About St. Benedict · Grambling, Louisiana
St. Benedict the Black (also referenced simply as St. Benedict Church) is a Roman Catholic parish in Grambling, Louisiana, part of the Catholic Diocese of Shreveport. Established in 1966, the parish serves the small Lincoln Parish town of Grambling — home to Grambling State University — and is listed in the diocese's Eastern Deanery. English-language Mass is offered on Sundays at 11:30 am, with the Sacrament of Reconciliation heard before Mass. Like many parishes in the diocese, it ministers to a university community as well as local residents, and historically has been led by religious-order priests, including Franciscans.
- Established
- 1966
- Patron
- St. Benedict the Moor (also called Benedict the Black / Benedict the African), Franciscan lay brother (1526–1589)
- Diocese
- Catholic Diocese of Shreveport
Why belong here
St. Benedict the Black offers a small, tight-knit Catholic community in the heart of Grambling, just steps from Grambling State University. English-language Sunday Mass, the Sacrament of Reconciliation before Mass, and a long tradition of Franciscan pastoral leadership make it both a welcoming parish for local families and a spiritual home for Catholic students, faculty, and visitors at the university. As one of the historically Black Catholic parishes bearing the name of St. Benedict the Moor — patron of African Americans — it also carries a distinctive heritage of Black Catholic life in north Louisiana.
Mass times at St. Benedict
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday: 11:00 – 11:15 am
Parish Identity & Patron
The parish is dedicated to St. Benedict the Moor — also known as Benedict the Black or Benedict the African — a 16th-century Afro-Sicilian Franciscan lay brother (1526–1589) born near Messina, Italy. Freed at birth, he joined a Franciscan-affiliated hermit community, later became cook and novice master at a convent near Palermo, and was canonized in 1807. He is honored as a patron saint of African Americans, with a liturgical feast on April 4. St. Benedict the Black in Grambling belongs to a small constellation of historically Black Catholic parishes across the United States named in his honor.
- Patron: St. Benedict the Moor (Benedict the Black / Benedict the African), OFM
- Feast day: April 4
- Founded: 1966
- Diocese: Catholic Diocese of Shreveport, Eastern Deanery
History
St. Benedict the Black was canonically established in 1966 in the Diocese of Shreveport. From its founding it has served the small north-Louisiana town of Grambling — home of Grambling State University — and has been led largely by Franciscan and other religious-order priests. Its history is intertwined with the rise of Catholic campus ministry at Grambling State and with several nationally known Black Catholic clergy.
Fr. James P. Lyke, OFM — Pastor and Future Archbishop
In the years after his 1966 ordination, Franciscan priest James Patterson Lyke was assigned to Grambling as chaplain of Grambling State University and pastor of St. Benedict the Black. While still serving the parish he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Cleveland and later became Archbishop of Atlanta, a post he held until his death in 1992. He is the spiritual inspiration behind the Franciscan Missionaries of Hope (Lyke Community), which has since returned to minister at St. Benedict the Black.
Msgr. Edward Branch — Newman Center Director
Msgr. Edward Branch served as pastor of St. Benedict the Black and director of the Newman Center for Grambling State University from 1979 to 1982. He went on to a doctorate in ministry at Howard University, served as chaplain at The Catholic University of America, and for 30 years directed campus ministry at the Atlanta University Center (Morehouse, Spelman, Morris Brown, Clark Atlanta).
Franciscan Missionaries of Hope (Lyke Community)
Founded by African friars inspired by Archbishop Lyke, the Franciscan Missionaries of Hope later took up pastoral work in the Diocese of Shreveport, including at St. Benedict the Black. Fr. Nicholas Onyach, FMH, has served as pastor, continuing the parish's long Franciscan connection.
Office Hours
The parish office is open on weekdays for calls, sacramental requests, and visits. The office is closed on Fridays.
- Monday – Thursday: 9:30 am – 2:30 pm
- Friday: Closed
- Phone: (318) 247-6734
Campus Ministry at Grambling State University
For decades St. Benedict the Black has functioned as both a parish church and a Newman Center for Grambling State University. Its pastors have included priests who were simultaneously serving as Catholic chaplain to the historically Black university, making campus ministry a defining dimension of parish life.
- Newman Center / Catholic chaplaincy for Grambling State University
- Pastoral presence continuing since the parish's founding in 1966
Visit & Directions
The parish sits in central Grambling, just off I-20 in Lincoln Parish, and is convenient for both local residents and university visitors.
- Address: 471 Main Street, Grambling, LA 71245
- From I-20: take exit 81, go south on RWE Jones Drive, turn left onto Central Avenue; church is two blocks ahead
- Phone: (318) 247-6734
- Diocese listing: https://www.dioshpt.org/church/st-benedict-church/
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. James Patterson Lyke, OFMlate 1960s–1979
Franciscan; served simultaneously as chaplain at Grambling State University; appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Cleveland while still at St. Benedict the Black; later Archbishop of Atlanta until his death in 1992.
- Msgr. Edward Branch1979–1982
Served as pastor of St. Benedict the Black and director of the Newman Center for Grambling State University; subsequently campus minister at Catholic University of America and chaplain of the Atlanta University Center.
- Fr. Nicholas Onyach, FMH
Member of the Franciscan Missionaries of Hope (Lyke Community); assigned as pastor of St. Benedict the Black, continuing the parish's longstanding Franciscan connection.