St. Jules, Belle Rose

On the east bank of Bayou Lafourche, a mission chapel was established in 1882. The mission was named St. Jules, in honor of the patron saint of its administrator, Father Canon Jules Bouchet, pastor of the church of the Assumption in Plattenville. The little chapel was administered by priests from Plattenville until 1901, when it was destroyed by fire.

Three years later, a large wooden mission church was erected on the original site. In 1907, its care was transferred to Ascension Church in Donaldsonville. Soon after, in 1911, Archbishop Blenk dedicated St. Jules as a canonical parish, assigning it the mission of St. Martin of Tours.  Prior to 1911, the mission of St. Martin of Tours in Bruly St. Martin had been under the spiritual guidance of the pastors at St. Elizabeth in Paincourtville. The chapel was built in 1879 under the guidance of Father Marie Ange Lessaichere. At the time, Bruly St. Martin was still a forest, and many hardships were endured by the parishioners who constructed the small chapel.

Over the next forty years, St. Jules thrived, attracting parishioners from both sides of the bayou. A small elementary school was operated by the parish from 1917 to 1932. The bayou, however, was a source of difficulty to the people of St. Jules. By the end of World War II, it had become increasingly apparent that the majority of parishioners lived on the opposite side of the bayou from the church. The original selection of the east bank as the site for St. Jules was due in part to the fact that it was originally served by priests from Plattenville and Donaldsonville, which both had east bank churches. In 1952, a new brick church was erected on the west bank, a quarter-mile upstream from Belle Rose. The original stained glass windows, pews, and the bell were all used in the new church.

Today St. Jules Parish continues to serve the people of Bayou Lafourche. In 2000, St. Jules was clustered with St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Paincourtville. Together, the two parishes are a solid and faithful Catholic community centered upon Jesus Christ.