About St. Jules · Belle Rose, Louisiana
St. Jules is a Roman Catholic parish in Belle Rose, Louisiana, on the west bank of Bayou Lafourche in Assumption Parish. Founded in 1911 (growing out of an 1882 mission chapel), it is part of the Diocese of Baton Rouge and has been clustered since 2000 with St. Elizabeth of Hungary in nearby Paincourtville, sharing pastoral leadership under Father Tomi Thomas, IMS, and Deacon Ehren G. Oschwald. The parish serves the descendants of the French Catholic families who settled along the bayou, offering daily and Sunday Mass in English along with weekly Confession and Eucharistic Adoration.
- Established
- 1911
- Patron
- St. Jules (patron saint of Father Canon Jules Bouchet, the priest for whom the original 1882 mission was named)
- Rector
- Rev. Tomi Thomas, IMS (Vicar/Parochial Administrator of the St. Elizabeth – St. Jules cluster, Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales)
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge
Why belong here
St. Jules is a welcoming, family-sized Catholic community rooted in the bayou-country heritage of Assumption Parish, where multiple generations of local families have worshiped for more than a century. As one half of a clustered parish with St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Paincourtville, it offers the full rhythm of a small parish: daily and Sunday Mass, weekly Confession and Eucharistic Adoration, youth Mass ministries (altar servers, readers, ushers, Eucharistic Ministers), and a parish cemetery and mausoleum that still serve the surrounding Catholic community. Visitors and newcomers are invited to join one of the parish's ministries through the parish website, sesjchurch.com.
Mass times at St. Jules
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Monday 5:00 PM – 5:45 PM (before 6:00 PM Mass, St. Jules)
Adoration times
- Monday 5:00 PM – 5:45 PM (St. Jules)
- Thursday 5:00 PM – 5:45 PM (St. Jules)
Parish History
St. Jules traces its origins to a mission chapel built in 1882 on the east bank of Bayou Lafourche and dedicated in honor of Father Canon Jules Bouchet, then pastor of the Assumption Church in Plattenville. The little chapel was lost to fire in 1901 and replaced by a larger wooden mission church in 1904. In 1907 pastoral care passed from Plattenville to Ascension Church in Donaldsonville, and in 1911 Archbishop Blenk formally erected the mission as a canonical parish — St. Jules — assigning it the mission of St. Martin of Tours as well.
The Move to the West Bank
For the next four decades the parish drew worshippers from both sides of the bayou, but by the end of World War II it had become clear that most parishioners now lived on the west bank. In 1952 a new brick church was erected on the west bank, a quarter-mile upstream from Belle Rose. The new building reused the stained-glass windows, pews, and bell from the original mission-era church, preserving the parish's material heritage across the bayou.
Cluster with St. Elizabeth of Hungary
In 2000 St. Jules was clustered with St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Paincourtville under shared pastoral leadership. The two parishes together form a single faith community, and the joint website at sesjchurch.com lists both Mass schedules, Confession times, and a shared parish staff.
Parish Staff and Clergy
Pastoral leadership for the St. Elizabeth – St. Jules cluster is provided by Rev. Tomi Thomas, IMS, of the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales, assisted by Deacon Ehren G. Oschwald. Fr. Thomas is the principal celebrant of Masses and sacramental rites at both parishes, including funerals and burials at St. Jules Cemetery and Mausoleum.
- Rev. Tomi Thomas, IMS – Pastor
- Deacon Ehren G. Oschwald – Deacon Assistant
Ministries and Getting Involved
St. Jules maintains the four traditional liturgical ministries — Altar Servers, Lectors (Readers), Ushers, and Eucharistic Ministers — and actively recruits youth (grades 9 and older) into these roles. The parish also operates a Parish Advisory Council and a Finance Committee made up of lay parishioners. Volunteers are currently invited to assist the parish office, with particular openings for a church custodian and an official photographer for parish events.
- Altar Servers – training offered for new servers, including grade-school youth
- Lectors/Readers
- Ushers / Greeters
- Eucharistic Ministers (open to confirmed youth and adults)
- Parish Advisory Council – St. Jules
- Parish Finance Committee – St. Jules
- Office volunteers – Church Custodian and Parish Photographer
Parish Cemetery and Mausoleum
The parish grounds include St. Jules Cemetery and a St. Jules Church Mausoleum. The cemetery remains an active Catholic burial ground for families across the Assumption Parish and Donaldsonville area, and funeral Masses are celebrated on-site with burial directly in the parish cemetery.
Diocese and Wider Catholic Community
St. Jules is one of the parishes of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge. As part of a clustering arrangement that began in 2000, it shares clergy with St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Paincourtville, and the two parishes together publish a single website and a unified bulletin through sesjchurch.com.
- Diocese of Baton Rouge
- Cluster parishes: St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Paincourtville
- Clustered since 2000
Contact and Visit
Parishioners and visitors can reach the parish office at (225) 473-8569 or by email at [email protected]. The combined St. Elizabeth / St. Jules parish website at sesjchurch.com publishes the current Mass schedule, Confession and Adoration times, ministry sign-up forms, and the latest parish news and announcements.
- Address: 7165 LA Highway 1, Belle Rose, LA 70341
- Phone: (225) 473-8569
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: sesjchurch.com