A couple of years ago, after I joined the staff at my home parish, I was walking in front of our beautiful church and noticed the cornerstone. Now I had seen it many times but this time I was called to read it. I noticed two things; the year was 1924 and the consecrating Archbishop of New Orleans was the Most Reverend John Shaw. That resonated with me since I spent high school matriculating at Archbishop Shaw High School. But it was the year that led me to ask our Pastor if we could have a grand celebration in 2024 for her 100th anniversary. And the plans were put into action.
I moved to the Abita Springs Community in January of 1996. I'm a Westbank boy; I knew almost nothing about Abita Springs. I even commented once that I wondered if they even had any Catholics in the small Northshore town. I probably asked for two reasons: I really didn't know, and I was longing for a return to the faith of my youth and beyond. I never left the church, but circumstances back home led me to believe that perhaps the church had left me. I was wrong of course.
On my third or fourth trip into Abita Springs, actually, the one in the U-Haul truck, loaded up with my past life experiences and possessions that the amazing St. Jane de Chantal Catholic Church caught my eye, my attention and soon, my heart. It did not look like all the modern, post 70's churches, it looked like an authentic Catholic Church. I pledged then and announced to my family, that we would be returning to the faith in that beautiful church, in this beautiful community. That's all I needed; heck, I had not really heard of St. Jane de Chantal before and certainly had no knowledge of this Catholic community. I had no idea what Catholic worship looked like in this place but would soon find out. True to my word, once settled in, weekly Mass attendance was now a weekly, family event and I fell in love with everything related to the experience. After just one Mass, I was hooked: a friendly, welcoming community, the Mass of my memories, the charm of the jolly old Pastor with a beard, the peace of being back among the prayers, the music and the sacraments. Fast forward all these 28 years; my life and the life of this church, this parish are interwoven.
Today I am a Permanent Deacon (since 2008), a 28-year member of this parish, and currently on staff. I have spent all but 4 and a half years of my diaconate in service to St. Jane Parish. Our previous pastor, Fr. Ken liked the idea too and soon plans begun to truly celebrate this anniversary of our beloved church. We researched the history of the church and the parish, we formulated plans, contacted the archbishop, formed committees and went to work to make this goal a reality.
The date was set for August 11th, 2024, and we began planning and brainstorming ideas more than one year earlier. Despite the ebb and flow of daily parish life, the changing of pastors as the event drew near, the date would arrive on a glorious hot summer August Sunday. While myriads of volunteers were hard at work preparing Abita Town Hall for the post Mass brunch, others were organizing and preparing the church for the centennial Mass. Our principal celebrant was Archbishop Gregory Aymond, the Archbishop of New Orleans. He was joined by the current pastor, Fr. Daniel Okafor and past pastors. Fr. Ken Allen and Fr. Robert Cavalier. Deacon's assisting were Mark Coudrain, and yours truly. We had many other visiting priests and a large contingent of altar servers. The Mass was for the anniversary of the dedication of a church. Readings and prayers were from that particular liturgy and the music was sublime led by Lindsey Ware. Flowers adorned the sanctuary and all the recently donated sacred books, vessels and more were used for this liturgy. During this special Mass, the Archbishop gave the homily and then installed Fr. Daniel as our new Pastor. It was a beautiful, spiritual, joy-filled Mass.
A short walk to Abita Springs Town Hall ushered in the volunteer prepared brunch. Food galore, a special 100-year anniversary cake, music, memories, fun and fellowship. The afternoon was darn near perfect and absolutely wonderful. Other special guests included the St. Tammany Parish Government President, Mike Cooper and his wife, two special visitors from the Visitation Monastery in Mobile, Alabama and the Dean for our area, Fr. Charles Benoit, OSB.
The entire weekend, for me, is a testament to the community of faith that is St. Jane de Chantal Parish. In this beautiful Church I thought about all the many prayers offered here, the many Masses celebrated, the Sacraments received, how many Baptisms, Weddings, and yes, Funerals? It's been a blessed and special 100 years, and we turn our attention now to the future. What will be the foundation and legacy we will leave for the next 100 years, starting now? Yes, I have learned the truth; there are Catholics in Abita Springs, there is holy ground and a people of faith at St. Jane de Chantal Parish. And how I've learned so much about our beloved patroness, good St. Jane herself. She is the perfect model for each and every one of us as we strive as she did to Live Jesus+.
May God continue to guide and bless our beloved church and parish for centuries to come.
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