ENROLLED
2023 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 46
BY REPRESENTATIVE GREGORY MILLER AND SENATOR SMITH
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To commend St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church on the occasion of its three hundredth
anniversary.
WHEREAS, St. Charles Parish, which was formerly referred to as the German Coast,
is the third-oldest settlement in Louisiana after Natchitoches and New Orleans, and it is older
than the United States; and
WHEREAS, Karlstein was among the first settlements on the German Coast, and in
1723, missionary priests from the Franciscan Order of Friars Capuchin established the
ecclesiastical parish and chapel, La Paroisse de St. Jean des Allemands, or The Parish of
St. John, of the Germans, along the west bank of the Mississippi River near present-day Taft,
Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, in 1740, the ecclesiastical parish and chapel were relocated to their
present-day site along the east bank of the Mississippi River and renamed St. Charles in
honor of St. Charles Borromeo; after the chapel burned down in 1806, it was replaced by a
wood-framed church that was painted red; and
WHEREAS, St. Charles Borromeo Church became known as the "Little Red
Church", and it has served as the mother church for many mission chapels in St. Charles
Parish; the church cemetery is also the oldest German cemetery in the American South; and
WHEREAS, the "Little Red Church" tragically burned down in 1921 and was
replaced with the current St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church; the church was dedicated
on January 25, 1922, and in 1929, the rectory was rebuilt with the addition of a convent; and
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WHEREAS, this year, St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church celebrates its three-
hundredth anniversary; the church is most deserving of the highest recognition on this
momentous occasion.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
commend St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church on the occasion of its three hundredth
anniversary; does hereby further recognize the rich history of the church and its deep roots
in St. Charles civil parish; and does hereby extend sincerest wishes that the both the church
and civil parishes continue to prosper for centuries to come.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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