On December 12, 1531, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego in Guadeloupe, Mexico, for the fourth time. Upon her instruction, he gathered Castilian roses is his tilma and brought them to the bishop. Then appearing on his tilma was a depiction of Mary that has survived to this day. That date has become the Feast of Our Lady of Guadeloupe in the Catholic Church.
That date this year will also be the 50th anniversary celebration for Our Lady Queen of All Saints Catholic Church in Ville Platte. But, as pastor Fr. Mitch Guidry explained, December 12 was not his first choice for the event.
“August 22 is the Feast of the Queenship of Mary,” he said, “so that’s basically our patronal feast day. But, there was a women’s ACTS retreat going on, and a lot from Ville Platte were leaving that night to go to the retreat. My next thought was to do it on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception which is (today) December 8. That’s the day the church was dedicated. Well, this year, December 8 is a Sunday, so the feast is transferred to Monday. Sunday would have been the best day to have it, but it’s the Second Sunday of Advent. I nixed that and decided to have it on Our Lady of Guadeloupe which is a feast day in an of itself.”
With the date in place, the anniversary celebration will begin at 5 p.m. with a Holy Hour followed by a Mass with Bishop Emeritus Michael Jarrell and Fr. Jason Vidrine as homilist. Afterward will be a procession with a statue of Our Lady of Guadeloupe to the Family Life Center where a Mexican buffet will be served.
The evening will celebrate the church’s history which dates back to the second half of the 20th Century.
“Sacred Heart is the first and oldest parish,” Fr. Guidry said. “Back in the late 60s, Ville Platte was growing. They had so many masses that had to be added. They had plenty of associates, but Monsignor Bourgeois and Fr. Joseph Brennan talked about the possibility of having another parish because there was not enough room at Sacred Heart for all the parishioners.”
“It was decided, with consultation of the bishop, to begin a new parish,” continued Fr. Guidry. “We are made up of part of Sacred Heart, part of St. Ann’s in Mamou, and part of St. Peter’s in Pine Prairie. All of those parishes gave part of their territory to create a new parish, and, in September 1969, we came into existence.”
Fr. Robert Sibille, who had previously been administrator of Notre Dame High School and assistant pastor of St. Michael’s in Crowley, was named first pastor of the newly created parish which was housed in a skating rink on Lincoln Road.
It was not until 1972 when property was donated from Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Dardeau the current church building. The donated property also included 5.3 acres for the construction of the Family Life Center. Present at the groundbreaking were Sam Hamilton, Opelousas architect; M.C. Descant, contractor; Leonard and Mrs. Dardeau, property owners; Deacon Richard Fabre, Fr. Brennan, church pastor; and Cecil Colligan, Clem Morein, Dr. Jerry Veillon, and Dr. Harvey Poret, members of the church council.
What stands out historically for current pastor Fr. Guidry is that former pastor Fr. Brennan was connected with a potential saint along with an already canonized saint.
“Fr. Brennan had a close association with Charlene Richard, which is interesting for me because I’m from Church Point where she went to school and my family and hers are connected through marriage,” Fr. Guidry said.
He continued, “Fr. Brennan is also connected with St. Theresa of Calcutta. Her voice actually carried through here as she talked to Fr. Brennan over the phone making arrangements for his retreats.”
What also stands out for Fr. Guidry over the church’s history is the vocations including three priests, Fr. Jason Vidrine, Fr. Brad Guillory, Fr. Josh LaFleur; two deacons, Deacon Gene LeBoeuf and Deacon Ben Soileau; a religious sister, Mary Magdalene Soileau; and a religious brother, Brother Gregory (Sean Fontenot).
Thinking about all the countless weddings, funerals, masses, confessions, Baptisms, funerals, ACTS retreats, and other events such as the Walk with Christ and Pro-Life Walk, Fr. Guidry believes the history of the church will continue to be written because of its strong “witness of the Catholic faith.”
He said, “We have a lot of young people and a lot of young families. The church is alive. I have people from other places come and tell me they wish their church was this alive.”
Fr. Guidry concluded by extending an invitation to Catholics and non-Catholics to attend the celebration in order to “celebrate with us and thank God for these 50 years” and to “pray, worship, and try to be the people God wants them to be.”
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Tony Marks
Editor