Hooray for the new roof at St. Paul’s! Now if only we could get a steeple…
Erin Michelle Brush
Field Representative
Foundation for Historical Louisiana
In Partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation
By KORAN ADDO
Advocate Westside bureau
Published: Dec 9, 2009 - Page: 3B
The Friends of St. Paul Church, a group working to restore historic St. Paul Catholic Church in Bayou Goula, is inviting the public to volunteer to help the recovery project 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday.
Strong and able-bodied volunteers are needed to help handle the metal sheets being used to repair the church’s badly damaged roof.
People also are...
By Keitha Nelson - bio | email
Posted: Nov 06, 2009 10:26 PM CST
IBERVILLE PARISH, LA (WAFB)- The immediate fate of an historic church in Iberville Parish has been decided: St. Paul Catholic Church in Bayou Goula could be saved.
The Our Lady of Prompt Succor Finance Board met Friday night and has granted an extension to a group called Friends of St. Paul, that is fighting for the church's survival. The board voted against demolishing the property.
The next step for Friends of St. Paul is to raise funds to restore the 138-year-old building.
"You would come here and it's as though you're going to church in the 1800's," said Michelle Koch Noel, who founded Friends of St. Paul.
Noel says the church doesn't have air conditioning or heating and there's no bathroom. But despite the lack of modern day amenities, Noel chose to...
By KORAN ADDO Advocate Westside Bureau
Published: Nov 15, 2009 - Page: 3B
BAYOU GOULA — Volunteers hoping to save a revered community church planned to start cleaning up the building and grounds Saturday as part of their plan to one day buy the property from the church parish so that worship services can resume there someday.
St. Paul Catholic Church was closed to worshipers 10 years ago because of a mold problem.
Last year, Hurricane Gustav ripped through Bayou Goula, an Iberville Parish community south of Plaquemine, tearing the steeple off the 138-year-old church.
The Our Lady of Prompt Succor Pastoral and Finance Committee, which oversees the church, was mulling over bids earlier this month to tear down the historic building and sell off the leftover lumber.
On Nov. 6, however, the committee postponed deciding the church’s fate and gave a group of concerned citizens until Jan. 3 to clean up the property. That would include removing debris from the church grounds, which several years earlier had become an insurance liability.
Since then, Friends of St. Paul Church, as members of the new group call themselves, have busied themselves putting...
I am just sending a few images of the work day at St. Paul’s Church in Bayou Goula from last Saturday. As you can see, it was quite a hubbub of activity! We had men and women, young and “experienced” (14-80+), brooms and skidloaders, and a wonderful community spirit. I just thought I would share the good news!
Erin Michelle Brush
Field Representative
Foundation for Historical Louisiana
In Partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation
There was a diverse group—the last bride married in the Church, LSU and Tulane professors, the next door neighbors to the church, a former altar boy, contractors—all with the common goal of bringing the 1871 structure back as a church.
Erin Michelle Brush
Field Representative
Foundation for Historical Louisiana
In Partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation
Advocate Westside bureau | Published: Nov 7, 2009 - Page: 4B
Officials of the Catholic Church parish council overseeing historic St. Paul Catholic Church in Bayou Goula agreed Friday night to give a preservationist group an extension of time to get organized and set about saving the landmark from demolition.
Michelle Koch Noel, a member of the newly organized Friends of St. Paul Church, said that the Our Lady of Prompt Succor Parish Council, which oversees St. Paul Catholic Church, advised her of the decision.
The 138-year-old church in the small Iberville Parish settlement of Bayou Goula became an...
By KORAN ADDO Advocate Westside bureau | Published: Nov 6, 2009 - Page: 1B
BAYOU GOULA — The fate of historic St. Paul Catholic Church remained uncertain as church leaders faced a decision today on whether to have the 138-year-old church damaged by Hurricane Gustav demolished or turned over to a preservationist group.
No priest has celebrated Mass at the church in 10 years. Boards and timber from the wrecked steeple litter the ground in front of the church, a landmark in the small Iberville Parish settlement of Bayou Goula on the fringes of the Atchafalaya Basin.
The debris thrown about and structural damage to the church caused by Gustav’s high winds in 2008 have become an insurance liability for the Our Lady of Prompt Succor Parish Council, which oversees St. Paul Catholic Church.
Jim Jumonville, a member of the church parish’s finance committee, said there are a number of options for the council to consider in deliberating the future of the building.
Six of those options are offers submitted by various groups interested in tearing down the building. Two of those groups want to pull down the church and sell off the leftover lumber. Another option calls for moving the building to...
St. Paul's Catholic Church in Bayou Goula is owned by the Archdiocese and was damaged in Hurricane Gustav (the steeple was blown off and there is severe roof damage). Although the Archdiocese was given funds to restore the church, the funds were used elsewhere and only a blue-tarp roof was put in place to protect the church. This tarp is now nonexistent, and rain can pour directly into the sanctuary onto the original barrel-vault ceilings, wood floors, and pews. The church is actually in remarkable shape considering the roof damage. The next door neighbors, the Guillots, have been keeping up the yard and go inside after every rain to push the water out in hopes of saving the floors. Although the statues have been removed for safekeeping, the original built-in-place wood altars (rumored to be built by the Nottoway carpenter) are still standing proud.
The site where St. Paul's is located was where the first Catholic chapel of the Louisiana Purchase Territory was built in 1699 by a priest accompanying explorer Pierre LeMoyne Sieur de Iberville on his discovery of the area. St. Paul's was built in 1871, renovated in 1971, and was still being used for some church services until Hurricane Gustav. In the past, little support from the Archdiocese was given to the restoration of the wooden church, but the new Priest is offering enthusiastic support. A small group from the congregation is looking for assistance in repairing the roof to stop rain from further damaging the interior of the structure, and eventually guidance in restoring the entire church, including the original steeple.
To: Father Joey F. Angeles, Pastor and The Board of Prompt Succor Pastoral and Finance Council
The Foundation for Historical Louisiana has recently become aware that a bid has been placed for the demolition of St. Paul Catholic Church in Bayou Goula. We understand that the church was damaged in Hurricane Gustav and that Our Lady of Prompt Succor cannot afford the needed repairs and maintenance of the structure; however, demolition should not be the option. It would be a travesty to lose such an important piece of local architectural and cultural heritage. We are dismayed to hear that such a beautiful and significant landmark along the great River Road is in grave peril. The offer of $10,000 to demolish should be set-aside.
Last night the Foundation's Board of Directors met for its regular monthly meeting. One of the issues discussed was St. Paul's Catholic Church. The Board passed a resolution in support of the request of the Friends of St. Paul's Church for a 60 day extension of the Board's decision on the demolition bid for St. Paul's. Solutions can be found in this time.
We understand that in return for the time to raise funds and resources to preserve the church persons are offering to cover the roof and move the salvageable wood from the steeple inside the church, as well as remove debris from the site. We support their intentions to restore the church and return it to use. The Foundation for Historical Louisiana Board and its volunteers will aid in the protection, restoration, and preservation of St. Paul’s church in any way possible. St. Paul’s Church is a cherished landmark. It is a place that matters greatly to the community. Please be wise and prudent in your current stewardship of this sacred place and know that we are here to assist you.
The Foundation for Historical Louisiana
Carolyn Bennett, Executive Director
Erin Brush, Field Representative
