About Immaculate Conception of the BVM · Denham Springs, Louisiana
The Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Catholic parish in Denham Springs, Louisiana, in the Diocese of Baton Rouge. It serves as the mother church for the Livingston Parish Catholic community, with a companion mission, the Mission of the Sacred Heart, in nearby Livingston. The parish offers daily and Sunday Mass in both English and Spanish, perpetual Eucharistic adoration, a parish school of religion (PSR), youth ministry for grades 6–12, and a broad range of liturgical and outreach ministries.
- Established
- 1960
- Patron
- Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Rector
- Rev. Matthew J. Graham
- Diocese
- Diocese of Baton Rouge
Why belong here
Immaculate Conception is a large, active parish that welcomes both English- and Spanish-speaking Catholics across Livingston Parish, with multiple Sunday Masses, a Spanish Mass on Saturday evenings, perpetual Eucharistic adoration, daily Mass, and a full confessions schedule. Families can register their children in the parish school of religion (PSR), and students in grades 6–12 are invited into a youth ministry with retreats like Steubenville South, plus service and fellowship events throughout the year. The parish also maintains a companion mission, the Mission of the Sacred Heart in Livingston, giving parishioners a way to extend their reach into the wider community.
Mass times at Immaculate Conception of the BVM
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday: 5:15 PM – 5:45 PM
- Monday: 8:00 AM – 8:25 AM
- Tuesday: 5:15 PM – 5:50 PM
- Wednesday: 8:00 AM – 8:25 AM (also 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM during Lent and Advent only)
- Thursday: 8:00 AM – 8:25 AM
- Friday: 8:00 AM – 8:25 AM
- Saturday: 2:15 PM – 3:30 PM
Adoration times
- Monday–Friday: 12:00 AM – 11:59 PM (Perpetual Adoration Chapel)
- Tuesday: 4:45 PM – 5:55 PM (Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament with Benediction at 5:45 PM, before Mass)
- 1st Friday: 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM at Mission of the Sacred Heart
Our Story — From Railroad Car to Spiritual Complex
Immaculate Conception's history stretches back to a railroad chapel car that brought priests once a month to a sparse Catholic community in early 1900s Denham Springs. The first small wooden church was built in 1916 with help from the Extension Society, survived repeated Amite River floods, and grew under the Oblates of Mary Immaculate from 1920 onward. In September 1960 it was formally established as a parish with Father Joseph Ryan as its first pastor, and the modern Hatchell Lane campus — rectory, convent, catechetical building, and later the present church (dedicated 1976) — grew up over the next two decades. Pastoral care passed to the Diocese of Baton Rouge in 1982, and the parish has continued to expand into the spiritual complex it is today.
- First Masses celebrated from a railroad chapel car in the early 1900s
- First wooden church built 1916 (Father Drossaerts, with a $500 Extension Society donation)
- Cared for by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate from 1920
- Established as an official parish in September 1960 — Father Joseph Ryan, first pastor
- 17.3 acres purchased on Hatchell Lane & Maple Drive in November 1964
- Rectory, convent and catechetical building dedicated February 1967
- New church dedicated 1976 with former pastors in attendance
- Pastoral care transferred from Oblates to the Diocese of Baton Rouge in 1982; first diocesan pastor arrived 1983
Clergy & Parish Staff
The parish is led by a pastor and parochial vicar, supported by three deacons who assist with liturgy, the homebound, and parish administration. Deacon Rudy Stahl also serves as Business Administrator, and Deacon Michael Chiappetta coordinates the Nursing Home Ministry. Parish office staff include Sherry Leger (Liturgy Coordinator and Baptism Coordinator) and Eva Castillo in the Faith Formation Office.
- Rev. Matthew J. Graham — Pastor (appointed August 2020); College of Consultors Secretary; Presbyteral Council Secretary
- Rev. Joseph R. Bresowar — Parochial Vicar; Co-Chaplain, St. Michael the Archangel High School
- Deacon Michael T. Chiappetta — Deacon Assistant; Nursing Home Ministry
- Deacon George J. Hooper — Deacon Assistant
- Deacon Rudolph W. "Rudy" Stahl — Deacon Assistant; Business Administrator
- Sherry Leger — Liturgy Coordinator / Baptism Coordinator
- Eva Castillo — Faith Formation / PSR Office
- Mark Firmin — Usher & Greeter Ministry contact
Liturgical Ministries
Parishioners serve at the altar and at the doors in a wide array of liturgical roles coordinated by Deacon Rudy Stahl and Liturgy Coordinator Sherry Leger. Training workshops for lectors are offered quarterly, and training is provided for altar servers, sacristans, and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion. Ushers and greeters — the first face many visitors see — are coordinated by Mark Firmin.
