About Immaculate Conception · Lebeau, Louisiana
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church is a rural Black Catholic parish in Lebeau, Louisiana (St. Landry Parish), founded in 1897 by the Josephite Fathers (Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart) at the request of local Black families who had petitioned the Archdiocese of New Orleans for a priest. It was the first Josephite mission in Louisiana and the society's entry point into the Deep South, and the village of Bayou Petite Prairie was renamed Lebeau in honor of its founding pastor, Fr. Pierre Oscar Lebeau, SSJ, who is buried beside the church. The parish also runs the Mission of the Sacred Heart in nearby Rideau, is pastored today by Fr. Joseph Kikanda, SSJ, and remains a cultural anchor of the community — its grounds host the annual Lebeau Zydeco Festival each summer.
- Established
- 1897
- Patron
- Immaculate Conception (the Blessed Virgin Mary)
- Rector
- Rev. Joseph Kikanda, SSJ
- Diocese
- Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana
Why belong here
Immaculate Conception is one of the oldest Black Catholic parishes in the Deep South and the founding Josephite mission in Louisiana — a parish built because Black families in the Petite Prairie area insisted on their own church, school, and priest. Visitors are welcomed to weekday and weekend Mass in the rural heart of St. Landry Parish, to monthly home Communion for the sick, and to a community whose grounds still host the annual Lebeau Zydeco Festival. The parish is staffed by the same religious order, the Josephites, that has served it since 1897, and it remains a living anchor of faith, family, and memory for generations of families from Lebeau, Rideau Settlement, Morrow, Rosa, and the surrounding countryside.
Mass times at Immaculate Conception
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Before each Mass
- Last Friday of each month
Parish History & Heritage
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church was founded in 1897 in the rural community then called Bayou Petite Prairie in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, after years of petitioning by local Black Catholic families to the Archdiocese of New Orleans for their own priest. The Josephite Fathers (Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart) responded by assigning Fr. Pierre Oscar Lebeau, SSJ — the order's first Louisiana-born priest — whose arrival was greeted, in his own words, "in good old Creole fashion," with parishioners saying "Nous content vous vini." The town itself was later renamed Lebeau in his honor. From this single assignment the Josephites went on to found more than forty Black Catholic parishes across the South.
The Josephite Connection
The parish has been staffed since its founding by the Josephite Fathers, a religious society founded in 1891 to serve African American Catholics. Immaculate Conception was the Josephites' first Louisiana mission and their entry point into the Deep South, and the order continues to own and staff the parish today through Pastor Fr. Joseph Kikanda, SSJ. The parish is also the spiritual home of the Mission of the Sacred Heart in Rideau.
- Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart (Josephites)
- Mission of the Sacred Heart, Rideau
Immaculate Conception School
A parish school was added in 1900, three years after the church's founding, and was originally staffed by the Sisters of the Holy Family. Both the church and school were rebuilt in 1927, after which the Sisters of the Holy Ghost taught at the school. A high school — the first for African Americans in the area — was added in 1939. The high school closed in 1963 after the nominal end of school segregation in Louisiana; the lower school continued until 1979. Notable alumni include Grammy Award-winning zydeco musician Sidney "Rockin' Sidney" Simien, who graduated in the 1950s, and Fr. Charles "Chuck" Andrus, ordained for the Josephites in 1976 as the parish's first native son to become a priest.
- School founded 1900 (Sisters of the Holy Family)
- Rebuilt 1927 (Sisters of the Holy Ghost)
- High school added 1939
- Alum: Sidney "Rockin' Sidney" Simien
- Alum: Fr. Charles "Chuck" Andrus, SSJ
Civil Rights & Community Life
Immaculate Conception parishioners were deeply involved in the Civil Rights Movement, especially under the pastorate of Fr. Bernard R. Callaghan, SSJ. In the summer of 1950, Black men from the parish attempted to register to vote in Louisiana and were beaten by local law enforcement; Xavier University of Louisiana professor Alvin H. Jones, the leader of the group, died from his injuries. The parish has long served as a cultural anchor for surrounding communities, including Lebeau, Rideau Settlement, Morrow, and Rosa.
- Fr. Bernard R. Callaghan, SSJ (pastor)
- 1950 voter-registration struggle
- Alvin H. Jones (d. 1950)
2025 Historical Marker & Recent Challenges
After a 2022 fire damaged the church building, the parish reopened in 2024 following extensive renovations — only to be struck again by a tornado during a 2024 severe weather outbreak that flooded the main church and damaged the parish hall. Despite these setbacks, the community has rallied through the Immaculate Conception Alumni Foundation, and on December 6, 2025, the parish unveiled the first historical marker ever placed in northern St. Landry Parish, an effort led by foundation organizer Augusta Rideau.
- 2022 fire
- 2024 tornado / reopening
- Immaculate Conception Alumni Foundation
- Augusta Rideau
- First historical marker in northern St. Landry Parish
Lebeau Zydeco Festival
The Lebeau Zydeco Festival, an annual celebration featuring performances from leading zydeco artists, is held on the first Saturday in July on the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church grounds. As of 2018, the festival was in its 28th year.
- Held first Saturday in July
- Step Rideau (Lebeau native son, performer)
Visiting & Contact
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church is located at 103 Lebeau Church Road, Lebeau, LA 71345 (mailing: Post Office Box 6, Lebeau, LA 71345-0006). The parish office can be reached at (337) 623-0303, and Pastor Fr. Joseph Kikanda, SSJ can be emailed at [email protected]. The parish is part of the Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana and falls within the unincorporated community of Lebeau at the intersection of U.S. Route 71 and Louisiana Highway 10.
- 103 Lebeau Church Road, Lebeau, LA 71345
- (337) 623-0303
- [email protected]
- Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Pierre Oscar Lebeau, SSJ1897–1915
Founding pastor; the first Louisiana-born Josephite priest; the town of Lebeau is named in his honor. Buried beside the church.
- Rev. Bernard R. Callaghan, SSJ
Supported parishioners in the Civil Rights Movement and Black voter-registration drives in the 1950s.
- Rev. Joseph Kikanda, SSJpresent
Current pastor; a Josephite ordained in 2022, originally from the Congo.