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St. Bridget Catholic Church Schriever, Louisiana
In the early 1900s, the Morgan Railroad traveled west from New Orleans to what is now Morgan City, Louisiana. Both Bayou Lafourche and Houma were bypassed by the railway which went across Chacahoula swamp to Donner, Louisiana. Branches were added by the railway to run north and south in order to serve Houma. The junction of the Houma branch was named "Terrebonne Station". This area is now Schriever. Father Charles Mary Menard was a frequent visitor to the farms in the area. He was a missionary pastor of Thibodaux and served in the area for more than 50 years. His work took him through Schriever, Chacahoula, Donner, Gibson, and Morgan City. He would pass through Schriever on his way to Houma and settlements below Houma. He was known as "le bon Pere Menard" (the energetic pastor). Father Menard saw the need for a chapel in Schriever.
The Archbishop had long felt the need of establishing more parish churches in the heavily populated section, so he immediately approved Monsignor Barbier's proposal. On the 16th of December, 1911, Archbishop Blenk signed the necessary decrees formal erecting the parish of St. Bridget in Schriever. The parish was formally chartered on July 24, 1912, in an act before Robert B. Butler,
notary, under the legal title of "The Congregation of St. Bridget's Roman Catholic Church of the Parish of Terrebonne." Archbishop Blenk was president; Very Rev. M. Laval, Y.G., vice president; Father Evano, secretary-treasurer, and Gustave P. Bertrand and Paul Landry, trustees and members of the board. Also signing the charter were Joseph Ayo and Justin Z. Toups, residents of the parish.
Father Evano also acquired in September 1913, one lot from Andre Dupre, husband of Lina LeBoeuf. The presbytery was also completed that same year. Fr. Evano also undertook the enlargement of St. Bridget's Chapel which was now a parish church. On May 18, 1912, Most Rev. J.M. Laval, Auxiliary Bishop of New Orleans, came to Schriever for the first confirmation in the newly established parish, the class numbering 135 children and adults. At the same time, the Bishop also blessed the remodeled St. Bridget's Church.
In his parish report on May 18th, 1912, Father Evano described the boundaries of the new parish as follows: On Bayou Blue, by Bayou LaCroix; on Bayou Terrebonne, by Bayou Cane; on Bayou Black, by Crescent Farm; the Northeast and Northwest part, by the Southern Pacific Railroad.
The revenues that the first year totaled $1,153.30, including pew rents of $581.75 and ordinary collections in church for the whole year of $212.15. To take care of that part of the parish situated along Bayou Blue, Father Evano bought the property some 10 miles from the parish church and built St. Louis Chapel, which remained a mission for some time.
The pastor strove to build up the parochial societies, and in 1913, he organized the Junior Holy Name Society with 20 enrolled, and the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary with 20 members. Father Evano was visiting Bayou Blue twice a month, but in 1915, the great hurricane blew the chapel down, and for the lack of funds, he was unable to rebuild at the moment. However, he continued his visits there, and eventually St. Louis Chapel was rebuilt.
At the beginning of 1918, Father Evano was transferred to Larose and Rev. John William Anthony Janssen, a native of Nvmeger, Holland, was called from St. Gabriel, Louisiana, to
assume the pastorate of St. Bridget's Church of Schriever.
Father Janssen began attending St. Louis Chapel once each month, and he started a station at Bayou Black where he taught catechism every week. However, in 1920, he wrote the Archbishop: "Bayou Black, where catechism was given every week, cannot be attended at present on account of the condition of the road, but this will soon be remedied, as the road is being graveled."
Father Janssen, after a pastorate of more than six years, was transferred. (When he later died in 1966, he was buried at St. Bridget Cemetery at the foot of the cross in the middle aisle of the cemetery. Father Janssen had donated the cross to the cemetery).
Upon Father Janssen's transfer, Rev. Ralph Y. Lawrence (born in Canada) was appointed
pastor in July 1925. He listed the Catholic population as 1500 in 1926 and reported 7000 Communions. He considerably improved the parish rectory at a cost of $6,074.94, and improvements were made to the church in 1930. In the latter year, parish revenues totaled 3,825.11 annually. He built a new chapel at Bayou Blue in 1931.
Rev. Magnus Roth of Karisrune, Germany was appointed pastor in November 1932, and promptly undertook the task of clearing up the parish debt. He reported that 50% of the parishioners attended mass and that of 181 communion children, about 30 came to mass.
On May 21, 1934, Fr. Roth reported there were 200 families of "French descent," fifty who did not understand English. He reported no "Catholic negroes" and approximately 25 non-Catholic families. He reported the following statues in the church (probably including the Bayou Blue Chapel); 4 Blessed Mother; 2 St. Joseph, 1 St. Bridget, 1 St. Anne, 1 St. Anthony, 1 Sacred Heart, 1 St. Louis, 1 Joan of Arc, 1 St. Peregrine. The hymnal in use was St. Basil's Hymnal. In 1934, there was a church, a chapel (Bayou Blue), and a rectory.
Many improvements were made during the 12 years of his pastorate. An up-to-date parish hall was erected, with a well-equipped kitchen and a spacious dining hall, and the church, St. Louis chapel, and rectory were repainted.
But Father Roth gave special attention to the spiritual welfare of his flock, encouraging fidelity to Church law and frequent Communion, especially among the men of the parish.
In April 1945, Father Roth was assigned to the pastorate of Holy Trinity Church in New Orleans, and Archbishop Rummel sent Rev. Joseph Charles Bentz, a native of New Orleans, as the fifth pastor of St. Bridget's Church.
