About St. Jules · Franklin, Louisiana
St. Jules Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic parish located at 601 Magnolia Street in Franklin, Louisiana, in the heart of St. Mary Parish. It belongs to the Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana and shares ministry with Immaculate Conception Mission in Verdunville (980 Verdunville Rd.), forming the parish grouping 'St. Jules Catholic Church & Immaculate Conception.' The parish was founded in 1942 to serve the local Catholic community of Franklin and surrounding bayou country, and it is currently led by Rev. Francis Kwasi Agbley. St. Jules offers an unusually generous weekly schedule — a Saturday vigil Mass, two Sunday Masses, and four weekday Masses — with confession offered before Wednesday noon Mass.
- Established
- 1942
- Patron
- St. Julius (Jules)
- Rector
- Rev. Francis Kwasi Agbley
- Diocese
- Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana
Why belong here
St. Jules offers a notably full worship schedule for a community-sized parish — a Saturday vigil, two Sunday Masses, and four weekday Masses — plus regular confession before Wednesday's noon Mass, making daily Mass accessible. The parish joins a small Catholic community in historic Franklin (St. Mary Parish) with strong Acadiana / bayou-country roots, and it shares ministry with the Immaculate Conception Mission in Verdunville, so members experience a tight-knit, two-church family. It runs the full range of lay liturgical ministries (lectors, extraordinary ministers of Holy Eucharist, sacristans, altar servers) and has a Parish School of Religion (PSR/CCD) program, an active Parish Advisory Council for both churches, and a longstanding parish credit-union legacy tied to its original pastor's vision. Visitors, newcomers, and returning Catholics find a welcoming, traditional Latin Rite Catholic home where service, faith formation, and community life are all actively cultivated.
Mass times at St. Jules
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Wednesday 11:40 AM – 12:00 PM (before 12:10 PM Mass)
- Saturday (contact parish for availability)
About St. Jules Catholic Church & Immaculate Conception
St. Jules Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic parish in Franklin, Louisiana, founded in 1942 and served today by Rev. Francis Kwasi Agbley as pastor. The parish shares ministry with the Mission of the Immaculate Conception in Verdunville, and the two together form one pastoral family known as 'St. Jules Catholic Church & Immaculate Conception.' Located at 601 Magnolia Street in central Franklin (St. Mary Parish), the parish offers a rich weekly schedule — a 4:30 PM Saturday vigil, two Sunday Masses (11 AM and 5:30 PM), and weekday Masses Tuesday and Friday at 12:10 PM and Wednesday at 12:10 PM, with confessions beforehand and Thursday devoted to homebound / nursing-home visitation. The parish belongs to the Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana and is rooted in the bayou-country Catholic heritage of south Louisiana.
- Parish: St. Jules Catholic Church (Franklin, LA) + Immaculate Conception Mission (Verdunville, LA)
- Diocese: Lafayette in Louisiana
- Pastor: Rev. Francis Kwasi Agbley
- Founded: 1942
- Office: 601 Magnolia Street, Franklin, LA 70538 — (337) 828-1714 — [email protected]
History
St. Jules was established in 1942 to serve the growing Catholic community of Franklin along Bayou Teche. Local press records — including a 'St. Jules founded' item in the St. Mary and Franklin Banner-Tribune (April 28, 1959) and a 'St. Jules groundbreaking' notice (March 22, 1960) — document the parish's origins and the construction of its permanent home; photographic records date to 1964. In 1968, pastor Father Ivan Arceneaux — who had previously served at St. Joseph Parish in Rayne — organized the St. Jules Credit Union out of the parish hall with 13 founding members, in response to the heavy demand on the parish's St. Vincent de Paul Society. Over the following decades the credit union merged with the Lafayette Diocesan Credit Union and later St. Paul Credit Union, and in 1997 purchased property nearby; the new office was dedicated and blessed by Father Wayne Duet in June 1998.
- 1942 — parish founded
- 1959 — 'St. Jules founded' news article in St. Mary and Franklin Banner-Tribune (April 28)
- 1960 — church groundbreaking (March 22)
- 1964 — historic photographs of the church preserved at USC
- 1968 — Father Ivan Arceneaux organizes St. Jules Credit Union (13 founding members; arceneaux hands parishioners a quarter as they enter church)
- 1997 — credit union purchases property down the street
- 1998 — credit-union office dedicated and blessed by Father Wayne Duet (June)
- 1999 — founding manager Mrs. Wilda Babineaux passes away on Dec. 13 after 31 years of service
- Today — pastor Rev. Francis Kwasi Agbley leads the parish together with Immaculate Conception Mission
Leadership & Parish Staff
The parish is led by Rev. Francis Kwasi Agbley, pastor, who also serves the affiliated Immaculate Conception Mission in Verdunville. He can be reached at [email protected]. The lay staff, identified on the parish's Our Team page, includes Evelyn Alexander (Director of Liturgy & Ministries and Council Secretary for St. Jules), Lorena Benjamin (Secretary), Elodia Navy (Office & Church Keeper), Brandan Trahan (DRE / PSR), and Gwendolyn Thomas (Safe Environment Coordinator). Two Parish Trustees serve alongside two parallel Parish Advisory Councils — one for St. Jules and one for Immaculate Conception — reflecting the parish's mission-church structure.
