St. Joseph in Pierre Part Built on Foundation of Faith

Situated in a town surrounded by bayous, Lake Verret and other waterways, St. Joseph the Worker Church in Pierre Part has been a beacon of light and hope for Catholics living in the largest community in Assumption Civil Parish. 

“Like any property, location, location, location,” said pastor Father Al Davidson, describing what makes St. Joseph Church so special.

“(We’re) located in a very blue-collar community so the idea of the parish is very fitting. The majority of the community obviously were fishermen in the past and now you still have a large portion that are still fishermen. Construction is probably the next largest industry. Large quantities of the guys work for the plants and those who don’t work for the plants work for the construction companies that work for the plants.”

The early church history of the Pierre Part area is closely linked to the history of its neighboring parishes, according to records from the Archives Department at the Diocese of Baton Rouge. The inhabitants of these areas were descendants of the Acadians and Canary islanders who settled the bayous and swamps in the late 1700s under Spanish rule.

“People came here 180 years ago as Acadians that had been evicted from other places and wanted some place nobody would evict them so they came to a swamp and turned what is God’s creation into a livable and workable community and church and parish,” explained Father Davidson.

In the beginning, priests from Plattenville and Paincourtville visited the Pierre Part area, celebrating Mass in the homes of residents. The first chapel built in Pierre Part, near the site of the present church, was in 1858. Pierre Part became an independent parish in 1867 but within two years it became a mission again.

Inundated by high water in 1882, the interior of the chapel was destroyed except for one small statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Archival records note the statue fell off its stand but landed on its base in the water and was not damaged as the other statues were. 

As a result, the statue was salvaged and placed on the island in the bay across from the chapel. Twice a year, the community of St. Joseph celebrates the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary with special Masses on Virgin Island held the second week of May and the second week of October, both months dedicated to Mary. 

A unique part of the history of St. Joseph was the chapel boat, “Mary, Star of the Sea,” which was pulled by a motorboat named “St. Francis Xavier.” It allowed the priest to visit the mission areas of Bayou Pigeon, Bayou Godel, Belle River and Four-Mile Bayou, which were not accessible by land.

On March 29, 1940, a tornado cut a path through Pierre Part destroying the church and rectory, killing four people and leaving 110 homeless, according to archival records. In 1964, a new, larger church was constructed, with a unique roof design. By 2013, when Father Davidson arrived, the church underwent a complete renovation. 

“It was gutted,” he said. “They took the shell and replaced all of the interior so it has new pews, new flooring, new lighting, new sound system – everything inside is just eight years old. They spent $2.2 million redoing the interior so the most of the physical plant, the oldest building is the parish hall and it was built in 1996, the office and education building and rectory were built in 2008 and 2009. It lasted 50 years and they’ve redone it. God willing it’ll last another 50.”

Father Davidson said there are less than 800 families registered at the church. He said he’s “buried almost 350” parishioners since his arrival but he’s now starting to “see a rebirth of young couples with more weddings and more baptisms.” 

He said the recent hiring of a new director of religious education (DRE) hopefully will bring more young families back to the community and back to church.  

Father Davidson credits strong ministry groups with keeping parishioners engaged and involved in the church. 

“When I got here we had started the King’s Men, and we’ve been meeting when others have not. We had about 15 or 16 at last week’s meeting, and I’ve had as many as 40 men at a meeting before the virus shut us down,” said Father Davidson. “That one along with the Catholic Daughters are the two that began and really evolved and really assist in just about every event.”

He said even though young couples are finding affordable places to live in other communities, more retirees are finding the area ideal for resettling, with at least a dozen families moving in from Baton Rouge and other areas.

“Again, because of location, location, location – the beauty, the simplicity, the generosity  the community is just built on a Catholic foundation, and they live out that generosity, that compassion and that kindness that is of Christ,” said Father Davidson. 

“I can’t emphasize enough the idea that St. Joseph the Worker fitting the characteristics of the community and the mindset. All you need to do is ask and these people will step up and do whatever is necessary because they’re built on a foundation of hard work and their faith,” he said.