CHURCH HISTORIES Terrebonne Parish, LA CATHOLIC - St. GREGORY BARBARIGO CATHOLIC CHURCH Submitted by: Cynthia Daigle Source: The Houma Daily Courier and The Terrebonne Press, Houma, LA. Last modified: 10 MARCH 2008 ================================================== NOTE: Most histories were submitted by the church to the Houma Daily Courier and The Terrebonne Press as part of the newspapers Sesquicentennial Edition. Not all churches submitted histories. ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** ================================================== Location in 2007 - 1005 Williams Ave., Houma, LA The Houma Daily Courier and The Terrebonne Press Houma, LA, Oct. 8, 1972, Sunday ST. GREGORY SERVES LARGE HOUMA AREA St. Gregory Barbarigo parish is located in a predominantly residential section of Houma, just across from the mother church of St. Francis de Sales, on the north side of Bayou Terrebonne. The parish was established on June 3, 1963, in view of the rapidly expanding area in and around Houma. Rev. Francis J. Amedee was appointed as the founding pastor. Under his energetic leadership and with the enthusiastic support of the parishioners, immediate plans were formulated for the building of a church plant at the corner of Williams Avenue and Sixth Street. It was determined that the new parish would serve the Catholic population in the area between the Intracoastal Canal, Bayou Terrebonne, Wright Avenue and the Coteau Road. The 1963 census shows 1100 families residing in and belonging to the parish. This figure has remained stable and substantially the same up to the present. Until the church was built, Sunday services were held at the Legion Park School cafeteria, beginning on June 16, 1963, and for a short while in the American Legion Home in 1964. The church, beautifully designed for the purpose of worship and participation in the liturgy, was occupied in mid-August 1964. The School opened with four elementary grades on September 1, 1964. The official dedication of both buildings took place on September 13, 1964. The parishioners of St. Gregory Parish have shown their appreciation through the subsequent years by their generous support for the operation of the parish, the steady debt reduction of the original investment of over $600,000.00, and by their personal involvement in parish activities and organizations. The School developed into an educational facility for approximately 200 students in grades 1 through 7, under the direction of the School Sisters of Notre Dame, until their departure in 1971, and (then) of competent and qualified lay staff and administration in the following years. The parish priest at the present time are Rev. William Koninkx and Rev. Jerry Prinz. Father Koninkx was recently elected as Dean of Terrebonne Parish. Father Prinz is the Director of Catholic Charities for the Tri- Parish area.