St. Romain Twins Bring Catholics of Various Backgrounds Together Through Music

Liturgical musicians Dr. Darrell St. Romain and Dr. Darnell St. Romain, African American twins, hold different positions and sets of expertise within the church. Yet they have the same passion for helping parishes become vibrant faith communities through music.

Accomplishments and contributions such as theirs are particularly highlighted during Black History Month.

The twins received a yellow toy piano from their maternal grandmother at 18 months old. From that time, their burgeoning talent emerged, according to their parents, David and Darlene.

“I always had (classical) music playing in their room and different things going on in the house. And I noticed they were able to pick up the same rhythm with the piano that was playing on the radio,” said David St. Romain.

The twins asked to take piano lessons at four years old and enthusiastically embraced music. David had speakers in every room but the master bedroom, and the twin’s keyboards were connected to an amplifier.

“It was almost as loud as it could possibly go. On Friday nights I would drive up and it seemed like the house was moving,” said Darlene St. Romain.

She added, “When you’re looking at children developing, you have no idea where they are going and on what path God has led them on. This has been a path in their journey that they have never wavered on.”

The twins grew up and received all their sacraments at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Baton Rouge. They worship at St. Paul when they return home.

St. Paul Pastoral Council member Monique Scott-Spaulding, who has known the twins since their birth, enjoyed watching them being actively involved in the parish and celebrating their faith. They connected with youth throughout the diocese on the Diocesan Youth Board.

“The St. Romain twins are a gift to the Catholic Christian community as they devote their lives and their talents to the music ministry, providing various cultural representations of songs of worship. Music is a universal language, and they can serve any audience providing a mix of musical styles. Sharing their voices is a wonderful musical complement as well,” said Spaulding.

Darnell and Darrell studied under several esteemed musical teachers, including Robbie Giroir, deceased, who was director of music at St. Joseph Cathedral downtown and director of choral studies at Baton Rouge Magnet High School.

The twins graduated in 2007 with bachelor’s degrees in organ music. They graduated from Southern Methodist University (SMU) with master’s degrees in religious/sacred organ music in 2010 and doctoral degrees in pastoral music in 2024.

While at SMU they were “filled with spiritual food” from Bishop Michael G. Duca, who was then a monsignor and chaplain at SMU.

 Top right photo: Dr. Darnell St. Romain (at piano) and Dr. Darrell St. Romain at a worship service at St. Joseph Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. The service was held in conjunction with a symposium at the University of Ohio celebrating the life of Father Clarence Rivers.
Above photo: Darrell St. Romain, left, and brother Darnell when they received their doctor of pastoral music at Southern Methodist University. Photos provided by Darrell St. Romain.Darrell found himself back in the Baton Rouge diocese when he served as director of music and liturgy at St. James Church in St. James and Our Lady of Peace in Vacherie from 2011-2017.

Father Chris Decker, then pastor of St. James and Our Lady of Peace, spoke fondly of Darrell.

“Darrell arrived right when I needed someone to provide both liturgical music, but also formation of my (then) parishes in Catholic worship in an ethnically diverse community. 

“Darrell is a man of deep prayer and has a love for Jesus Christ and his church. It's incredibly apparent to me that his respect for the Eucharist and belief that our worship of God at Mass is essential to transform the heart. With the Eucharist at the center of things, then communities can begin to unite. He has a love for theology and catechesis that joins his musical gifts to a firm foundation in Catholic teaching.

"Darrell's talents and extensive breadth of knowledge of sacred music in both the Catholic and evangelical realms really helped us to begin to see that there is indeed ‘Plenty Good Room’ for all to dwell and flourish.”

Father Decker said Darrell’s genuine love for people helped parishioners see it's essential to live the Christian life inside the Mass, but more importantly outside the doors of the church where the God they worship must guide the actions of their lives so that heaven can be their common goal.

In 2017, Darrell moved back to Dallas and became Director of Music at Mary Immaculate Church in Farmers Branch, Texas. He is now director of sacred music at St. Mary Church, Temple, Texas.

Darnell is director of music at Prince of Peace Church in Temple, Texas.
Even though the twins work at different churches, they collaborate on enculturation in their places of worship.

“When I was at Mary Immaculate, I noticed that there were three distinct cultures worshiping at the church, but not worshiping together: the European Americans, Hispanic Americans, and French Africans,” said Darrell. “My desire was to try to find a way where all three cultures could worship in the same place at the same time in the same liturgy.”

He described enculturation as taking the Gospel message and planting it in every culture on earth.

Darrell and a core team of nine people, three from each of the represented cultures, met for 10 weeks and learned about each other’s faith experiences. The team planned liturgies and assembled a choir that performed pieces from various cultural backgrounds.

On the Feasts of Christ the King and the Immaculate Conception, the choirs performed music of special significance to each of the cultures.

When Darrell left Mary Immaculate Church, he performed at Masses at Darnell’s church. The brothers collaborated to enculturating that parish.
The brothers did not tell anyone beforehand they would be introducing multi-cultural experiences at the Masses. Parishioners were told five minutes beforehand what would happen.

“They absolutely loved it,” said Darrell. “They loved the cultural expressions from the different cultures, hearing the readings in Spanish and French African and songs in Spanish, French African, and English.”

Darnell and Darrell dedicate to their music to fostering healing, bridging racial divides, and spreading the Gospel message. They noted if it doesn’t start within the liturgies and within the parish walls, it can’t be emulated in the community.

Darnell urged people to “not just sit there,” but fully engage themselves in Mass through singing and to become more involved in the life and mission of the church.

“Evangelization is not just a fancy buzzword,” Darnell said. “We are instructed to ‘Go ye there forth and baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are also baptized priest, prophet and king, and we need to live out those roles in our lives. And for Black Catholics, we need to live out that call, which means to tell our story.”