About St. Lawrence · Eunice, Louisiana
St. Lawrence Catholic Church is a small Cajun-country parish in the unincorporated community of Mowata, just north of Eunice in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana. The parish sits along the Crowley–Eunice Highway and belongs to the West Deanery of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana. Founded in 1905, St. Lawrence is shepherded by Fr. Eric Groner, SVD, of the Society of the Divine Word, and continues to serve its rural farming and ranching community in the heart of Acadiana with a faithful weekly Mass and Confession schedule.
- Established
- 1905
- Patron
- St. Lawrence (of Rome)
- Rector
- Rev. Eric Groner, SVD
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana
Why belong here
St. Lawrence is a faithful, traditional small-town parish that has served the Mowata community since 1905, offering daily and Sunday Mass in the Roman-Latin (Latin Rite) tradition of the Diocese of Lafayette. Parishioners enjoy a tight-knit rural congregation in the heart of Cajun country, with a regular weekly schedule of weekday Masses, Saturday vigil and Sunday morning Masses, and a steady weekly confession schedule. As a West Deanery mission parish cared for by the Society of the Divine Word, it brings a missionary priestly presence to the Crowley–Eunice prairie — a quiet, devoted Catholic home for families of the area.
Mass times at St. Lawrence
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Friday: 4:15 PM – 4:45 PM
- Saturday: 3:15 PM – 3:45 PM
About St. Lawrence Catholic Church
St. Lawrence Catholic Church is a small rural parish in the Acadiana (Cajun) country of southwest Louisiana, serving the farming community of Mowata between Crowley and Eunice in St. Landry Parish. Founded in 1905, the parish is part of the West Deanery of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana and currently celebrates the Roman-Latin (Latin) Rite. It is one of the older mission parishes in the Crowley–Eunice prairie, and its congregation continues to gather daily for Mass and weekly for the sacrament of Reconciliation.
History of St. Lawrence Parish
The parish was established in 1905 to serve the Catholic families who had settled the prairie north of Crowley. Several fires destroyed the earliest church records; surviving sacramental registers begin in 1907, with marriage records beginning in 1927 (per Father Hebert's Southwest Louisiana Records). For more than a century, St. Lawrence has been a quiet, faithful anchor of rural Catholic life in Mowata.
- Founded: 1905
- Earliest surviving records: 1907
- Marriage records begin: 1927
- Diocese: Lafayette in Louisiana
- Deanery: West Deanery
Patron Saint: St. Lawrence of Rome
St. Lawrence (Latin: Laurentius) was one of the seven deacons of Rome and was martyred on August 10, 258 AD, during the persecution of Emperor Valerian. He is traditionally venerated as one of the most beloved saints of the early Church and is the patron of deacons, cooks, comedians, librarians, and the poor, among others. The parish takes its name from this early Roman martyr, whose feast day is August 10.
- Patron: St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr
- Feast day: August 10
Pastoral Leadership
St. Lawrence is currently served by Rev. Eric Groner, SVD, a priest of the Society of the Divine Word (Societas Verbi Divini), an international missionary congregation. Fr. Groner has served in the Diocese of Lafayette with a focus on ministry to rural and Hispanic communities in southwest Louisiana. The parish office can be reached at (337) 457-2739 and by email at [email protected].
- Pastor: Rev. Eric Groner, SVD
- Religious order: Society of the Divine Word (SVD)
- Pastoral office: 29031 Crowley-Eunice Hwy, Eunice, LA 70535
- Phone: (337) 457-2739
- Email: [email protected]
Location & Directions
The parish sits in the small rural community of Mowata, about 12 miles north of Crowley on Louisiana Highway 13 (the Crowley–Eunice Highway). It is part of St. Landry Parish but is widely associated with the city of Eunice for mailing purposes.
- Street address: 29031 Crowley-Eunice Highway, Eunice, LA 70535
- Community: Mowata (unincorporated), St. Landry Parish
- Diocese: Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana
- Deanery: West Deanery
- Direction from Crowley: Go north 12 miles on Hwy. 13; church is on the left
Diocese of Lafayette Affiliation
St. Lawrence is a parish in full communion with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana, which covers the Acadiana region of southwest Louisiana. The parish belongs to the West Deanery of the diocese. It is one of the older rural parishes in the Crowley–Eunice prairie of the diocese.
- Diocese: Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana
- Deanery: West Deanery
- Rite: Roman-Latin (Latin Rite)