About St. Anne · Robeline, Louisiana
St. Anne Church (Spanish Lake) is a small Roman Catholic mission of the Diocese of Alexandria located in the Adai Caddo community near Robeline, Louisiana. It sits at 4310 Hwy. 485 at the southwest corner of the intersection with Blosmoore Road, and is administered from St. Francis of Assisi Church in nearby Powhatan, with Rev. Thomas Paul serving as Pastoral Administrator. The present Late Gothic Revival church was built in 1916 to replace an earlier structure destroyed by fire, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994 as a rare example of Gothic Revival architecture in Natchitoches Parish. The mission is the historic mother church of the Adai Caddo Indians of Louisiana, descended from a Spanish Franciscan mission founded in 1717, and is the oldest church in the Louisiana Purchase still served by descendants of its original Native American congregation.
- Established
- 1717
- Patron
- St. Anne (officially designated as patron of the Adai Caddo Indian Nation within the Diocese of Alexandria in 2024)
- Rector
- Rev. Thomas Paul (Pastoral Administrator)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Alexandria (Louisiana)
Why belong here
St. Anne is a living link between the oldest Catholic missions of Louisiana and the Adai Caddo community that has worshipped on this site for centuries. Weekday and Sunday Mass are offered in a National Register-listed Gothic Revival church surrounded by the historic St. Anne Cemetery, where many Adai Caddo families are buried. For visitors, the mission offers an intimate setting for the Eucharist, the sacrament of reconciliation before Mass, and a chance to be part of one of the most historic Native-Catholic congregations in the Louisiana Purchase.
Mass times at St. Anne
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 9:00 am – 9:30 am (before Mass)
- Thursday 8:30 am – 9:00 am (before Mass)
History of St. Anne Church (Spanish Lake)
St. Anne traces its origins to the first Catholic missions in present-day Louisiana. In 1716, Spanish Franciscan Fray Antonio Margil de Jesús, responding to a request from the Adai Caddo people, founded San Miguel de Linares de los Adaes about thirteen miles east of Natchitoches, with a second mission, San Miguel de Cuéllar de Linares de los Adaes, following in 1721. Fort Los Adaes, built the same year to protect the mission and the Spanish frontier, served for fifty years as the capital of the Spanish Province of Texas. When Spain withdrew from Los Adaes in 1773, the Adai moved the mission church to the Shamrock area, where it remained for 166 years; under pressure from Anglo Protestant settlement it moved again, six miles north, to the present St. Anne Cemetery site. After the structure burned, the Adai rebuilt it in 1916 and renamed it St. Anne — the church that stands today. In 1994 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places, and on August 28, 1999, Bishop Sam Jacobs rededicated it following its first major restoration.
- 1716 — Fray Antonio Margil de Jesús founds San Miguel de Linares de los Adaes for the Adai Caddo.
- 1721 — Fort Los Adaes established to protect the mission; serves as capital of Spanish Texas for 50 years.
- 1773 — Spanish close Fort Los Adaes; Adai relocate the mission church to the Shamrock area.
- 1883 — Church moved six miles north to the present St. Anne Cemetery site, renamed St. Joseph.
- 1916 — Church rebuilt after a fire and renamed St. Anne.
- 1994 — Added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP #94001271).
- August 28, 1999 — Bishop Sam Jacobs presides at the rededication and blessing after the first major restoration.
- 2024 — Adai Caddo Indian Nation officially designates Saint Anne as its patron saint in the registry of the Diocese of Alexandria.
Architecture and Historic Significance
The present church is a wood-frame Late Gothic Revival structure built in 1916 to replace the earlier church that had been destroyed by fire. The National Register listing in 1994 singled it out as "a rare example of the Gothic Revival style within Natchitoches Parish." The building sits on less than one acre at the southwest corner of LA Hwy 485 and Blosmoore Road, within the Adai Caddo community formerly known as Spanish Lake (Laguna de los Adaes). The adjacent St. Anne Cemetery and the nearby Adai Caddo Cultural Center remain important to the living heritage of the parish.
- Architectural style: Late Gothic Revival.
- Year built: 1916 (replacing an earlier structure destroyed by fire).
- NRHP reference number: 94001271; listed October 28, 1994.
- NRHP citation: 'a rare example of the Gothic Revival style within Natchitoches Parish.'
- Location: SW corner of LA 485 and Blosmoore Road, near Robeline, Louisiana.
The Adai Caddo Community
St. Anne is the historic mother church of the Caddo Adai (Adais) Indians of Louisiana. The Adai Caddo requested the first Catholic missions in the state to be established on their lands, helped build and defend them, and their baptisms and marriages are among the earliest entries in the oldest Catholic registries in Louisiana. Many Adai Caddo families are buried at St. Anne Cemetery, just steps from the church, and descendants of the original congregation still worship here. In 2024 the Adai Caddo Indian Nation formally designated Saint Anne as its patron saint within the registry of the Diocese of Alexandria, recognizing generations of Adai baptisms, marriages, and burials at churches under her name.
- Recognized as the mother church of the Caddo Adai Indians.
- Site of the Adai Caddo Cultural Center and St. Anne Cemetery.
- Oldest church in the Louisiana Purchase still served by the same Native American descendants.
- 2024: Saint Anne officially designated patron of the Adai Caddo Indian Nation within the Diocese of Alexandria.
Parish Staff and Administration
St. Anne is administered as a mission of St. Francis of Assisi Church, Powhatan (established 1952). Pastoral care is provided by Rev. Thomas Paul, who serves as Pastoral Administrator for both parishes. Parish records, mail, and Sacramental coordination are handled from the St. Francis of Assisi parish office.
- Pastoral Administrator: Rev. Thomas Paul.
- Parent parish: St. Francis of Assisi Church, 179 Hwy 485, Powhatan, LA 71457.
- Parish phone: (318) 352-8819.
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Michael Manase
Pastor at the time of the August 28, 1999 rededication and first major restoration of the 1916 church, concelebrating with Bishop Sam Jacobs.