Saint Peter Church
Covington, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana
Marker Inscription
Saint Peter Church. L'Abbé Jouanneault built the predecessor of St. Peter Church on the Bogue Falaya in 1843. The first resident pastor was Fr. J. X. Giraud, appointed in 1863 to serve Covington, Madisonville, Bedico and Abita Springs. In 1898 Fr. Joseph Koegerl pastor, who was also Canon of St. Louis Cathedral, built a new church and rectory on Massachusetts St. The Jefferson Ave. church was erected in 1940 during the pastorate of Fr. Aemilian Egler, O.S.B. Two Benedictine monks were pastors 1878-1885 and Benedictines have served the parish continuously since 1922.
Erected by Archdiocesan Bicentennial Commission
The Story
St. Peter parish traces its roots to a chapel the Abbé Jouanneault built on the Bogue Falaya in 1843, with Father J. X. Giraud becoming the first resident pastor in 1863 to serve a scattering of Louisiana communities. Over the following century the congregation raised new churches — a Massachusetts Street sanctuary in 1898 and the Jefferson Avenue church in 1940 — while Benedictine monks came to serve the parish, continuously so since 1922. The marker records the long life of a Catholic community founded by French and European clergy.
Why it matters
It reflects the deep French and Catholic heritage that shaped community life across south Louisiana.
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