- Altar Servers (youth in grades 5–12 who have received First Communion)
- Lectors / Ministers of the Word — training quarterly; contact Deacon Rudy Stahl or Sherry Leger
- Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion (must be 18+, confirmed, trained, commissioned by the pastor)
- Eucharistic Ministers to the Homebound
- Ushers and Greeters — contact Mark Firmin (225-791-9346)
- Sacristans — weekday and weekend liturgies, training provided
- Environment (art/environment) Committee
Faith Formation & PSR
Children's religious education is offered through the Parish School of Religion (PSR), with English and Spanish tracks. Registration runs each summer for the 2026–2027 school year, with separate New Student Intake and Class Selection forms and a copy of the child's Baptism Certificate required. Sacrament preparation is built into PSR for First Communion (Grade 2) and Confirmation (Grades 7–9), each with a $25 sacrament fee.
- New Student Registration Form + Class Selection Form required
- Class Selection Form available in English and Spanish
- Registration fees: 1 student $50 / 2 students $90 / 3+ students $120
- Sacrament Fees (Grades 2, 7–9): $25 per student
- Out-of-Parish fee: $25 per family; Late Registration fee (after July 1): $15
- Contact: Eva Castillo, [email protected], (225) 665-5926
- Office: Immaculate Conception Faith Formation Office, 865 Hatchell Lane, Denham Springs, LA 70726
Youth Ministry (Grades 6–12)
ICC's youth ministry serves all students in grades 6–12, whether or not they are enrolled in PSR. The Junior High group covers grades 6–8, while High School Youth Ministry covers grades 9–12. The program includes an annual slate of retreats, service projects, and parish-wide fellowship events.
- High School Youth Ministry (grades 9–12)
- Junior High Youth Ministry (grades 6–8)
- Steubenville South retreat (annual)
- March for Life trip
- St. Francisville Pilgrimage
- Stations of the Cross, Easter Egg Hunt, St. Nick Breakfast, Kickball Tournament
- Annual Cemetery Clean-Up
Becoming Catholic & Returning Catholics
The parish's 'I'm New' page is built around the questions newcomers and returning Catholics actually ask — how to come back, how to get a marriage convalidated ('blessed'), how to be confirmed, and how to become Catholic. It links to RCIA / 'Why the Catholic Church?' resources and to online parish registration.
- Become a registered parishioner (online form)
- RCIA — Becoming Catholic
- Returning Catholics ('How can I come back?')
- Marriage convalidation ('How can I get my marriage blessed?')
- Adult Confirmation ('How can I get confirmed?')
- Sign up for Flocknote to receive parish updates
Stewardship & Parish Life
The Stewardship program evangelizes parishioners to share their time, talents, and treasure, organized into three subcommittees — Prayer, Ministry, and Finance. A separate Parish Facilities Committee of parishioners and staff oversees maintenance of the Immaculate Conception campus and the Mission of the Sacred Heart. The parish encourages online registration and online giving, and offers a visitor packet from the pastor upon registration.
- Stewardship Committee — Prayer, Ministry, and Finance subcommittees
- Parish Facilities Committee (campus + Mission of the Sacred Heart)
- Online Parish Registration form
- Online Giving (PSR payments and offertory)
- New parishioner welcome packet mailed from the Pastor, including a ministry directory
Companion Mission — Mission of the Sacred Heart, Livingston
Under the pastoral care of Immaculate Conception, the Mission of the Sacred Heart in Livingston extends the parish's reach into the surrounding Livingston Parish community. The mission hosts a Sunday 9:00 AM Mass and First Friday Adoration from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM, and is referenced throughout the parish website and the Diocese of Baton Rouge directory.
- Sunday 9:00 AM English Mass
- First Friday Adoration, 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM
- Listed on the Diocese of Baton Rouge parish directory as a mission of ICC
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Joseph Ryan1960 (founding pastor)
First pastor when Immaculate Conception was made an official parish in September 1960; Oblate of Mary Immaculate.
- Father Frank Uter
Welcomed Fr. Matthew Graham as a summer seminarian in 2012.
- Rev. Matthew J. GrahamAppointed August 2020
Current pastor; son of Rick and Pat Graham; alumnus of Catholic High School (Baton Rouge, '99) and LSU ('04, Chemical Engineering); entered seminary August 2009; had been a summer seminarian at ICC in 2012; previously at St. Elizabeth, Paincourtville and St. Jules, Belle Rose.