About St. John the Baptist · Moncla, Louisiana
St. John the Baptist Mission (Moncla) is a small Roman Catholic mission church in the unincorporated community of Moncla, Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, in the heart of central Louisiana's Cajun country along the Red River. It is a dependent mission of St. John the Baptist Church in Deville, Rapides Parish, and is served by the pastor and staff of that parent parish. The faithful gather for one Sunday Mass each week in this rural community, where the Catholic faith has long been woven into the everyday rhythm of family, farming, and French-Cajun heritage.
- Patron
- St. John the Baptist
- Rector
- Rev. Albi Mulloth, JCL
- Diocese
- Diocese of Alexandria (Louisiana)
Why belong here
St. John the Baptist Mission is the spiritual home of a small, closely-knit Cajun and Franco-Louisiana community on the Red River, where one weekly Sunday Mass brings generations together in a quiet, faith-centered setting. Worship here is grounded in the rhythm of rural family life, with confession offered before each Mass and the broader sacramental and pastoral ministry of St. John the Baptist Church in Deville just up the road. Visitors are welcomed into a living Catholic tradition that has served Moncla since the days of the river landings.
Mass times at St. John the Baptist
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- 30 minutes before Sunday Mass (approx. 10:00–10:30 a.m.)
Overview & Identity
St. John the Baptist Mission (Moncla) is a Roman Catholic mission church listed by the Diocese of Alexandria in the unincorporated community of Moncla, Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana. It is a dependent mission of St. John the Baptist Church in Deville (Rapides Parish) and shares its pastor, parish manager, and music director. The mission serves a small rural Catholic community along the Red River in the heart of central Louisiana's Cajun country.
- Type: Mission
- Diocese: Diocese of Alexandria
- Parent parish: St. John the Baptist Church, Deville
- ZIP code: 71351
History of the Moncla Community
Moncla was founded by Dr. Joseph Thibault Moncla, a French immigrant physician who settled in Avoyelles Parish in 1837 and in 1859 purchased 320 acres on both banks of the Red River at the Moncla Gap. His sons developed the site into a small river-landing community with houses, a store, steamboat landing, cotton gin, sawmill, warehouses, a school, a church, and (in 1896) a post office. The construction of the 1934 Moncla Bridge across the gap — and its destruction by flooding in April 1945 — shifted traffic and commerce away from the landing, and Moncla today is a quiet rural hamlet of a few hundred residents.
- 1859: Dr. Joseph Thibault Moncla acquires 320 acres at the Red River ferry crossing.
- Late 1800s: Moncla's sons build houses, store, landing, gin, sawmill, warehouses, school, and church.
- 1896: Post office established; Ambroise Moncla serves as postmaster.
- 1934: State automobile bridge opens across the Moncla Gap, bypassing the community.
- April 12, 1945: The 1934 bridge is destroyed by flood waters.
- Today: Moncla remains unincorporated, with a Catholic church and community center as its core landmarks.
History of the Mission Parish
St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Moncla served for many decades as a mission church of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church at Egg Bend (Fifth Ward), Avoyelles Parish, with pastors traveling between the two rural communities. On June 30, 2010 the bond was transferred: Moncla became a mission of Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church of Deville, Rapides Parish, where it continues under shared pastoral leadership today.
- Long-standing mission of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Egg Bend (Fifth Ward), Avoyelles Parish.
- June 30, 2010: Moncla reassigned to become a mission of St. John the Baptist Church, Deville.
- Clustered today with parent parish St. John the Baptist, Deville, and sister mission St. Winifred Chapel, Effie.
Clergy & Pastoral Staff
The mission is shepherded by the pastor of St. John the Baptist Church, Deville, supported by a parish manager and music director who serve the parish cluster including the missions at Moncla and Effie. The current pastor is Rev. Albi Mulloth, JCL.
- Rev. Albi Mulloth, JCL — Pastor (Diocese of Alexandria)
- Parish Manager: Sheri Paul
- Music Director: Helen Beran
- Parish office phone: (318) 466-5587
Visit, Location & Contact
St. John the Baptist Mission sits in the rural community of Moncla in Avoyelles Parish, north of the intersection of Community Center Rd. (also called Old Moncla Rd.) with Yank Rd., along the Red River. Because the mission shares its pastor and staff with St. John the Baptist Church, Deville, all parish business, sacramental scheduling, and inquiries are handled through the Deville parish office.
- Address: 334 Community Center Rd., Moncla, LA 71351
- Phone (parish office, Deville): (318) 466-5587
- Parent parish office: 1024 Hwy 1207, Deville, LA 71328; P.O. Box 7, Deville, LA 71328
- Website: http://www.diocesealex.org/church/st-john-the-baptist-mission-moncla/
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Rusty RabaliasFebruary 2000 – June 2005
Avoyelles Parish native; reassigned to St. Joseph Catholic Church, Marksville.
- Father Daniel P. O'ConnerJune 1996 – c. February 2000
Diocesan priest; later served as Boy/Girl Scout Chaplain and Director of Vocations and Seminarians for the Diocese of Alexandria, then pastor of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, Alexandria.
- Father Mathew MichaelJune 1993 – 1996
Departed to pursue studies in clinical pastoral care.
- Father Kenneth RoyJune 1990 – June 1993
Native of Avoyelles Parish.
- Father Angelo Messina ("Father Snoopy")1986 – June 1990
First diocesan priest assigned to the parish cluster; beloved for his Snoopy doll collection.
- Father Paul Kunnumpurarm, M.S.F.S.June 1, 2005 – June 2010
Native of India; oversaw construction of a rectory addition (conference/CCD/meeting room) before Moncla mission was reassigned to Deville in 2010.
- Rev. Albi Mulloth, JCLpresent (current)
Current pastor of St. John the Baptist, Deville, and its missions in Moncla and Effie.