Archbishop Joseph Rummel appointed Father Austin Carrico to establish St. Mary Magdalen Parish in the Airline Park subdivision in Metairie. On September 8, 1955, a legal corporation was established, "Congregation of SMM Roman Catholic Church, Jefferson Parish." The First Mass was celebrated at the Civic Center of the M. A. Green Subdivision. Within the first two years 137 baptisms, 4 marriages & 1 funeral were performed. The first Mass "on campus" was celebrated in the newly completed Chapel (present cafeteria) in 1957. Through a parish census, Father Carrico determined there were 427 families within the parish.

The School was established in 1957 with 330 students (grades K-4th) under the direction of the Sisters of Christian Charity. At the same time, the CCD Program (Parish School of Religion) was established by 18 women who instructed children in religious education in their homes or at a local public elementary school, once a week. In 1960, the School offered education through the 8th grade. At this time enrollment was 1,334 students. Enrollment reached it’s peak in 1965 with 2,000 students.

Also in 1957, the first Parish Fair was held. The Sisters encouraged everyone to pray to Mother Pauline, their founder, for good weather. They put pictures of Mother Pauline in every school window, however the heavens opened despite their prayer efforts. Fr. Carrico asked the Sisters to never help in this way again! Fr. Carrico, decked out in rain gear and with a tractor, went to Airline Hwy to help pull out cars stuck in the mud! Not a great way to start a tradition of an annual Parish Fair that still continues today - rain or shine.

Over the next 14 years, five other church parishes were carved out the original boundaries of St. Mary Magdalen Church: St. Matthew the Apostle (1959), St. Philip Neri (1960), St. Edward the Confessor (1964), Our Lady of Lady Divine Providence (1965) and St Ann (1971).

After many years’ planning and tremendous fund-raising, the vison of our parish founders was finally realized with the renovation of our old church into our NEW church under the leadership of Fr. Earl LaRose. This major renovation included the addition of a chapel and a new library/media center on the second floor. Also added were a building to house the St. Jude Society, the Social Apostolate Ministry and a new small multi-purpose building to be used by the school. Today’s parish plant was completed with eight buildings and the church re-dedicated by Archbishop Schulte in 1994.

Over the last 60 years, thousands of faithful Christians have worshiped, have received life-sustaining Sacraments and have been educated here. The priests, deacons and religious women who served at SMM Parish have provided the leadership for exceptional growth. Five pastors have led St. Mary Magdalen Parish: Fathers Austin Carrico (1955-1963), Bernard Mistretta (1963-69), Jerome Roppolo (1969-1985), Earl LaRose (1985-95) and Robert Massett (1995-present). To date, four Parishioners have been ordained as priests and six have been ordained as Permanent Deacons.

Through the sixty years of St. Mary Magdalen Parish, three orders of religious sisters have provided dedicated service to the church and school. The three orders were the Sisters of Christian Charity (1957-75), the Sisters of the Living Word (1975-1991) and the Teresian Sisters (1991-2008). Presently the school is under the guidance of a lay principal and staff.

Since the establishment of SMM Parish with 427 families, our faith family has grown to encompass over 2000 families. The fidelity and interest of all our present and past parishioners have made this possible. Dozens of ministries serving the congregation and the community and several parish organizations are functioning actively.

As we celebrate the past 60 years since the parish founding, the community is re-committed to our parish mission of being a community of faith, striving to be formed in the Word (Jesus) and by the Word (Scripture). Through stewardship of our time, talents and treasure, we will continue to strive to live in the Word through worship of the Father in service to one another and to bring the Good News to all people under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.