St. Catherine of Siena Church, Donaldsonville

St. Catherine of Siena Church was established in 1924 by Father Joseph Van Baast, S.S.J. of the Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart, the Josephites. He was supported and encouraged by Archbishop Shaw and Msgr.C.M. Chambon, who was pastor of Ascension of Our Lord Church and dean of the Donaldsonville deanery. Though funding was hard to get, Father Van Baast with the help of Msgr. Chambon, bought lots in the square bounded by St. Patrick, St. Vincent, Opelousas, and Claiborne Streets from Mr. Anthony Falsetta. Father Van Baast named the church after St. Catherine Siena, Defender of the Faith and Doctor of the Church, as a tribute to his great benefactress in the work with the Black Catholics, Mother Katharine Drexel, now St. Katharine Drexel.

Prior to the establishment of the church, Very Reverend H. J. Duberand started a school for the Black Catholics of Donaldsonville. It was staffed by the Sisters of the Holy Family in 1885.  The St. Augustine School building served as a temporary church for the community during the first year of the community’s existence. Father Van Baast celebrated the first Mass in the parish on Wednesday, August 20, 1924 in the convent of the Sisters of the Holy Family, who ran the school. St. Augustine School later became St. Catherine School and the Sisters of the Holy Family continued to staff the school. The school merged with Ascension Catholic during the period of integration.

In 1925, Father Van Baast solicited funds from his friend’s in
the north and from Mother Drexel, who came to his aid. With the money from these benefactors and benefactresses he started building a church. It was completed in September 1925. Just as the church was being completed, construction on the rectory began. This was completed in December and both buildings were dedicated in January 1926.

The Josephite fathers and brothers labored tirelessly at St. Catherine of Siena Parish until July 31, 2004, when forced by shortage in their numbers, a decision was made that they hand over the pastorate of St. Catherine of Siena Parish to the Missionaries of St. Paul (MSP). The Missionaries of St. Paul, a missionary order from Nigeria, has been working in collaboration with the Josephites in the African-American Catholic community since 1986.