Church: Parishioners Celebrate Blessing of Renovated Church of St. Anne,1999
Natchitoches Parish La

Submitted by: Suzanne Shoemaker

Many Thanks to the Natchitoches Times for allowing the LaGenWeb to use this
article.



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The Natchitoches Times Article.

September 17, 1999 issue


PARISHIONERS CELEBRATE BLESSING OF RENOVATED CHURCH OF ST. ANNE

     The rededication and blessing of St. Anne Church was held August 28 with
Bishop Sam Jacobs and pastor, the Rev. Father Michael Manase, presiding.
     Many members of the Adais Caddo Indians returned home to join their
relatives in the celebration of the first major restoration since the
church's construction in 1916 in the Adais Indian Community, formerly
Spanish Lake.
     Also present were Pat Arnold, deputy director of Indian Affairs with the
Louisiana Governor's office.  She is a member of the Houma Nation.
     The origins of the church began when St. Michael of the Adais was founded for
the Adais Indians by the Spanish Franciscan Fathers in 1717 near
Robeline for the purpose of inducting the Adais Indians into the Catholic
faith.
     In 1721, Fort Los Adais was founded to protect the mission church and
strengthen the Spanish position against the French in Natchitoches.  Fort
Los Adais served as the capitol of Spanish Province of Texas for 50 years.
After Fort Los Adais was closed in 1773 by the Spanish, the tribe moved the
church to the Shamrock area and remained there for 166 years until 1883.
     Due to heavy Anglo Protestant encroachment into the Shamrock area, the
Adais Indians again moved the church approximately 6 miles north to the
present Saint Anne Cemetery site and renamed St. Joseph.  After it was
destroyed by fire, the church was rebuilt in 1916 and renamed Saint Anne
and remains the oldest church in the Louisiana Purchase with the same Adais
Indian descendants.  The church is the mother church of the Caddo Adais
Indians.  The church was listed on the National Register for Historic
Places in 1994, not only for the integrity of the building, but because of
its historic value.