About St. Joseph · Zwolle, Louisiana
St. Joseph Catholic Church is a small but historically rich parish serving the Sabine Parish communities of Zwolle, Louisiana, and the surrounding rural area. It was founded in 1881 and traces its spiritual roots to the early Spanish missions of Las Cabezas and Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe on Bayou Scie, serving generations of Native American (Mestizo, Caddo, Choctaw, Apache) and Spanish-descended Catholic families. The parish belongs to the Catholic Diocese of Shreveport and is currently pastored by Rev. Keith Garvin, VF, and it operates St. Ann Chapel in nearby Ebarb as a mission church.
- Established
- 1881
- Patron
- St. Joseph
- Rector
- Rev. Keith Garvin, VF
- Diocese
- Catholic Diocese of Shreveport
Why belong here
St. Joseph Catholic Church welcomes worshippers into a faith community with deep roots in Sabine Parish and the Bayou Scie valley, tracing its story back to the Spanish missions of the 1790s. The parish offers daily and Sunday Mass in both the main church and its historic chapel, regular Saturday confessions, weekday Eucharistic Adoration, a CCD religious education program for K–8 and high-school students, and a shared Catholic life with its mission church, St. Ann Chapel in Ebarb. For visitors and longtime residents alike, it is a place where a small-town Catholic heritage, Native American and Spanish-Mexican family traditions, and present-day Diocesan of Shreveport parish life come together.
Mass times at St. Joseph
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday: 3:00 PM – 3:40 PM (or by appointment)
- Diocese of Shreveport listing also notes Saturday 3:15 PM – 3:40 PM; visitors should verify current schedule with the parish office.
Adoration times
- Friday: 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM (Eucharistic Adoration, per the Diocese of Shreveport parish listing)
Welcome to St. Joseph Catholic Church, Zwolle
St. Joseph Catholic Church is a small historic parish in the Sabine Parish town of Zwolle, Louisiana, serving Catholic families of the Bayou Scie valley and the surrounding countryside. Part of the Catholic Diocese of Shreveport, the parish is pastored by Rev. Keith Garvin, VF, and shares its Catholic life with the mission church of St. Ann Chapel in nearby Ebarb. The parish office can be reached at (318) 645-6155, and the church is located at 307 Hammond Street, Zwolle, LA 71486.
Parish History
The faith community that became St. Joseph Catholic Church is one of the oldest in west-central Louisiana. A historical marker at the church, placed by the St. Joseph Centennial Committee, records that the parish was formerly a mission of Natchitoches, Nacogdoches, and Many, with sacramental records dating to its first resident pastor, Fr. J.M. Ledreux, in 1881. Land for the parish was donated by John Sharnac (Ezernack) and Alex Cortinez, members of the area's founding Spanish-descended families.
Spanish Mission Roots on Bayou Scie
A 1981 Louisiana historical marker near the parish notes that a Catholic mission church was built at Las Cabezas on Bayou Scie about 1795, was succeeded by Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, and was known by 1858 as St. Michael (San Miguel). Zwolle's St. Joseph Catholic Church is the spiritual successor of those missions, continuing more than two centuries of Catholic worship in the Bayou Scie valley.
How the Town of Zwolle Got Its Name
When the Kansas City Southern Railway pushed south in the 1890s, Dutch financier Jan De Goeijen helped finance the line and personally selected the route. According to local history published by the Sabine Parish Journal, De Goeijen was so moved by the devotion and hospitality of the St. Joseph Catholic community that he chose this site for the railroad station and named the new town after his birthplace, Zwolle, in the Netherlands.
Native American Catholic Heritage
St. Joseph and its mission, St. Ann in Ebarb, have had substantial numbers of Native American parishioners — Mestizo, Caddo, Choctaw, and Apache — for more than a century. Sacramental records (baptisms, marriages, burials) for these families are preserved in the Diocese of Shreveport archives and are documented in Marquette University's guide to Catholic records about Native Americans in the United States.
Faith Formation & Religious Education (CCD)
The parish runs a CCD / Parish School of Religion program under the direction of Luci Jo Parrie, Director of Religious Education. Catechesis runs from September through May, ending with the crowning of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Registration forms are available at the parish office, in the church vestibule, and from the DRE; a downloadable Religious Education Registration Form is offered on the parish website. The parish also runs a Vacation Bible School.
- K–8 Religious Education: Wednesdays, 5:30 PM – 6:45 PM
- High-school Religious Education: bi-weekly, 5:45 PM – 6:40 PM
- Director of Religious Education: Luci Jo Parrie
- Vacation Bible School (annual, parish-wide)
St. Ann Chapel, Ebarb — Mission Church
St. Joseph Parish operates St. Ann Chapel in Ebarb (also referred to as Ebarb/Noble), a mission church in southern Sabine Parish founded and administered by Alexandria (later Alexandria-Shreveport) diocesan priests. Since 1986, Shreveport diocesan priests from St. Joseph have continued to serve St. Ann. A 4:00 PM Sunday Mass is celebrated there.
- Sunday Mass at St. Ann Chapel: 4:00 PM
- Served by the pastor and priests of St. Joseph Parish, Zwolle
Clergy & Diocesan Leadership
St. Joseph is led by its pastor, who also holds the diocesan title Vicar Forane (VF), a senior role within the Diocese of Shreveport. The parish belongs to the Catholic Diocese of Shreveport, headed by Bishop Francis I. Malone, D.D., J.C.L.
- Pastor: Rev. Keith Garvin, VF
- Diocese: Catholic Diocese of Shreveport
- Parish served previously by priests of the (former) Diocese of Alexandria and the Diocese of Alexandria-Shreveport before the 1986 transfer
Visiting St. Joseph
The parish welcomes visitors and returning Catholics alike. The church is on Hammond Street in Zwolle, a small town in Sabine Parish just off US Highway 171. From the highway, turn onto Obrie Street (the old path through town) and head west four blocks at the Peoples' Bank time-and-temperature sign; parking is available at the church.
- Address: 307 Hammond Street, Zwolle, LA 71486
- Phone: (318) 645-6155
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: stjosephzwolle.org
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. J.M. Ledreux1881
First resident pastor; earliest parish records date to his tenure.