Did you know that when Bishop Tracy retired Bishop Joseph Sullivan was appointed, the issue of the church was revisited? This time a committee of “New and Experimental Parishes” came to see Fr. Hines. His (Fr Hines) assessment of their group was “They could not see building a church here…..when St. Agnes is down the street half empty. I also got the distinct im- pression….that the whole idea was to save St. Agnes.
Did you know that because of the condition of the church, Bishop Tracy approved the building of a new church at a cost of $150,000. According to Father Hines, the Bishop’s idea was that it should be built in such a way that if the population moved out or there were not enough people to continue the church, it could be used as an auditorium or gym or some other purpose. The Bishop and the people at the chancery wanted to avoid something that would be strictly a church – big bell towers, stained glass windows etc. the idea was to have it free of pillars.
Did you know that changes in the school situation (a merger with St. Agnes that created a interparochial system) resulted in a drastic decline in enrollment, and served to rally parishioners to come to the defense of their Church and school? Some 300 parents participated in a prayer vigil at the Catholic Life Center to dramatize the need for solving the problem. Father Hines, who was operating the church on a skeleton crew to save money for a new structure, was leading the charge.
Did you know that at the Golden Anniversary Banquet in 1969 on the program were Dr. B.V. Baranco, whose brother Raymond and his sister Sarah Leone led the movement to build St. Francis Xavier? Also on the program were; Miss Mary Sibrie, whose work with the church and school spanned most of her life, Norman Toles, Lynn Ricard a student at Redemptorist High School, the Holy Family Sisters, and the Josephites.
Did you know that Father Edward Ledoux began a mission for the people of Scotlandville and the students of
Southern University Celebrating Sunday Mass in the Cook Theater? The theater mission operated for seven
years until Immaculate Conception was built – another Church constructed by the St. Francis “mechanics.”
Did you know that in 1950, Father Francis Carney became pastor and immediately undertook building a long
awaited high school. Groundbreaking for the facility, which would replace two small frame houses converted
into classrooms, was held in March 1955, with dedication on April 29, 1956.
