New Church Coming for UL’s Campus

In a deal struck between the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the Diocese of Lafayette, a new church for Our Lady of Wisdom is coming to campus.

Another player in the deal is Our Lady of Lourdes.

As part of the agreement (which involves a cash/land exchange), UL will get some of the property at the old Our Lady of Lourdes hospital on St. Landry Street.

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According to the story from the Acadiana Advocate, UL will be paying the Diocese of Lafayette over $4M for the land around the old Our Lady of Lourdes hospital site on St. Landry Street, and UL will give land on campus to the Diocese for the construction of a new chapel for Our Lady of Wisdom.

The property on UL's campus proposed for the new church is just under 1.5 acres, located next to the Earl K. Long Gymnasium, currently a parking lot. The image below shows one of the parking lot next to Long Gym, across St. Mary Boulevard from the current location of the church.

The property at the old Our Lady of Lourdes hospital site, over 5 acres, will be the new home of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences.

According to the story in the Acadiana Advocate, the College of Nursing and Health Sciences is one of UL's fastest-growing colleges. See map below for the approximate area being considered for UL's expansion:

The current Our Lady of Wisdom Catholic Church on campus has been actively fundraising for several years, with a goal of $18M, to build a new facility. Reports say that they have, so far, raised around $15M and, according to the Acadiana Advocate, the State of Louisiana has given the Diocese of Lafayette over $3M towards bulding the new place of worship.