Saint Margaret Mary Catholic Church sits on Robert Boulevard in Slidell, Louisiana, a community of about 30,000 on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. Founded in 1965 and named in honor of the Visitation nun Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque through her spiritual director's mother, the parish marked its 60th anniversary on October 12, 2025. Father Dan Darmanin, named pastor on July 1, 2022, leads a staff that includes a parochial vicar and four permanent deacons. The parish is part of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, has its own K-8 school, hosts one of Slidell's largest annual community events, and serves a congregation that gathers in both English and Spanish.
Sixty Years on Robert Boulevard
The story of Saint Margaret Mary is the story of a Slidell parish built in stages, marked by Hurricane Katrina, and refreshed by its current pastor. Archbishop John Patrick Cody established the parish on August 17, 1965, appointing Father Timothy Pugh as administrator and naming it for Pugh's mother, Margaret Mary. Two years later the first Sunday Masses were celebrated in a school cafeteria, the Ladies Altar Society was formed, and the parish fair was born.
Father Richard Carroll, appointed pastor in 1970, served for 29 years and shaped the physical campus that exists today. The church building was completed in time for a first Mass on Christmas Day 1976, with side wings added a decade later. The 1990s brought a renovated Adoration Chapel, an Evangelization Building with a 3,000-book library, a rectory addition, and faceted glass windows. In 1999 the school was recognized as a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.
Hurricane Katrina struck on August 29, 2005, requiring major church renovations that concluded with a center-aisle reconfiguration and the opening of a new Youth Room in 2009. Father Edward Grice succeeded Msgr. Carroll in 2015 and opened the 50th Jubilee Year with Mayor Freddie Drennan proclaiming it Saint Margaret Mary Parish Day. Father Dan Darmanin arrived as parochial vicar in 2020, became pastor in 2022, and led the parish through a complete sanctuary renovation unveiled for the 60th anniversary in 2025. He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of New Orleans alongside parishioner Chris Zavackis in 2015.
Mass in English and Spanish, Every Day
Mass is celebrated every day of the week. Weekday Masses are offered Monday through Friday at 8:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., with a 7:30 p.m. Mass in Spanish on Thursdays. Saturday brings an 8:30 a.m. Mass in Latin (booklets provided, on First Saturdays), a 4:00 p.m. English Vigil Mass, and a 6:00 p.m. Vigil Mass in Spanish. Four Sunday Masses fill the day: 8:30 a.m., 10:15 a.m. (with incense), 12:00 p.m., and 5:00 p.m. (no music). The liturgy is the center of parish life.
Confession is heard Wednesdays and Fridays from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m., Saturdays from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m., and Sundays from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m., with appointments available through the parish office. The Anointing of the Sick is offered to anyone who is ill, facing surgery, or coping with chronic or terminal illness, and may be received more than once over the course of an illness. The parish asks those planning to marry to begin preparation at least six to twelve months in advance. Funeral planning is handled through the clergy, and the parish provides a packet covering the Vigil, Funeral Liturgy, and Committal, with information on cremation.
A Chapel Open for Adoration, Day After Day
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is one of the defining practices of Saint Margaret Mary. The adoration chapel is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., extends to 9:00 p.m. on Wednesdays for the teen Holy Hour, and runs continuously from Friday 9:00 a.m. through Saturday 8:30 a.m. Parishioners commit to a weekly hour, signing in at the chapel door when they arrive. The parish connects the devotion directly to its patroness: Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque received the revelations of the Sacred Heart at Paray-le-Monial, and her confessor, Saint Claude de la Colombière, supported the mission. The parish holds a first-class relic of Saint Margaret Mary in a brass reliquary, and a hand-carved statue of her, along with one of Saint Claude, has been installed in the high altar of repose.
The Divine Mercy Chaplet is prayed in the chapel every Friday at 3:00 p.m., and brochures are available for newcomers. On First Fridays, the Altar Society gathers after the 8:30 a.m. Mass to pray a Novena to the Sacred Heart and a Rosary.
