THE VESTIBULE
As you enter the vestibule, two statues catch the eye. On the left, St. Anthony, Patron of the Poor; on the right, St. Jude Thaddeaus, Patron of the Hopeless.
On the wall, to the right, a framed coat of Arms from Spain presented on the occasion of the 200th Anniversary of the founding of New Iberia by Spaniards
(it is flanked by framed explanatory texts); and a bronze plaque commemorating Veterans of wars; to the left, a framed Blessing of Pope
John-Paul II, given on the occasion of the 150th Anniversary of the founding of St. Peter's Parish; and a bronze plaque in memory of the donor of the original property for the first church in 1836.
To the left also, an enclosure with wrought-iron doors, is the former Baptistry. It now houses a Shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe, established in
December 1992, by the then Pastor, Msgr. J. Guy Lemoine. The Image was brought back from Mexico City by Msgr. Lemoine, where he had gone on
pilgrimage to her Shrine there.
The Image is located in a large cabinet which originally was used for Baptismal materials. Surrounding its doors are five wooden gold painted
statues, which were in niches of the pulpit of the old St. Peter's Church. They are statues of St. Peter and the four Evangelists, carved by a local
artisan of the time.
