About St. Thomas · Pointe a la Hache, Louisiana
St. Thomas Catholic Church is a historic Roman Catholic parish in Pointe à la Hache, the parish seat of Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, serving the lower Mississippi River delta community. Founded in the mid-1840s as the mother church of all Catholic parishes in Plaquemines Parish, it now ministers to Pointe à la Hache together with its mission church, Assumption of Our Lady, in nearby Braithwaite. The present church building, designed in Colonial Revival / Georgian Revival style by architect Theodore Perrier and constructed in 1946–1949 after the previous church was destroyed by a cyclone in 1898, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2018. The parish belongs to the Archdiocese of New Orleans and offers weekend and weekday Masses in English, regular confession times, and a prison Mass at the local parish prison.
- Established
- 1845
- Patron
- St. Thomas the Apostle
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of New Orleans (Metropolitan Archdiocese of New Orleans)
Why belong here
St. Thomas is a small, historic river-parish community where Mass is celebrated in English multiple times a week, including Saturday evening, Sunday morning, and weekday mornings, with a special Friday Mass celebrated at the local parish prison. Confessions are heard before every Mass and by appointment. The parish family also includes the Assumption of Our Lady Mission in Braithwaite, giving Plaquemines families two welcoming worship sites along the lower Mississippi. For Catholics in Pointe à la Hache and surrounding communities, St. Thomas offers faithful Liturgical Latin-rite worship, a tangible connection to 180 years of local Catholic heritage, and a tight-knit parish life on Louisiana Highway 15.
Mass times at St. Thomas
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday: 8:30 AM – 9:00 AM (30 minutes before Mass, or by appointment)
- Sunday: 10:30 AM – 11:00 AM (30 minutes before Assumption Mass, or by appointment)
- Tuesday: 4:30 PM – 5:00 PM (30 minutes before Mass, or by appointment)
- Saturday: 4:30 PM – 5:00 PM (30 minutes before Mass, or by appointment)
History of St. Thomas Parish
St. Thomas is the pioneer Catholic parish of Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, founded in 1845 when Bishop Blanc of New Orleans received two riverfront lots donated by Marie Gaultier (widow Orrillas, then widow Joseph) on June 17, 1845, for the building of a 'Catholic, Roman and Apostolic Church' about fourteen leagues below New Orleans on the left bank of the Mississippi. Italian-born Rev. Nicholas Savelli, the first resident pastor, built the original frame church, completed by the end of 1847 and blessed under the invocation of St. Thomas the Apostle. The first church served as the only Catholic church between St. Bernard and the mouth of the river for decades, until it was destroyed by a cyclone in 1898. After almost half a century of worship in temporary quarters, the present Colonial Revival / Georgian Revival church — designed by New Orleans architect Theodore Perrier — was constructed between 1946 and 1949. The parish's centenary was commemorated in 1944 with the publication of 'One Hundred Years, St. Thomas Parish, Pointe-à-la-Hache' by historian Roger Baudier, prepared with the cooperation of the Society of the Divine Word fathers then in charge of the parish.
- Founded 1845; parish land donated by Marie Gaultier June 17, 1845
- First pastor: Rev. Nicholas Savelli (served from late 1845; signs as 'pastor of St. Thomas Church' from January 2, 1848)
- Original frame church destroyed by cyclone, 1898
- Present church designed by architect Theodore Perrier; built 1946–1949
- Centenary history published 1944 by Roger Baudier, K.S.G.
- Mid-20th-century pastoral care by Society of the Divine Word (SVD) fathers
Architecture & Historic Designation
The current St. Thomas church is a Colonial Revival / Georgian Revival building in the Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals tradition, designed by the New Orleans architect Theodore Perrier and constructed between 1946 and 1949 after the destruction of the 19th-century pioneer church. The complex — church plus adjacent cemetery — was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 30, 2018, under reference number 100002585, and is recognized at the national level for its significance in both Architecture and Community Planning and Development. The site sits on the historic grounds near the Indian mound that once supported the original St. Thomas church, with the parish cemetery nearby.
