Convent, LA

Convent is a census-designated place in and the parish seat of St. James Parish, Louisiana, United States. The 2020 census counted 483 residents. Convent has been the parish seat since 1869. Convent is part of the New Orleans metropolitan area. Convent's economy has historically centered on petrochemical and heavy industry along the Mississippi River. The most notable facility was the Shell Convent Refinery, which processed up to 239,000 barrels per day of crude oil and employed over 1,000 workers. The short version is that Convent carries an earlier story into the places people know and use now.

That is the local read on Convent: its past remains attached to the places people use now. The area now known as Convent was originally settled between 1722 and 1739 and called Baron. The church and its associated historic district are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Convent lies approximately 35 miles west of New Orleans and 35 miles southeast of Baton Rouge, accessible via Louisiana Highway 44 and Louisiana Highway 3125.