Faith Formation for Every Age
The Office of Religious Education, led by Misty Bauer, oversees a layered formation program. The Parish School of Religion (PSR) provides catechesis for parish children whose families do not choose the parish school. PSR classes begin each September, with tuition sliding from $55 for one child to $125 for four or more; the parish explicitly says no family will be excluded for financial reasons. Preparation for First Reconciliation and First Communion follows a parent-and-candidate track with handbooks and forms available online. Confirmation preparation meets Monday evenings from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. in the Evangelization Center, requires attendance at a retreat, and culminates in a parish celebration in November. The cost is $100 per candidate, with sponsors asked to provide a written testimonial and candidates asked to submit a service reflection form.
The Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) welcomes any adult, teen, or child over the age of seven who is unbaptized, baptized in another Christian tradition, or a baptized Catholic preparing for Confirmation. A baptized Catholic who simply wishes to support others on the journey is also invited to participate. Contact is through Mark Elsensohn.
Cornerstone and the High School Youth Group
Youth ministry is centered on two programs named with intention. Cornerstone, for grades 5 through 7, takes its name from Psalm 118: "The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone." It meets on scheduled Friday evenings from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. in the Youth Room, addressing the particular questions of junior high in an interactive and prayerful atmosphere.
The High School Youth Group serves teens in grades 8 through 12. Its goal is to lead young people in some of the most formative years of their faith lives closer to Christ. Weekly Wednesday meetings from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. are followed by a teen Holy Hour from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the chapel, where Reconciliation is offered by the priests. Retreats, trips, movie nights, game nights, dinners, and praise and worship nights fill out the calendar.
Liturgical Ministries and the People Behind the Mass
The Mass depends on a broad team. Altar Servers are young parishioners in fourth grade through high school who have received Baptism and the Eucharist, working under Father Jorge Gomez. The Altar Society cares for linens, vestments, and sacred vessels, decorates the church for Christmas and Easter, and collects money for altar flowers. Lectors read the Word of God at weekday and weekend Masses, coordinated by Deacon Gil Ganucheau. Ushers greet visitors, take up the collection, and guide the Communion line. They are the face of the parish.
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion serve at Mass and bring the Eucharist to the homebound. They meet first with Father Dan for an interview, then complete an Archdiocesan formation workshop before being delegated by the Archbishop for a five-year term. The Homebound Ministry extends this care weekly to those recovering from surgery or illness and to the terminally ill under Hospice care, with ministers alerting the office when a priest visit or Anointing of the Sick is needed. Nursing Home Volunteers bring Mass or Communion Services monthly to residents of Azalea Estates, Greenbriar, Summerfield, and Lakeshore Manor.
Parish Ministries: Dozens of Ways to Serve
Saint Margaret Mary maintains one of the more extensive lay ministry rosters in the Archdiocese. The Come Lord Jesus community meets weekly for prayer and scriptural study, forming Catholics into apostolic witnesses. The Legion of Mary visits the sick in hospitals and homes, instructs public school children, encourages lapsed Catholics, and promotes the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart. Lay Carmelites follow the spiritual tradition of the Carmelite Order in the circumstances of ordinary life. Magnificat, a women's ministry established in New Orleans in 1981, hosts four breakfast gatherings a year with rosary, testimony, and praise. The Knights of Columbus Council 2732 and its Ladies Auxiliary support the parish through service, fundraisers, and spiritual fellowship.
Charitable works run deep. The Food Pantry for the Poor sorts weekend donations and distributes emergency groceries. St. Vincent de Paul and Good Samaritans for the Poor (Good SAMS), a joint outreach of Saint Margaret Mary and Saint Luke the Evangelist founded in 1993, help pay housing, utility, and gas bills, run seasonal programs for school supplies, Thanksgiving baskets, and Christmas gifts, and serve Slidell, Alton, and Pearl River. The Substance Addiction Ministry (SAM), led by Deacon Louis Bauer, offers education, referrals, and support on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month for those dealing with addiction and their families. The Annulment Support Group walks individuals through the Catholic annulment process with writing workshops and trained advocates.