- Architect: Theodore Perrier (New Orleans)
- Style: Colonial Revival / Georgian Revival (Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals)
- Built: 1946–1949
- National Register of Historic Places #100002585 (added 2018)
- Areas of significance: Architecture; Community Planning and Development
Assumption of Our Lady Mission (Braithwaite)
St. Thomas Parish shares its pastoral care with its mission church, Assumption of Our Lady, in Braithwaite, Louisiana. The mission serves Catholics on the west bank and surrounding lower Plaquemines community, with a Sunday Mass at 11:00 AM and confessions heard before that Mass. The mission shares the parish's main phone line and is staffed by the same clergy team.
- Assumption of Our Lady Mission
- 6951 Highway 39, Braithwaite, Louisiana 70040
- Sunday Mass — 11:00 AM English
- Confessions — Sunday 10:30–11:00 AM (or by appointment)
- Phone: (504) 682-5607 (shared with St. Thomas)
Pastoral Care & Prison Ministry
In addition to its regular church-based worship schedule, St. Thomas Parish maintains a long-standing pastoral ministry to the local parish prison, celebrated each Friday at 9:00 AM. This makes the parish one of the few along the lower Mississippi to offer a fixed weekly Mass inside a correctional facility, in keeping with the parish's historic mission to the people of Pointe à la Hache and the river community.
- Weekly Friday Mass at the Parish Prison — 9:00 AM
Sacraments
St. Thomas offers the full range of Roman-Latin-rite sacraments in English. Reconciliation is regularly scheduled before every Mass; Baptisms, Marriages, and Anointing of the Sick are arranged by contacting the parish office at (504) 682-5607.
- Reconciliation (Confession) — before every Mass and by appointment
- Eucharist — weekend, weekday, and prison Masses
- Baptism — by arrangement with the parish office
- Marriage — by arrangement with the parish office
- Anointing of the Sick — by arrangement with the parish office
Contact, Location & How to Find Us
Parishioners and visitors can reach St. Thomas Catholic Church at 17605 Highway 15 (Louisiana Route 15), Pointe à la Hache, LA 70082, in Plaquemines Parish. The parish office can be reached by phone at (504) 682-5607 or by email at [email protected]. The parish website — myparishstthomas.org — is the official online home of both St. Thomas and its Assumption of Our Lady Mission in Braithwaite.
- Address: 17605 Highway 15 (LA Route 15), Pointe à la Hache, LA 70082
- Phone: (504) 682-5607
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: http://myparishstthomas.org/
- Diocese: Archdiocese of New Orleans
Archdiocese of New Orleans
St. Thomas Parish is part of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of New Orleans, the mother archdiocese of the Catholic Church in southeastern Louisiana. As the pioneer Catholic parish of Plaquemines Parish, founded under Bishop (later Archbishop) Antoine Blanc in 1845, St. Thomas predates the present archdiocesan boundaries and has been served over the decades by diocesan clergy, the Society of the Divine Word, and others appointed by the Archbishop of New Orleans.
- Diocese: Archdiocese of New Orleans
- Rite: Roman (Latin)
- Founded under Bishop Antoine Blanc, 1845
- Listed on the National Register of Historic Places (2018)
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Nicholas Savelli1845–c. late 1840s
Italian-born priest of the famous Savelli family of Rome; first resident pastor; built the pioneer St. Thomas frame church on the riverfront lots donated in 1845; signed parish books as 'pastor of St. Thomas Church' from January 2, 1848.
- Society of the Divine Word (SVD) Fathersmid-20th century
Were in pastoral charge of St. Thomas Parish in the mid-20th century, as acknowledged in the 1944 centenary history by Roger Baudier.
- Rev. Patrick Sanders1990s
Listed in Archdiocese of New Orleans clergy report as having had a pastoral assignment at St. Thomas, Pointe-à-la-Hache (removed from ministry 2005).