CHURCH HISTORIES    Terrebonne Parish, LA 

CATHOLIC - ST. PATRICK CATHOLIC CHURCH
 
Submitted by: Cynthia Daigle
 
Source:  The Houma Daily Courier and The Terrebonne Press, Houma, LA. 

Last modified: 10 MARCH 2008
 
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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.

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CATHOLIC - ST. PATRICK CATHOLIC CHURCH

Location in 2007 - No listing in phone book found

The Houma Daily Courier and The Terrebonne Press
Houma, LA, Oct. 8, 1972, Sunday


ST. PATRICK EARLY HISTORY A STORMY ONE

In its early days the mission of St. Patrick Catholic Church in Gibson had 
truly stormy times. The mission was destroyed by a great storm in 1888 and 
was then rebuilt in 1889. It was then destroyed, again by storm, in 1897; 
it was rebuilt in 1900. A hurricane demolished that physical structure in 
1909; yet the people did not give up on having their church, and once 
again erected the Edifier.

In 1892, Fr. J.M. Laval while pastor of St. Francis de Sales Catholic 
Church, bought a piece of property on Bayou Black. On that property in 
1894, St. Anthony Chapel was built. Fr. Moise said the first Mass in St. 
Anthony's. This chapel was then intended to serve the Catholic residents 
of the Bayou Black and Gibson area.

Gibson was then being served as a mission by priest from the Thibodaux 
community, particularly Fr. Menard and Fr. Favre.
The Gibson mission was later attached to the Houma church, then Morgan 
City, and then Bayou Dularge. The church records show that in 1896, Fr. 
Richard served the community, followed by Fr. Chastel in 1897-1898.

The Archbishop established Gibson as a separate church parish, with Bayou 
Black as its mission, in 1921, having Rev. Charles Gescher as its pastor. 
The church's canonical erection, however, was held on March 24, 1925. At 
that time the pastor resided at St. Anthony on Bayou Black. After an act 
of incorporation was drawn in 1925, the seat of the parish was established 
at St. Patrick's in Gibson.

The present Gibson Church stands in a corner of the cemetery across from 
Bayou Black. A new rectory was built in 1925. The island on which the 
rectory stands was donated by an old Gibson family.

The Archbishop next appointed Fr. Cyprien Foret as pastor of St. Patrick 
in 1931. Rev. Foret was then succeeded by Fr. McLaughlin, Fr. George 
Landry, Fr. Edwin Gauthier, Fr. Andrian Callout, Fr. Jules Toups, Fr. 
Thomas Brady, and presently by Fr. M. Finnagin.