During his years at St. Bridget, he emphasized with the aid of Sisters and lay teachers, catechetical work to provide the children of the parish (which had no parochial school) with a maximum of religious instruction. In 1947, Father Bentz had 150 children under religious instruction, plus attendance of 166 during the vacation school which was handled by the pastor, three Sisters, and six lay teachers. The following year, 1948 were enrolled in summer school, but in 1951, the number had increased to 290 - including 150 boys and 140 girls - and an additional Sister was required.
In 1954, the religious school enrollment topped the previous year with 225 boys and 213 girls, a total of 448 children, taught by four sisters and seven lay teachers.
Boundary changes took place between Thibodaux and Schriever giving the section of Terrebonne Parish to the railroad tracks (today the overpass) to St. Bridget. Later that section would be given to Christ the Redeemer and St. Bridget's attendance would drop.
From 1947 to 1952, collections rose from $3,562.88 to a record $10,971.69 a year. The better finances of the parish enabled the pastor to make some improvements. New furnishings, vestments, and sacred vessels were obtained, an organ was installed and repairs and alterations to the buildings were made. But the parishioners had their mindset on another project. In fact, Father Roth had made plans for a modern,' substantial church, but World War II had intervened, with the extensive building restrictions that were in force, so the proposal had to be shelved for the time being. Funds collected for the new church were turned over to his successor, Father Bentz. After 1946, Father Bentz pushed the project and the collection of necessary funds to ensure payment of a substantial part of the cost of the new building, thus holding down the debt on the parish. In 1946, he invested $10,000 in U.S. Bonds for the new church, and each year, special collections and benefits added to the reserve fund for the building. By 1951, this had grown to more than $38,000. Parishioners gave enthusiastic cooperation and were generous in collections and benefit affairs.
Finally, in 1954, a dream of years began to materialize. Archbishop Rummel discussed the project with Father Bentz, gave his approval for a new church, and plans were drafted. The architect hired for the project was Fernand T Picou. Originally, Mr. Picou presented the parishioners with plans for a church which was a scaled-down version of Our Lady of Prompt Succor in Golden Meadow. The parishioners promptly rejected the plans and stated that they wanted their church to "look like a church." Mr. Picou questioned them about what they meant and they described their ideas. He realized that they were talking about a "country gothic" church. He then designed St. Bridget's current church in the country gothic. The new church was dedicated on Thursday, September 8, 1955, at 11:00 a.m.
Archbishop Joseph Francis Rummel, S.T.D. was in attendance and the sermon was preached by Msgr. Caillouet. Rev. Dennis J. Bergeron of Port Allen, Louisiana, replaced Fr. Bentz in June 1959. He worked on clearing the parish debt, emphasized lay participation in the catechetical program and parish societies, and made facility improvements such as air-conditioning the new church and renovating St. Louis.
Monsignor Raphael C. Labit, who was born in Thibodaux, became pastor in August 1963. The present rectory was built in 1963 during his tenure. He moved the altar so that mass could be said facing parishioners, and St. Louis was established as an independent parish. He stayed at St. Bridget until his retirement in 1969.
In November 1969, Rev. Kasimir Chmielewski, a native of
Poland, became pastor. During Father Kasimir's administration, the first mausoleum was built in the cemetery where he is buried. Rev. James Vernon Didier, Sr. studied for the diaconate during Fr. Kasimir's tenure and Didier became a deacon for St. Bridget on May 23, 1976. He reorganized and emphasized religious education in the parish. Fr. Kasimir died on May 31, 1977.
A month after Fr. Kasimir's death, the diocese of Houma Thibodaux was carved out of the Archdiocese of New Orleans on June 5, 1977, with Bishop Warren Joseph Boudreaux, a native of Berwick, Louisiana installed as its first bishop.
During that month, a new pastor was named, Msgr. Albert George Bergeron of New Orleans. During his tenure, Msgr. Bergeron added more mausoleums, installed stained glass windows in the church, built the Community Life Annex, converted the baptistry to a chapel, and arranged for automated bells to be installed. Msgr. Bergeron also enclosed the carport of the rectory creating a double garage and storeroom. He served as pastor of St. Bridget Church until August 1996.
Rev. Scott Jeffrey Dugas of New Orleans served as pastor from September 1996 to July 1997. Father Scott led the parish through a transition period and helped the parish grow.
Rev. Alexander Malabanan Francisco of Manila, Philippines,
became pastor in September 1997. Through his energetic efforts, Renew 2000 was launched in the parish. Fr. Francisco also paved the parking lots and they did an extensive repair in the church belfry. He also landscaped the grounds and gave his attention to the unification of the parish and restructuring the pastoral council. St. Lawrence and St. Patrick was merged into St. Lawrence and then linked to St. Bridget on February 1, 1999. He went on sabbatical in June 1999 and was temporarily replaced by Fr. Brendan Foley of Ireland. He decided not to return to the parish and resigned in November 1999.
On November 30th, 1999, Rev. Michael Anthony Bergeron of Houma, Louisiana, was appointed Administrator of St. Bridget's Church. Fr. Mike, as he preferred to be called, was Associate Pastor of St. Bernadette. He exchanged positions with Fr. Francisco, with Fr. Francisco becoming Associate Pastor of St. Bernadette and Fr. Mike becoming an Administrator of St. Bridget. Father Mike became pastor in 1999 and remained until 2005.
Father Domingo Cruz, better known as Father Ding was named pastor in 2005 and remained until June 2016.
Father Glenn LeCompte was named pastor and served from July 1, 2016-December 31, 2016.
The Very Rev. Simon Peter Engurait, VG is now pastor of the parish.
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To see the Building of St. Bridget ChurchClick Picture Below
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