Holy Ghost, Hammond

This region of Louisiana is known for its strawberry farms, oyster houses, and railroads. In the late 1800s, lumber mills recruited workers and the railroad brought settlers to farm and timber. These settlers included many Catholic Italian immigrants.

In 1890, Father Leander Roth, a priest from nearby Gessen, celebrated the first Mass in Hammond at the home of Mrs. John Neelis. The Catholic community used the second floor of the Neelis family warehouse for Mass until a church was built and dedicated in 1902.  In 1912, the Spanish Dominicans arrived in Tangipahoa to serve the spiritual needs of the community. That same year a parochial school was opened under the name St. Thomas Aquinas (later renamed Holy Ghost School.)  By 1937, the church was renovated to accommodate 500 occupants, twice as many as the original church. The Spanish Dominicans served until 1937 when the American Dominicans were placed in charge of the spiritual care of the area.

In 1975, both church and school were renovated to handle the needs of a growing parish. In the late 1990s, the Long-Range Planning Committee presented a Master Plan recommending the building of an additional classroom building and a new church. The new school building was completed in 2000. The richly carved altars from the old church were incorporated into the design of the new church, becoming the covenant symbol of continuity between old and new. They are a reminder of Holy Ghost members who have died and gone before and a sign of the community’s dedication to continuity with their heritage.