St. Joan of Arc in LaPlace celebrates 75 years

By Christine Bordelon
Clarion Herald


The year-long, 75th anniversary of St. Joan of Arc Parish in LaPlace kicked off Sept. 17 with a Vigil Mass celebrated by Archbishop Gregory Aymond. Father David Ducote, St. Joan of Arc pastor, and former pastors, parochial vicars and deacons also participated.

“Today, we thank God for you and your sacrifice, vision and perseverance when starting this parish that God wanted in LaPlace,” Archbishop Aymond said. “You planted it with God, and it has grown for 75 years.

The archbishop called St. Joan of Arc Parish a “family of faith” with a unique story of parishioners using their gifts to build a strong parish community.

Founding mothers and fathers were acknowledged twice at the Mass. Father Ducote, pastor since 2020, said he’s noticed how close-knit and well-established the parish is, with “generations of the same families still active.”

 

Among them is Jaclyn Hotard, who read a proclamation detailing the parish history before Mass. She was baptized, attended St. Joan of Arc School, received her first Communion there and has been on the pastoral council for 16 years and now serves as council president.

“Our community really comes together in good times and bad,” she said. “Anytime anybody in the community needs something, we come together. The spirit of the community can’t be duplicated anyplace else.”

Boom of the 1970s
New Orleans Archbishop Joseph Rummel established St. Joan of Arc as an independent parish in 1947. As the parish grew with the civil parish, the church was enlarged twice to accommodate its growing congregation. By 1979, St. Joan of Arc was large enough to allow Ascension of Our Lord Parish to be carved out of its territorial boundaries.

A new St. Joan of Arc Church was built and dedicated Jan. 31, 1980, by former Archbishop Philip Hannan and Msgr. Dennis “Peter” Bergeron, who was pastor from 1963 until his death in 1989. The original church is now home to its preschool.

Jim Brady, 83, and his family recalled parishioners building a house on church property for the first pastor. His father, Peter Brady, and Armand Montz Jr. were founding parishioners and the first lay directors.

“I remember being an altar boy, and Father Charles Speaker (the second pastor) would go outside on a Sunday and make people re-park their cars because they weren’t parking right and taking up too much space,” Brady said.

When Brady got married in 1962, the parish had grown by this time and added a Catholic school the year before, so he and his wife Julie were able to send all five of their children there. Two children remain as active parishioners.

Montz’s son, Jeff, attended St. Joan of Arc School and returned to be its principal from 2014-19.

“It’s a very close-knit community,” said Montz, who now teaches religion at St. Charles Catholic High School. “People love their faith and are supportive of the parish and the school.”

Father Ducote, the parochial vicar at St. Joan before his appointment as pastor, witnessed how the parish weathered COVID then had to rebuild after Hurricane Ida destroyed many houses in 2021.

Parishioners have demonstrated their faith and charitable spirit in not only helping each other, but also asking him to celebrate several outdoor Masses in their yards after Ida. Parishioners also organized impromptu neighborhood rosary rallies.

“I have never seen that before,” Father Ducote said.

Parish on holy ground
Archbishop Aymond called their church building “holy ground” and praised parishioners as people of charity who never say no to someone in need. He said their church has been a refuge where God has come to them – and they have come to the Lord – in good times and bad.

“You bore it all with grace and faith,” said Archbishop Aymond. “You have persevered. You have been resilient. You have been faith-filled … and leaned on God and St. Joan of Arc for help.”

Archbishop Aymond asked parishioners how they would keep the parish flourishing. He encouraged them to invite those away or hurt from the church to consider returning and called on parishioners to encourage and consider the priesthood and religious life.

“A church is not a building. It’s the people,” Father Ducote said. “You are the living stones that build up the church and make it what it is.”

Father Ducote will close the anniversary with a pilgrimage to France – “The Footsteps of St. Joan of Arc – in September 2023. Space is still available.

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