Holy Family, Port Allen

The parish of Holy Family has a rich, long and detailed past. The origin of Holy Family Parish in Port Allen dates back to Sts. Peter and Paul Parish in Lobdell, established in 1876 with Father E.M. Lossouarn as the first pastor. In 1892, a mission chapel of St. Michael was established in Port Allen and attached to Sts. Peter and Paul Church.  From there, the pastors served both the missions at Port Allen and Grosse Tete. In May 1904, the Father Francis Badeaux, the pastor at Lobdell, preferred living in Grosse Tete, so the parish was moved and Lobdell was reduced to a mission chapel.

The missions at Port Allen and Lobdell did not stay under the care of the Grosse Tete pastor for very long. They were soon transferred to St. Joseph in Baton Rouge. In 1910, the two missions would again be transferred back to Grosse Tete, and five years later they would again become missions of St. Joseph in Baton Rouge.  On August 3, 1920, Archbishop Shaw established the two missions of Lobdell and Port Allen as a separate parish. It was called the parish of Sts. Peter and Paul. Father Lucien Caillouet was appointed first pastor. St. Michael Chapel in Port Allen was its mission.

Throughout the early 1920s, it became evident that Lobdell was declining in population, while Port Allen was becoming a thriving civil parish seat. In 1925, the chapel in Port Allen  was renamed Holy Family Parish. A new church building was quickly planned, and dedicated on November 29, 1928. Sadly, the chapel at Lobdell ceased to exist after the levee was moved in 1932. Over the years, Holy Family Parish has continued to thrive. A school was established in 1949, and the current church was dedicated in December of 1976.