- Pastor: Rev. Francis Kwasi Agbley ([email protected])
- Director of Liturgy & Ministries: Evelyn Alexander (also St. Jules Council Secretary)
- Secretary: Lorena Benjamin
- Office & Church Keeper: Elodia Navy
- DRE / PSR: Brandan Trahan
- Safe Environment Coordinator: Gwendolyn Thomas
- Parish Trustees: (incl.) Daryl Leleux
- St. Jules Parish Advisory Council President: Morris Beverly; Vice President: Jean Franklin; members include Warren Walker, Janice Navy, Tybus Burdett, Allen Wiggins, Connie Lewis, Marilyn Gunner, Daniel Weidenboerner, Carla Weidenboerner, Nashanta Benjamin, Markita Westley
- Immaculate Conception Parish Advisory Council President: Floyd Paul Jr.; Council Vice President & Finance Committee Member: Carol Dabney; Council Secretary / members: Daryl Leleux and others
Immaculate Conception Mission (Verdunville)
The affiliated Mission of the Immaculate Conception is located at 980 Verdunville Road, Verdunville, LA 70538, about 12 km east of Franklin (per GCatholic). It is canonically a mission of St. Jules and shares the same pastor and parish staff. It maintains its own Sunday Mass and a Wednesday afternoon Mass, and it has a dedicated Parish Advisory Council on the parish's leadership team page.
- Address: 980 Verdunville Rd., Verdunville, LA 70538
- Sunday Mass: 9:00 AM
- Wednesday Mass: 4:30 PM
- Phone (shared with St. Jules): (337) 828-1714
- Diocese: Lafayette in Louisiana
Liturgical Ministries
The parish runs a full set of lay liturgical ministries at both St. Jules in Franklin and Immaculate Conception Mission in Verdunville. Membership is open to registered, practicing Catholics who have received the sacraments of Baptism, First Communion, and Confirmation, and who are willing to commit prayerfully. Each ministry has clear requirements and a contact pathway through [email protected].
- Lectors — proclaim Scripture at Mass; comfortable public-speaking skills required
- Extraordinary Ministers of the Holy Eucharist (Eucharistic Ministers) — distribute Holy Communion; some serve as Ministers of Consolation for funerals; some bring Communion to the homebound / nursing home / hospital
- Sacristans — prepare the church, altar, Lectionary, candles, vessels, bread, wine, and water for Mass; coordinate with altar servers, EMHCs, and acolytes; clean up after Mass
- Altar Servers / Acolytes — serve the priest at the altar and enhance the solemnity of the liturgy
Faith Formation & Religious Education
The parish runs a Parish School of Religion (PSR) program under its Director of Religious Education, Brandan Trahan. The PSR provides Catholic religious education for the children of the parish and the Immaculate Conception Mission, preparing them for the sacraments of First Communion and Confirmation in the context of the parish's liturgical and community life. The parish also operates a Safe Environment program under Gwendolyn Thomas, in line with the Diocese of Lafayette's requirements for the protection of children and vulnerable adults.
- DRE / PSR: Brandan Trahan
- Safe Environment Coordinator: Gwendolyn Thomas
- Programs: Parish School of Religion (PSR) for children; preparation for First Communion, Confirmation; ongoing faith formation
Parish Councils & Governance
St. Jules uses two Parish Advisory Councils — one for St. Jules Church in Franklin and one for Immaculate Conception Mission in Verdunville — along with Parish Trustees. The councils assist the pastor in pastoral planning, finances, and parish life, and they coordinate with the Director of Liturgy & Ministries and the parish staff.
- Parish Advisory Council – St. Jules: President Morris Beverly; Vice President Jean Franklin; Council Secretary Evelyn Alexander; Council Vice President & Finance Committee Member (named on team page); members include Warren Walker, Janice Navy, Tybus Burdett, Allen Wiggins, Connie Lewis, Marilyn Gunner, Daniel Weidenboerner, Carla Weidenboerner, Nashanta Benjamin, Markita Westley
- Parish Advisory Council – Immaculate Conception: President Floyd Paul Jr.; Council Vice President & Finance Committee Member Carol Dabney; other officers and committee members (incl. Daryl Leleux as Council Vice President)
- Parish Trustees: (incl.) Daryl Leleux
Heritage & Community Legacy
St. Jules sits in one of the oldest Catholic regions of Louisiana — the bayou-teche heart of Acadiana, settled by Acadian exiles in the 18th century. The parish's history is intertwined with that of its people in tangible ways, especially through the St. Jules Credit Union founded in 1968 by Father Ivan Arceneaux and parishioners to extend financial help to families in need. The credit union's growth — from 13 founding members in the parish hall to its own dedicated office blessed by Father Wayne Duet in 1998 — is a reminder that for this community, parish life and material charity have always gone hand in hand.
- Region: St. Mary Parish / Bayou Teche / Acadiana
- Heritage link: St. Jules Credit Union, founded 1968 by Father Arceneaux
- Long-serving staff: founding credit-union manager Mrs. Wilda Babineaux (31 years)
- Photo archive: 'St. Jules Catholic Church, Franklin, 1964' (USC Scalar)
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Ivan ArceneauxBy 1968 (founding/pastor period of St. Jules Credit Union)
Previously served at St. Joseph Parish in Rayne; organized the St. Jules parish credit union in 1968 to help parishioners through difficult financial times, in connection with the parish St. Vincent de Paul Society.
- Father Wayne DuetBy June 1998
Officiated the dedication and blessing of the new St. Jules Credit Union office in June 1998, indicating he was pastor at that time.
- Rev. Francis Kwasi AgbleyCurrent (listed on diocese directory and parish website)
Current pastor of St. Jules Church, Franklin, and Immaculate Conception Mission, Verdunville; [email protected].