About St. David · Kaplan, Louisiana
St. David Mission is a small Roman Catholic mission chapel serving the rural community of Mulvey (in the greater Kaplan, Louisiana area), Vermilion Parish. It is a mission of St. Peter the Apostle Parish in Gueydan, within the West Deanery of the Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana. Sunday Mass is celebrated at 8:30 a.m. each week. The chapel provides an intimate place of worship in a quiet rural setting and is also used by neighboring parishes for retreats and days of recollection. It is one of three Catholic communities listed in the Kaplan area, alongside Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish and St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Mission.
- Established
- 1925
- Patron
- Saint David (Dewi Sant), 6th-century Welsh bishop and patron saint of Wales
- Rector
- Rev. Fr. Corey Campeaux (Pastor of St. Peter the Apostle Parish, Gueydan — St. David Mission is served from there)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana (West Deanery)
Why belong here
St. David Mission offers what few other parishes can: a quiet, intimate rural chapel where the same small community gathers each Sunday for Mass at 8:30 a.m. As a mission of St. Peter the Apostle Parish in nearby Gueydan, it combines the warmth of a country chapel with the resources of a larger parish — including its own school and faith-formation program. Visitors appreciate the peaceful setting off Highway 3093 south of Highway 14, the chapel's deep Cajun-Catholic heritage stretching back to 1925, and its continuing use for retreats and days of recollection by parishes across the region.
Mass times at St. David
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- By appointment with the pastor (St. Peter Parish office)
St. David Mission — Overview
St. David Mission is a small Roman Catholic chapel serving the rural Marceaux/Mulvey community in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana. As a mission of St. Peter the Apostle Parish in Gueydan, it offers a single weekly Sunday Mass at 8:30 a.m. and serves as a quiet retreat venue for surrounding parishes. The chapel stands along Highway 3093 (Meridian Line Road), about 2.5 miles south of Highway 14.
- Type: Mission chapel (Roman Rite)
- Diocese: Lafayette in Louisiana, West Deanery
- Parent parish: St. Peter the Apostle, Gueydan
- Sunday Mass: 8:30 a.m.
- Address: 13022 Hwy. 3093, Mulvey/Kaplan, LA 70548
History
St. David Chapel was founded in 1925 by Monsignor Joseph Garneau, the long-tenured pastor of St. Peter Parish in Gueydan. It was built in what was then called the Marceaux community — now known as Mulvey — using lumber from the recently dismantled chapel of the Florence community. The chapel sits on Meridian Line Road (La. Highway 1393), which forms the eastern boundary of St. Peter Parish and separates it from Holy Rosary Church in Kaplan. Parish tradition records that Monsignor Garneau placed the chapel deliberately on that boundary line following a heated disagreement with the Holy Rosary pastor over Mass stipends. Whatever the truth of the legend, St. David Mission has endured as a place of quiet worship for nearly a century.
- Founded: 1925
- Founder: Monsignor Joseph Garneau, pastor of St. Peter Parish, Gueydan
- Original community: Marceaux (now Mulvey)
- Construction materials: lumber from dismantled Florence chapel
- Monsignor Garneau died March 22, 1970, in Opelousas at age 90, buried in the Gueydan cemetery
Patron Saint — Saint David (Dewi Sant)
The mission is named for Saint David (Welsh: Dewi Sant), a 6th-century Welsh Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Mynyw and is venerated as the patron saint of Wales. He is also the patron saint of vegetarians and of Pembrokeshire, and is traditionally depicted standing on a small mound with a dove on his shoulder. His feast day in the Roman Catholic calendar is March 1.
- Saint David, Bishop of Mynyw (c. 500 – c. 589)
- Patron saint of Wales
- Feast day: March 1
- Symbol: dove on his shoulder, standing on a raised hillock
Connection to St. Peter the Apostle Parish
St. David Mission is administered from St. Peter the Apostle Church at 603 Main Street, Gueydan, LA 70542. The parent parish has served the Gueydan area since 1907, when its first canonical pastor, Fr. A.B. Colliard, was assigned. Today's pastor is Rev. Fr. Corey Campeaux, a native of Lafayette who began serving St. Peter's on November 1, 2013 (the Solemnity of All Saints). The parish office can be reached at (337) 536-9258 for all mission-related business.
- Parent parish: St. Peter the Apostle, 603 Main St., Gueydan, LA 70542
- Current pastor: Rev. Fr. Corey Campeaux (since November 1, 2013)
- Parish phone: (337) 536-9258
Retreats & Days of Recollection
Beyond its regular Sunday Mass, St. David Mission is regularly used as a retreat and day-of-recollection site by St. Peter Parish and by other parishes and groups from around the Diocese of Lafayette. Its quiet rural setting, modest size, and location away from busy traffic make it especially well suited to small-group spiritual gatherings.
- Regular Sunday Mass at 8:30 a.m.
- Hosts retreats for St. Peter Parish and neighboring parishes
- Days of recollection for area groups
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Monsignor Joseph Garneaulong-tenured pastor of St. Peter Parish, Gueydan (founded chapel in 1925); died March 22, 1970
Founded St. David Mission in the Marceaux/Mulvey community in 1925, built with lumber from the dismantled Florence chapel. Served as pastor of St. Peter for decades; honored by Bishop Jeanmard with the title of Monsignor and honorary Canon of St. John's Cathedral.