The Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist in downtown Lafayette, LA stands as a sentinel to the faith of generations of followers. It is the third church built on the site donated by Jean Mouton in l821, when Lafayette was the town of Vermilionville. The present Dutch Romanesque landmark, completed in l916, is on the National Registry of Historic Properties. Massive brick walls contrast with graceful arches and delicate red and white brickwork. Turrets flank the octagonal steeple above, from which the bells toll.
St. John Cemetery is the oldest in the city of Lafayette. The high water table in South Louisiana makes aboveground burial almost a necessity. The tomb of Jean Mouton, who donated the property for the church, is in this cemetery. Along with his son, Alexandre Mouton, governor of Louisiana from l843 to l846, and his grandson, J. Alfred Mouton, a West Point graduate and general in the Civil War.
Information provided by the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist website~ here. Pictures taken by me.
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