St Juliana Catholic Church Alexandria La 3

St. Juliana Parish was officially erected in 1959. Father Leger Tremblay was the pastor and founder of the parish. Christmas Midnight Mass was the first ceremony to be offered in the new church.

J.A. Bennett, Neil Daspit and Chester Wells donated five and one-half acres of land for the new church. At that time the parishioners of St. Juliana Church were all of Caucasian race.

As integration became a major issue in our country, it also affected the church. St. Juliana gradually became a mixed White/Black congregation and in the early 1970's a predominately Black congregation, as it remains today.

In 1970, under the spiritual leadership of Msgr. Henry Thompson, St. Juliana was dedicated anew. As the Eucharist is and always will be the reason we celebrate, the young families wanted more of the African-American culture as part of the Mass. Gospel music played a great part in this change. In 1975, under the direction of Msgr. Thompson and Mr. Paul Desselle, Jr. the Love Choir was founded and is still in existence today. Msgr. Henry Thompson remained at St. Juliana until 1978.