offers parishioners the opportunity to dedicate the sanctuary lamp in memory or in honor of a loved one. Requests can be made by calling the parish office during business hours.
- Mass Intentions — call the parish office
- Sanctuary Lamp dedication ('Gift of Light') — call the parish office to request
- Cemetery plots — contact Gerretta Domingue
Diocese & Deanery
Immaculate Conception is part of the West Deanery of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana, which covers Acadia and Vermilion civil parishes and comprises 30 parishes and 11 mission chapels serving an estimated Catholic population of more than 65,000. The parish is listed by the diocese as 'Immaculate Conception Parish, Morse,' with St. Aloysius listed as a mission in Midland and St. John the Baptist as a separate parish in Lyons Point under the same pastor.
- Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana
- West Deanery (Acadia & Vermilion parishes)
- Bishop: Most Rev. Douglas Deshotel
- Partner deanery parishes: Assumption of the BVM (Mire), Immaculate Heart of Mary (Crowley), and others
Contact & Visit
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church is located at 123 N Jules Avenue in the village of Morse, Louisiana (Acadia Parish, ZIP 70559). The parish office can be reached at (337) 783-2968 during business hours, or by email at [email protected]. The parish also maintains a Facebook page linked from its website, and visitors and parishioners are invited to 'Get Directions' directly through the parish website's map link.
- Address: 123 N Jules Ave., Morse, LA 70559
- Phone: (337) 783-2968
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: http://icc-sjtb.org/
- Facebook: linked from the parish website
- Motto: 'ONE FAITH – ONE PRIEST – ONE FAMILY'