About St. Patrick · Port Sulphur, Louisiana
St. Patrick Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic parish in Port Sulphur, Louisiana, in the lower Plaquemines Parish on the west bank of the Mississippi River. As one of the few remaining Catholic parishes serving the fishing communities of the delta, St. Patrick is the spiritual home of generations of families and now also embraces former parishioners of mission chapels including St. Jude, St. Joseph, St. Ann, St. Anthony, and Our Lady of Good Harbor. The parish belongs to the Archdiocese of New Orleans, celebrates Mass in English several days a week, and gathers for Eucharistic Adoration each Thursday evening.
- Established
- 1883
- Patron
- St. Patrick
- Rector
- Fr. Lawrence Murori
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of New Orleans (Metropolitan Archdiocese of New Orleans)
Why belong here
St. Patrick is the heart of Catholic life in the Port Sulphur reach of Plaquemines Parish — a place where fishing families have worshipped for more than 140 years. The parish welcomes not only its own longtime members but also the former communities of St. Jude, St. Joseph, St. Ann, St. Anthony, and Our Lady of Good Harbor, gathering them around the altar for weekday and Sunday Mass, Thursday evening Adoration, Lenten devotions such as the Way of the Cross and the parish fish fry, a monthly Youth Day, and the spring St. Joseph Altar blessing. Visitors are treated as neighbors, and the parish's mission statement commits it to being a community of welcome, hospitality, reconciliation, and hope.
Mass times at St. Patrick
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday: 3:30 PM
- Sunday: 8:30 AM
- Thursday: 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM (following the 5:00 PM Mass)
Adoration times
- Thursdays at 5:30 PM (following the 5:00 PM Mass)
Welcome & Parish Mission
The home page of stpatrickportsulphur.com sets out a clear vision of the parish. It reads: 'We, the Parish Family of St Patrick, which includes former parishioners of St Jude, St Joseph, St Ann, St Anthony, and Our Lady of Good Harbor, joyfully celebrate around the table of the Lord Jesus Christ the love and the beauty of our God and who we are as people on a faith journey. Conscious of our baptismal call, we proclaim God's word, in fidelity to our tradition, to believer and non-believer alike. We seek to give prophetic witness to our faith by striving to be a servant community of welcome and hospitality, of reconciliation and forgiveness, of compassion and hope.'
Lenten & Seasonal Devotions
St. Patrick keeps a rich cycle of seasonal devotions rooted in Gulf-Coast Catholic culture. The Way of the Cross is prayed on Fridays during Lent at 6:00 PM, and the parish hosts a Lenten Fish Fry on Fridays during Lent from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. The annual St. Joseph Altar is blessed on March 15 after the 9:00 AM Mass, in keeping with the Italian-Catholic tradition still lovingly observed across south Louisiana.
- Way of the Cross — Fridays in Lent, 6:00 PM
- Lenten Fish Fry — Fridays in Lent, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
- St. Joseph Altar — blessing after 9:00 AM Mass on March 15
Parish Family & Merged Communities
St. Patrick now serves as the spiritual home of the former parish communities of St. Jude, St. Joseph, St. Ann, St. Anthony, and Our Lady of Good Harbor. The parish website treats them all as one extended family gathered around the Eucharist. Ministry-leader prayer days connected to St. Ann Church are held on the third Saturday of each month at 10:00 AM.
- St. Ann Ministry Leaders Prayer Day — 3rd Saturday, 10:00 AM
- Former communities included: St. Jude, St. Joseph, St. Ann, St. Anthony, Our Lady of Good Harbor
Youth & Parish Life
St. Patrick hosts a monthly Youth Day on the first Sunday of the month at 11:00 AM, giving the parish's younger members a regular gathering of their own within the larger parish rhythm. Bulletins, lector schedules, and retreat information are posted on the parish website to help families plan their participation.
- Youth Day — first Sunday of the month, 11:00 AM
- Bulletins and lector schedules on the parish website
- Upcoming retreats linked from the parish site
History & The 1918 Church
Catholic life on the west bank of the lower Mississippi dates to the 1860s. The first St. Patrick church was completed in 1883; it lost its steeple in the 1893 hurricane and was largely destroyed in the 1915 hurricane. The current Gothic Revival wood-frame church was built in 1918 by John Edgecombe & Sons, reusing many salvaged materials from its predecessor. Additions and a move across Highway 23 followed in 1937, and the historic building was moved again — in October 1998 — to nearby Woodland Plantation, where it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP #99001571) in 1999. The present masonry church dates from 1954 and stands in Port Sulphur as the parish's working home.
- 1883 — first St. Patrick church completed
- 1893 — steeple and bell tower toppled by hurricane
- 1915 — church largely destroyed by hurricane
- 1918 — Gothic Revival wood-frame church built by John Edgecombe & Sons
- 1937 — additions and move across LA 23
- 1954 — current masonry church erected, 1918 structure eventually deconsecrated
- 1998 — 1918 church moved to Woodland Plantation
- 1999 — 1918 church added to the National Register of Historic Places
Pastoral Care Through Coastal Storms
St. Patrick's congregation is largely composed of fishing families, and the parish has been a frontline responder in the worst environmental disasters to hit the Gulf Coast. During the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, then-pastor Father Gerard Stapleton and the parish distributed food and $100 grocery vouchers to about 300 affected families — a snapshot of the role the church plays in a tight-knit rural community whose livelihood depends on the water.
- Hurricane Katrina (2005) — parish supported its community
- Deepwater Horizon oil spill (2010) — distributed food and vouchers to ~300 families under Father Gerard Stapleton
Visiting & Contact
St. Patrick Catholic Church sits at 28698 Highway 23, Port Sulphur, LA 70083, in Plaquemines Parish. The parish office can be reached at (504) 564-6792, and email is [email protected]. Driving directions are linked from the 'Contact Us' section of the parish website, and current bulletin and schedule information is available there as well.
- Address: 28698 Highway 23, Port Sulphur, LA 70083
- Phone: (504) 564-6792
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: stpatrickportsulphur.com