St. Ann, Morganza

Like the history of St. Francis Parish in Pointe Coupee, the story of the Raccourci and Morganza communities in upper Pointe Coupee Parish was determined largely by the role of the Mississippi River.

Morganza developed south of Raccourci on the former plantation of American-born Charles Morgan.  Though priests from St. Francis Church occasionally visited the settlements at Raccourci and Morganza, the great distance limited church attendance from these areas. In 1870, a small chapel was erected at nearby New Texas Landing (Raccourci). In 1872, a parish was created and given the name Our Lady of Seven Dolors, often referred to as Our Lady of Seven Sorrows. The first pastor was Father Felix Charpentier. Though much of the new parish contained uninhabited or sparsely populated areas, its geographical limits encompassed more than three-fourths of the civil parish of Pointe Coupee. After many years of hardship, including the ravages of the Civil War and the disastrous crevasse of 1867, a new church was built and dedicated in 1892. During the late 1800s, a school was built in this new parish and lay organizations were first formed. In 1890, St. Francis became a mission of Our Lady of Seven Dolors. Other missions included St. Joseph Chapel at Red River Landing, New Texas, Fordoche, Bayou Sara, Cat Island and Tunica.

In 1898-99, the Texas & Pacific Railroad constructed a new line roughly paralleling the Mississippi River through Morganza. With the new railroad and the influx of Italian immigrants, a new church was needed and, in 1902, property was purchased. In 1915, the Catholic Church Extension Society offered to donate $500 towards construction of a new chapel in Morganza if the new chapel would be dedicated under the invocation of St. Ann. In 1916, the first Mass was offered in St. Ann Church. Residents of the northern part of this parish were ministered to by the Catholic Extension Society railroad chapel car, St. Paul. A rectory was constructed at Morganza in 1917 and a cemetery in 1918.

St. Ann Church was seriously damaged twice within a few months, first by a storm in June 1934 and again by an unusually heavy snowfall in January 1935. The 1915 church was demolished and a new frame structure flanked by twin towers arose on the site. On Palm Sunday, April 14, 1935, the new St. Ann Church was blessed by Archbishop Rummel.

In 1939, the construction of the Morganza Spillway necessitated the demolition of Our Lady of Seven Dolors Church. Many of the furnishings of the old Raccourci Church, including chandeliers and statues, were preserved and installed in St. Ann. Remains of parishioners buried at Raccourci were moved, along with the markers, to the rear of St. Ann Cemetery in Morganza.

One priestly vocation (Fr. Jamin David) and five vocations to the Sisters of St. Joseph were born of St. Ann.