St. Anne, Napoleonville

St. Anne Catholic Church is situated in the heart of the village of Napoleonville, Louisiana, an old town of overhanging oaks full of memories of the devotion and dedication of its priests and people. In the early 1850s, the Napoleonville congregation was a mission of Assumption Church in Plattenville, served by the Lazarist Fathers who oversaw several missions.

The people’s plea for a church and resident pastor were repeatedly denied until Archbishop Napoleon Perche heard and granted their request in 1872. By 1874, when the first pastor, Father Nazareno Orfei, was appointed, both a church and a rectory awaited him. So thankful was the congregation for the parish that they wanted to name the church after the archbishop. The parish was originally called St. Napoleon, a name which derives from Roman martyr St. Neopolus, patron saint of Archbishop Perche. The first church was a wooden structure surrounded by a white picket fence which served the community until 1909 when the current church was completed.

On August 10, 1856, a hurricane struck coastal Louisiana, destroying the barrier island resort known as Last Island. Many lives were lost, including a large number from Assumption Parish. Two of the survivors, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Foley, spent eleven days in the marsh before being rescued. Legend holds that, during their plight, Mrs. Foley prayed fervently to God to spare them. Mr. Foley, a non-Catholic, told her that if her God saved them he, too, would embrace her faith. As a result of this ordeal, Mrs. Foley, nee Marcelite Blanchard and widow of Arthur Morgan Foley, donated the land for the church in June 1870. Another parcel of land was purchased in 1872 from Mrs. Foley to complete the four-block area of the current church grounds.

By 1906, the need for a larger church was evident by the growth of the congregation. The fifth Knights of Columbus Council in Louisiana was organized in Napoleonville in 1906. In 1907, the council proposed the construction of a new church. It was approved by the pastor, Father L’Anglais. The new church cornerstone was blessed March 21, 1909.

Area residents were very devout Catholics. In those first 35 years as a parish the congregation had formed a deep devotion to St. Anne. They had asked for her intercession in sparing the community during one of the yellow fever epidemics and, in thanksgiving, prayed a novena to St. Anne each year prior to her feast day on July 26. This tradition continues today. It was due to this deep devotion that in 1909 when the new church was completed Archbishop Blenk authorized the name change to St. Anne Church.

St. Anne Church is very large and ornate for the small, rural area of Napoleonville. Its classic Romanesque architecture is evident in the triple-arched entrance which has welcomed many to worship within its red brick walls. Since its construction in 1909, the parishioners have maintained and enhanced the buildings and grounds, making improvements and additions in every decade since the 1940s. The last restoration was begun in 1996 on the interior of the church. The congregation of St. Anne is proud of the renovations and of their ability as a community to financially maintain this beautiful church which has been called the pride of Napoleonville.