About St. Edmund · Branch, Louisiana
St. Edmund Roman Catholic Chapel is a mission church located at 8355 Branch Highway in Branch, Louisiana, within the Diocese of Lafayette. It operates jointly with Saint Leo IV Holy Roman Catholic Church (the main parish) in nearby Roberts Cove, sharing one pastor, staff, and pastoral council under the umbrella name 'Saint Leo IV Holy Roman Catholic Church and Saint Edmund Roman Catholic Chapel.' The chapel serves the Branch community with weekend Mass on Saturday evening at 4:00 p.m. and Sunday morning Mass at 7:30 a.m., as well as a Thursday morning weekday Mass. The chapel is part of the historic Acadian-Cajun Catholic heritage of the Acadiana region and is associated with a parish hall that has hosted community bingo events for decades.
- Patron
- St. Edmund (King and Martyr, patron of the chapel)
- Rector
- Rev. Singam Arockiam (Pastor)
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana
Why belong here
St. Edmund Mission Chapel offers a small, intimate worship setting in the heart of rural Branch, Louisiana, sharing pastoral care and staff with Saint Leo IV Church in Roberts Cove. Worshippers here benefit from the traditional Roman-Latin Mass rite, regular confession before every Mass, and a tightly-knit Catholic community with active religious education, a Sodality of Mary, a parish choir, and outreach through the parish hall. Visitors are welcomed at the chapel's daily and weekly Masses, with the pastor and deacon always accessible through the combined parish office.
Mass times at St. Edmund
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Thirty minutes prior to every Mass (at St. Edmund Chapel)
About St. Edmund Mission Chapel
St. Edmund Roman Catholic Chapel is a mission of the Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana, located in the rural community of Branch in Acadia Parish. The chapel is jointly administered with Saint Leo IV Holy Roman Catholic Church in Roberts Cove, and the two communities share one pastor, one office staff, one religious education program, and one parish council. The combined parish website—stleoandstedmund.org—lists the chapel under the name 'Saint Edmund Roman Catholic Chapel,' distinguishing it from Saint Leo IV, which serves as the principal parish church. St. Edmund operates under the Roman-Latin rite and serves Branch Catholics with weekend and Thursday Masses, along with confessions before each liturgy.
Sacramental Life
St. Edmund offers Holy Confession thirty minutes before every Mass, providing regular weekly access to the sacrament for parishioners and visitors alike. First Friday Adoration is celebrated at the partner church, Saint Leo IV, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on the first Friday of each month, in keeping with traditional First Friday devotion. The combined parish staff administers faith formation, baptismal preparation, and other sacramental needs through the shared parish office.
- Confession 30 minutes before every Mass at St. Edmund
- First Friday Adoration at Saint Leo IV (11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.)
- Faith Formation / Religious Education for children
- Sodality of Mary devotional group
Parish Staff
Because St. Edmund is a mission of Saint Leo IV, its pastoral and administrative staff is shared across both communities. The parish office, located at the Saint Leo IV campus, fields all correspondence and phone calls for the combined parish. The current staff, as listed on stleoandstedmund.org, includes a pastor, deacon, office manager, religious education director, choir director, safe environment coordinator, housekeeper, and webmaster.
- Rev. Singam Arockiam – Pastor
- Deacon Barry LeBlanc – Ministerial Assistant
- Josette Dupuis – Office Manager / Receptionist / Bulletin Curator
- Peter Youngblood – Director of Religious Education
- Thomas Habetz – Choir Director
- Charlene Reynolds – Safe Environment Coordinator / Sodality of Mary Sponsor
- Donna Legnion – Housekeeper
- Alyson Dupuis – Webmaster
Contact Information
All correspondence and phone calls for St. Edmund are handled through the Saint Leo IV parish office. The mailing address, telephone number, and office email are all answered from the Saint Leo IV rectory, and physical visits for sacraments and registration can be directed there as well.
- Parish Office / Rectory Phone: (337) 334-5056
- Office Manager Email: [email protected]
- Parish Website: https://stleoandstedmund.org/
- Chapel Address: 8355 Branch Highway, Branch, LA 70516
Ministries and Parish Life
Despite its small mission status, St. Edmund participates in an active ministry life organized at the combined-parish level. Religious education classes are coordinated by Peter Youngblood for children of both St. Edmund and Saint Leo IV families. The parish choir, under Thomas Habetz, provides music for liturgies at both churches. The Sodality of Mary, sponsored by Charlene Reynolds, is a devotional and service organization for women of the parish, and the Safe Environment program supports compliance with diocesan child-protection standards.
- Religious Education (children's faith formation)
- Parish Choir (Thomas Habetz, Director)
- Sodality of Mary (Charlene Reynolds, Sponsor)
- Safe Environment Program
- Parish Hall community gatherings / bingo