The 1740 chapel, named “St. Charles,” was built in the area now known as Destrehan. (Sketch by Janis Blair)
Statue of Saint Charles Borromeo (By Joe Schexnaydre)
Red Church Presbytery rear elevation. Father J. M. Paret lived in this presbytery from December of 1848 until October 1869, which spanned the golden age of the antebellum years to the era of Reconstruction. This included the Civil War and its profound social changes. The levee was raised only five to seven feet during this time. Wood was gathered from the Mississippi River twice a year during December and March, which the residents considered a Godsend. (Photo courtesy of LSU Press)
Front Elevation. Father Paret enjoyed gardening and breeding of animals. He wrote to his brother, “I would like for you to see this big garden and how pleasant and inviting it is. Without false modesty, I think the inhabitants of St. Charles will be jealous of it.” At that time Fr. Paret had planted 488 trees consisting of orange, pomegranate, persimmon, peach, plum, mulberry, crepe myrtle and magnolia along with althea and rose bushes. (Photo courtesy of LSU Press)
Detail of a map by Marie Adrien Persac.
Little Red Church - Destrehan, 1806. Courtesy William E. Riecke Jr.
St. Charles Borromeo Church. Year unknown. Courtesy of the Clarion Herald.
Famous Mississippi River landmark. Located in Destrehan on La. 48 (River Road). First constructed of logs about 1740. Burned and rebuilt in 1806. Famous riverboat landmark, twenty-five miles from New Orleans where boat captains traditionally paid off their crew. Again burned and rebuilt about 1921. (Note: New white stucco Spanish mission-style church was built in 1921 and the 1806 wooden church was torn down later. Oldest German cemetery in the South. Church, cemetery, and school complex built on the original 1770 Spanish land grant.) (Erected by Louisiana Department of Commerce and Industry in 1964.)
The Little Red Church on the River by Clarence Millet, 1940 (Courtesy of The Historic New Orleans Collection, Acc.#1999.118.8)
The new St. Charles Borromeo Church was dedicated on January 25, 1922. In the 1978 restoration and expansion of the church, the old Stations of the Cross were restored and the solid cypress pews were used as paneling and the balcony railing. St. Charles Borromeo Church continues to serve Catholic parishioners in the 21st Century and is the second oldest church parish in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Support of clergy and laity over the years has contributed to the preservation of the integrity of this historic landmark.
The new St. Charles Borromeo Church was dedicated on January 25, 1922. In the 1978 restoration and expansion of the church, the old Stations of the Cross were restored and the solid cypress pews were used as paneling and the balcony railing. St. Charles Borromeo Church continues to serve Catholic parishioners in the twenty-first century and is the second oldest church parish in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Support of clergy and laity over the years has contributed to the preservation of the integrity of this historic landmark.
Front Elevation. Father Paret enjoyed gardening and breeding of animals. He wrote to his brother, “I would like for you to see this big garden and how pleasant and inviting it is. Without false modesty, I think the inhabitants of St. Charles will be jealous of it.” At that time Fr. Paret had planted 488 trees consisting of orange, pomegranate, persimmon, peach, plum, mulberry, crepe myrtle and magnolia along with althea and rose bushes. (Photo courtesy of LSU Press)
Little Red Church. Tradition holds that the 1740 St. Charles log chapel was destroyed by fire in 1806 and rebuilt the same year. It was replaced by a wood-framed structure and painted red. The “Little Red Church” became a famous landmark for river travelers. Passengers going downriver were relieved to see the Red Church because it meant New Orleans was only 25 miles away. (Photo courtesy of Fay Walker Louque)
