St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church

Frère Sigur founded St. Mary Magdalen in 1843 and laid out the square on the model of a French village green — church faces the square, square faces the river. Mass has been said here continuously ever since. The current red brick Romanesque structure with twin towers was completed in 1911. It is one of the architectural anchors of downtown Abbeville. The adjacent cemetery contains some of the oldest Cajun family names in Vermilion Parish. The region holds its own history. After the British expelled French-speaking Acadian refugees from Canada at the end of the Seven Years' War, many settled here. Most Acadians can trace their ancestry to approximately fifty families who lived in Port Royal, Acadia — now Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. They intermarried with other settlers, forming what became known as Cajun culture. In 1971, the Louisiana State Legislature officially recognized this region for its "strong French Acadian cultural aspects." The church is open for Mass and visiting. The square is still here. The river is still here. The pattern Sigur drew in 1843 is the one downtown Abbeville still walks.