Other active groups include the Prayer Blanket Ministry, which sews blessed blankets for the sick; the Respect Life Committee, which promotes the Gospel of Life through education and outreach; the Sacred Heart of Jesus Enthronement Ministry, which supports home enthronements in English and Spanish; the Vocations Ministry, which fosters discernment of priesthood, religious life, marriage, and consecrated singleness; and the St. Francis Gardening Group, which tends the campus. Hospitality volunteers staff the quarterly Donut Mass, deanery meetings, and graduation receptions. Fitness Ministry offers step aerobics Monday evenings for adults of any fitness level in the Evangelization Building Hall.
The Evangelization Library
The parish operates a substantial Evangelization Library with more than 3,000 books, 700 videos, and 800 audio tapes. Run by volunteers with a head librarian available Monday through Wednesday mornings and Thursday afternoons, it is designed for self-service browsing and offers a night drop for returns.
Hispanic Ministry and the Spanish Apostolate
Spanish-speaking parishioners gather for Mass every Saturday at 6:00 p.m. in the church and every Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the chapel. The Spanish Apostolate fosters spiritual growth through retreats, prayer groups, and Bible studies, and offers sacramental preparation in Spanish for Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage, and Quinceañeras. A Prayer Network keeps the community connected through WhatsApp and text messages, and the ministry provides blessings for homes and spiritual support in times of need.
The Slidell Food & Fun Fest
Every October the parish hosts the Slidell Food & Fun Fest, an annual parish fair and one of the largest social events in Slidell. By 2003 it was drawing crowds of more than 40,000. The fair was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 during the COVID years and returned thereafter with themed weekends such as the 2023 "Let the Festival Time Roll" and 2024 "World's Fair." The fair is organized by a Fair Committee and is sustained by hundreds of volunteers each year.
Saint Margaret Mary School
Saint Margaret Mary School is a parish elementary school serving children from early childhood through eighth grade. The campus includes the original buildings dedicated by Archbishop Philip Hannan in 1966, the Early Childhood Development Center built in 2004 and later renamed the Rev. Msgr. Lanaux J. Rareshide Early Childhood Learning Center in honor of the pastor who led the parish from 1999 to 2015, and a dedicated Youth Facility. The school was recognized in 1999 as a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, and a digital sign at the front entrance displays messages and upcoming events.
Clergy and Staff
Father Dan Darmanin, the pastor, was ordained in 2015 and previously served the parish as parochial vicar from 2020. Father Jorge Gomez, ordained in 2024 and assigned as parochial vicar in the same year, oversees altar servers, assists with funerals, and serves the parish alongside his pastoral duties. Four permanent deacons support parish life: Deacon Louis Bauer, who leads the Substance Addiction Ministry; Deacon Gil Ganucheau, who coordinates lectors; Deacon Chris Schneider; and Deacon Roberto Zambrano, who serves the Hispanic community. The Office of Religious Education is led by Misty Bauer, with Kathy Gardner coordinating PSR. The parish office, reachable at 985-643-6124, is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 4:00 p.m.
The Patroness Whose Heart Still Speaks
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, a Visitation nun in 17th-century France, received revelations of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and, with her Jesuit confessor Claude de la Colombière, established the devotion to the Sacred Heart that the parish continues to honor. The Sacred Heart Enthronement Ministry encourages families and businesses to enthrone the Sacred Heart in their homes, citing the promise of peace in the household. The parish keeps a first-class relic of Saint Margaret Mary in a brass reliquary in the chapel and has commissioned hand-carved statues of both her and Saint Claude for the high altar of repose, designed and installed under Father Dan for the 60th anniversary.