St. Aloysius, Baton Rouge

On September 18, 1955, volunteers gathered to raise funds for the construction of a church building and school for the new parish of St. Aloysius. Only three months earlier the parish was officially divided from St. Agnes and Sacred Heart parishes with the appointment of Father Daniel J. Becnel as the first pastor. The 625 Catholic families in the new parish met for Sunday Masses in the auditorium of Southdowns Elementary School until the completion of the new church. Less than a year later the contemporary glass and brick church was dedicated and the school opened with an enrollment of 260 students. Enrollment quickly increased, and in 1957 the Daughters of Jesus began to staff the school.

Renovations and improvements to the parish grounds and buildings marked the 1980s and 1990s. In November 1995 ground was broken for the new church. “Dramatically increased seating and a design that brings parishioners closer to the worship area were the guiding tenets behind the layout of the new church, “said architect Tommie Cockfield. Circular patterns in the new stained glass windows symbolize gathering to hear the word of God in church and going out into the community to live our Christian faith. A relief sculpture in the parish gardens created by Al LaVergne used parishioners as general models for those in the crowd following church patron, St. Aloysius. The dedication of the new church on March 2, 1996 symbolizes the continuation of a dream begun over 50 years ago.