Deep in the woods of Desoto Parish, Louisiana, Rock Chapel is a short drive from Mansfield, but the 10 minutes it takes to drive there transports us back 100 years.  

Melissa and I arrived at the small church out front, and saw the archway that introduced us to the driveway to Rock Chapel.  Once I pass through the gate that will be shut at night, I let out a sigh and a giggle.  We are in the middle of nowhere, driving slowly down a one car road in the middle of trees.  I slow as we notice something nailed to one of the pine trees.  I laugh softly, uncomfortably, and ask Melissa what she thinks of that.  

Her response reflects mine – a soft uncomfortable chuckle, “I don’t know what to think about that.” 

I continue to drive through the trees, marking a few others.  Are they numbers?  What could they mean?

Finally, we arrive at a small circular parking area.  There is no one else around.  The woods are hushed.  We step out of the relative safety of my vehicle, and my unease shows when I automatically lock the car.  Melissa is slightly ahead of me and she turns with a laugh, “Did you just lock the car?  There’s NO ONE here.”

I laugh.  “Habit, I guess.”

First we stop to read a small statue and tribute to our soldiers.  Having a son in the Army, I appreciate that, and take a moment to take a few photos and reflect for a moment that others support our armed forces (and our family) in a visible way.  

We start across the wood bridge over the creek.  The creek is just a trickle, but it’s carved the land down several feet, so we can see the power it has at times, or just the power of time, as it were.  And we have our first view of the chapel.  It’s above us – there’s about 20 stairs we’ll climb to reach it – and it’s perfect.  A small stone (rock) chapel in the middle of the trees, that appears to be hundreds of years old.  We don’t have the history of the place yet, so I’ll fill you in on that later, but it’s obvious this is not of this century, perhaps not even the last.  We’ll find out.  

As we climb a few concrete steps and reach the first landing, I glance off to the left and see a large rosary made of stepping stones.  We’ll have to look at that later.  First, we want to see the chapel.  

Once we finish the 20 steps, we are on the level of the chapel.  Directly in front of us is a sidewalk taking us to the chapel, but before we get there, there are 6 graves with crosses – 3 on each side of the walkway.  The three on the right have names and dates:  Sister Avertamms Schweitzer, Father John Scherer, and Brother G____ Kuave, the three on the left are blank.  Again, we don’t yet understand the history of this, but it will come.

We’ve reached the chapel.  The doors are solid wood, arched, pointed at top, and gorgeous.  In front of those doors, sadly, are metal gates with a heavy chain and padlock.  But the padlock is open, allowing for visits.  Melissa unwraps the chain, and we giggle slightly as the doors groan loudly in the silence as Melissa pulls them open.  The interior is no larger than 10 x 15 or maybe 18’.  There are wooden folding chairs against the wall, and a kneeling bench up front.  I am not catholic, so while I can appreciate the beauty before me, I feel a bit like I’m trespassing somewhere sacred.  Melissa, on the other hand, was raised Catholic, though she doesn’t practice anymore.  She laughs quietly as she says, “I can’t help it”, and genuflects before proceeding to the kneeling bench.  She bows her head, and I wander quietly, leaving her to it.  There are two small windows on either side of the chapel, both stained glass.  In front of the one to the right of the door is a guestbook, so I take a moment to sign it.  

I notice the uneasy feeling I had when we first arrived has completely vanished.  I’m in awe of the attention to detail throughout the entire chapel – from the painted frescoes that adorn the ceiling to the painted wall coverings.  

After Melissa finishes up, she signs the guestbook and we begin to explore the grounds.  

If we’re facing the doors, to the right of the chapel, there is a large metal base holdin gup a large brass bell.  Surrounding the chapel, there are 13 stations.  Each has a post with artwork from Christ’s journey to the cross, and there are benches to sit and reflect.  

We make the circle separately, taking it in.  At station 3, there is a small white plastic chair.  It’s obvious that this station brings someone comfort frequently.

There’s a tree that has a hole through it.  It looks like it may have been struck by lightning at some point, and you can see the chapel through the hole.  

Next, we wander down to the rosary.  There’s a rather large statue of Mary, with her hands folded in prayer.  She stands on a concrete pad with a metal roof, overlooking the rosary.  The rosary itself is laid out in a rough butterfly pattern.  A cross is nearest the sidewalk, then one blue, three white, and another blue stone create the dangle for the cross.  The circle portion of the rosary is primarily white, with four more blue stones spaced throughout.  The stones are plain concrete but cast with a rose top.  

On our way back to the car park area, we make note of the crosses nailed to trees again.  Just as we reach the gate, I exclaimed “twelve!”  

Melissa looks at me, the question unnecessary.

“I think there are twelve crosses, for the twelve disciples of Jesus.”

“Well, that makes sense,” she says.  

And we begin our discussions of our favorite part of the chapel, the grounds, and how happy we are that the museum docent suggested we go to see it.  

We’ve been back many times since, but the chapel has only been open three times.  Every visit since, it’s been closed and we’ve been unable to go inside, although we enjoy a few minutes wandering the grounds before we leave.  It’s become one of our “happy places”.  I believe next time we go back, we may give the caretakers a call and see if we may be able to visit inside again.

In the meantime, I promised you a bit of history.  But that is murky, to be sure.  Accounts of the history vary, so it’s not as easy as doing research and typing it out.  

Accounts of the original use of the chapel vary, with many saying it was used exclusively by monks, one or two at a time, to get away from the busyness of their world.  

Here is a link to a video from Channel 3, KTBS about the Rock Chapel, and their version of it’s history.  https://www.ktbs.com/news/rick-rowe/where-in-the-arklatex-is-rick-rowe/where-in-the-arklatex-is-rick-rowe-rock-chapel-in-carmel-la/article_fa5fda06-b3f0-11ec-934e-cf45285b99b8.html

Other sources say that the Chapel was used to minister to the under-served black population, and even may have been a school at one time.  

Chris Jay, writing for Discover DeSoto, tells both histories here:  https://discoverdesoto.com/listing/rock-chapel/

The one thing everyone can seem to agree on is that Rock Chapel was built in 1891 by Carmelite monks, when there was a monastery nearby – one that burned down in 1904.  After the fire, Rock Chapel was abandoned and left to the elements. 

In 1960, the Catholic Diocese hired a local artist, Eugenie Manning, to restore the artwork originally created by the monks.  Her meticulous restoration can be seen by contacting the caretaker, Mr. Vance Shaver can be reached at 318-461-2971.  The address of the chapel is: 1746 Smithport Lake Road, Mansfield, LA 71052.  

If you visit, please remember that we’d all like history left for everyone to see it.  Please don’t litter, and if you find trash on the site, pick it up and take it with you – even if it’s not yours.