St. John the Baptist’s restored statues shine at 100

By Christine Bordelon
Clarion Herald

The hidden gem along River Road in Edgard – the magnificent Roman-Renaissance-styled St. John the Baptist Church – marks its 100th birthday this year.

When the parish celebrates a Mass Oct. 25 at 10 a.m., the church – a 55-foot towering landmark for river travelers – will glisten after a series of renovations that have taken place in 2020.

The most noticeable of the restorations are the 19 painted and the marble statues adorning the altar and throughout the church.

Third-generation ecclesiastical artist Belinda Godfrey of Godfrey Ecclesiastical Art of Colorado completed the statues’ facelifts. She said she was in the area on other jobs when, by chance, she stopped in St. John the Baptist – a church in which her parents had worked in the 1970s – and discovered the statues in a state of disrepair.

Family’s artistry

Her family’s company has worked in churches nationwide, including St. Louis Cathedral where the “faith, hope and charity” statues above the altar and grotto were restored.

“St. Mark, St. Luke, St. Matthew and St. Anne were almost to the point that they would not make it any longer,” Godfrey said of the St. John the Baptist statues. “They had holes in them, chips in the paint and the plaster was disintegrating.”

Other statues had peeling paint, a composition crucifix had to be repaired and repainted and marble statues needed to be cleaned and repaired. If the parish had waited a little longer, she believes some of the statues would have been beyond repair.

From their decaying condition, Godfrey thinks the statues’ last repairs could have been 30 or so years ago. From talking to parish leaders, the church might not have always been air-conditioned, and humidity wasn’t kind to the plaster.

Godfrey said St. John the Baptist’s statues are Daprato statues, some of the finest statues made by Italians who opened a shop in the United States. They are plaster and straw with rods for support. She determined that the Daprato company probably made statues for 95 Catholic churches in the country, an estimation made from her family’s work – she’s been involved since age 6 or 7 – in churches nationwide.

“I’d say they are close to 100 years old, if not 100 years old,” Godfrey said of St. John the Baptist’s statues. “I really think they came when they built the church. They are quality statues. That’s why they lasted 100 years.”

She believes the statues – St. Jude, St. Roch, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Our Lady of Fatima, St. Anne, St. Matthew, St. John, St. Mark, St. Luke, St. Anthony, St. John Vianney, St. Martin de Porres and a crucifix in back of the church – had originally been painted. Using Daprato methods, she began in January restoring what was necessary and repainting with acrylics. She also repaired statues of St. Joseph, two small Virgin Marys and St. Joseph in the rectory, and two angels and the Last Supper on the altar.

“It’s very satisfying to take things that are in such horrendous condition and bring them back to their original beauty,” Godfrey said. “I’m very happy with how these statues turned out.”

Interesting history

Parish history states that the original cypress church and cemetery stood on land donated by Jacque DuBroc. The church’s first pastor, Father Bernardo de Limpach, arrived in 1772. (The civil parish – St. John the Baptist – obtained its name from the church.)

The first church was destroyed in an 1821 flood. By March 1822, a second church was built in its spot and was constructed of handmade bricks. A fire in 1918 destroyed this structure, although three bells were saved that were in a belfry not connected to the church.

Parishioners quickly raised the $146,000 needed to build the current church, consecrated on Oct. 28, 1920. Its interior has an altar and Communion rails of Carrara marble imported from Italy and stained-glass windows from Munich, Germany.

Church secretary Valerie Simon, a lifelong parishioner, said individuals and families contributed to the restoration of the statues after Father Robustiano Morgia, pastor, invited families to donate to restoring the statues, believed to be original to the 100-year-old church.

“Different people grouped together and families – that’s how it was paid for,” she said. “Some wanted to redo a specific statue.”

Father Morgia was so happy with the way the statues were refinished that he commissioned Godfrey to repaint two others, St. Anthony and St. Martin de Porres, Simon said.

Bronze plaques with the names of each saint were made and installed on the renovated statues. Previously, the saints’ names were painted on each one, she said.

Simon said St. John the Baptist Church has been a favorite spot for visitors to stop, and the adjacent cemetery is the final resting place for John Slidell and other historical Louisiana figures. She said the parish hopes to procure a parish tour guide and make the parish a stop for the many tourist buses who pass as they travel to nearby historic sites.

[email protected]