St. Francis of Assisi, Smoke Bend (Donaldsonville)

Tradition has it that Smoke Bend was so named by early travelers who, winding around a bend in the Mississippi River, saw the curling smoke of Indian campfires rising through the trees. Today, those Indian campfires are but dusty memories tucked away in the pages of community history, but their sparks remain in the hearts of Smoke Bend natives, a dear part of their heritage.

In the early 1880s, Catholics in the Smoke Bend area were originally served by Ascension of Our Lord Church in nearby Donaldsonville.  Father F.X. Ceuppens, pastor at Ascension Church, began construction of a new church in Donaldsonville in 1872. Due to a trustee dispute between two lay factions of the parish, one supporting the pastor and the other opposing, he was forced by his opponents to leave in 1883. Heading north along the Mississippi River, Father Ceuppens settled in the small, friendly community whose people depended on Ascension Parish for Mass, the sacraments, and, of course, spiritual leadership.

There he began offering Mass in local homes, then in a vacant store building, converting it into a temporary chapel. On June 28, 1884, land fronting the Mississippi was sold to Archbishop Leray for the construction of the first St. Francis Church which was completed in 1890.

About the time the Smoke Bend church opened, a smaller chapel was erected in Brule Sacramento to serve the parishioners who lived too far from Smoke Bend to regularly attend Mass. The chapel bell was a means of entertainment for the children and of fundraising for the parish. Children were “taxed” 75 cents for the privilege of ringing the bell, helping the parish defray costs in the process. When the chapel closed, the bell was transferred to St. Francis of Assisi Church.

The first St. Francis Church was destroyed when a hurricane ripped through Smoke Bend. It was restored and served parishioners until a fire reclaimed the structure in 1924. In 1935, the Mississippi River levee was set back and both church and rectory had to be moved. By 1939, the structure was declared unsound and a new church was constructed by 1942. The current church was dedicated by Bishop Sullivan on May 16, 1976.