Just off busy Harding Street, near the entrance to Southern University, Immaculate Conception Church rises as a beacon of light and warmth for the Scotlandville/Baton Rouge community.
A historically Black church, Immaculate Conception’s origins date to 1946 when the Josephite order established a mission for the community of Scotlandville and Southern students.
According to records from the Archives Department of the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Mass was originally celebrated at a local movie theater on Oct. 13, 1946.
Archbishop Joseph F. Rummel of New Orleans purchased land in Scotlandville and a church, built by the parishioners, was dedicated in 1953. The church parish was established five years later and taken over by the newly formed Diocese of Baton Rouge in 1962.
“Being a historic Black Catholic Church is by no means or in any manner being separate or exclusive; rather it is very inclusive, hospitable and welcoming of anyone who wants to join in the joyful, contemplative and praise-filled worship and spirituality of African Americans,” said pastor Father Tom Clark SJ, who has served at Immaculate Conception for the past 15 years. “It’s really a very tight-knit and very loving community.
“It’s a church in which many generations of families have worshiped and participated.”
Today, the bond with Southern remains as strong today as when the church was founded.
“Many members of the parish are alums of Southern University, also may have served on the faculty and many people came to Baton Rouge from other parts of the state for school for Southern University and remained here in Baton Rouge after graduating, so they remained as parishioners of Immaculate Conception along with the residents of Scotlandville,” said Father Clark. “Many of our younger families are second or third generation who have attended Immaculate Conception, so there are many ties in the church – parish ties, community ties, Southern University ties.”
Through the years, the Immaculate Conception community has made it its mission to minister to the surrounding community through its St. Vincent de Paul Society council and Food Pantry by providing food and financial assistance to those in need. Father Clark noted the dedication of members of other church-affiliated groups including the Claver Family, which is comprised of the Knights of Peter Claver, the Ladies Auxiliary, the Junior Knights and Junior Daughters, who provide support for both church activities and host their own events.
Other ministries include the Social Justice Ministry and a Gospel Choir, Traditional Choir, Youth Choir and Claver Family Choir.
“A feature of a Black Catholic community is its joy in being able to gather and celebrate and worship God and that joy is expressed in Gospel music and really a very active participation in the liturgy,” said Father Clark. “The people are very dedicated to the word of God. The word of God in the Scriptures is very important. It’s life-giving to people and so on a Sunday, they’re really eager to hear the Scriptures and to hear it reflected upon in the homily. There’s just a joy of being together, being with church family.”
The joy of being together physically is starting up again but it has never really left the hearts of the parishioners. During the lockdown, when Masses were live streamed on Facebook, Father Clark said the comments sections were very active with church members greeting one another and sharing prayer intentions.
“The real strength of Immaculate Conception Church is the people of Immaculate Conception Church,” Father Clark. “People have been so dedicated and so generous to the church over the years, they’ve made it a priority in their life, they’ve given their time, their talent and their treasure, and we have so many people who volunteer.”
With an eye on future generations, a major renovation of the church was undertaken and completed in time for a blessing in December 2019, shortly before the pandemic.
“The building is very important to us because it was built by parishioners themselves in the 1950s who are the parents and grandparents and great-grandparents of the current parishioners,” said Father Clark. “It felt as if the church building was a gift that was handed on to us and that we very much wanted to hand on that building to future generations, but not only the physical building but also the body of Christ, the church, the spiritual building that we are as members of the church.”
Father Clark said the theme for the renovation was “Renovate the Church and Renovate Ourselves.” So, a February 2020 “ministry fair” identified plans for future interests. However, plans had to be put on hold due to restrictions of the pandemic.
“We are also blessed with a very dedicated and devout Legion of Mary,” said Father Clark. “The Rosary Group prays the rosary together each Wednesday at 4 p.m. and has continued to do so by conference call during the pandemic. They also pray the rosary at funerals. Our Bible study meets on Monday evenings and has continued to meet via Zoom during the pandemic.”
According to Father Clark, the parish celebrates its family spirit with annual events such as the parish family picnic in August, the MLK birthday Mass and Community Service Project, Sunday afternoon movie matinees, Black History Month celebrations and periodic after Mass hospitality hours.
“I think there’s a very strong connection between the word of God that we hear and putting it into practice during the week,” said Father Clark of the 735 families who belong to Immaculate Conception. “And then many members of the church take very seriously their Christian commitment and putting it into practice in their workplace and in their community during the week.”