St. Michael’s church and Grotto

Recently I traveled to the beautiful River Parishes of Louisiana. In St. James Parish, the group of travelers that was part of the Southern Travelers Explore (STELAR). We were out on a day trip. We explored St. Michael’s the Archangel Church, and grotto that was near the Poche Plantation. Theron Oubre, a local historian and descendant whose family has been in the area for generations led the tour.

Creole Country

This area of the River Parishes is in the heart of Creole Country. Creoles are made up of French, Spanish, Native Americans and enslaved people that spoke primarily French and followed the Catholic faith. The American Creole culture has a distinctive history. Creole history dates to before the English arrived, before this area was part of America.

Poche Plantation where we toured was built on ground that was once a sugarcane plantation. The Poche mansion was built after the Civil War by Judge Poche. After our tour of the lovely house, we toured the beautiful Michael the Archangel in Convent church. It is one of the oldest parishes in South Louisiana.

St. Michael the Archangel Church.

On the church website they share, “The parish traces its beginnings to the early 1800s, five years before Louisiana became the eighteenth state of the Union. By 1807, the population on the east bank of St. James Parish had grown too large for St. James Church, which was established in 1770.”

They continue,. “In 1809, a new parish was placed under the protection of St. Michel de Cantrelle, later Americanized to St. Michael the Archangel (the archangel associated with courage, protection and divine intervention). In 1808, the new parish cemetery was blessed, and a year later the first church was completed on land across the river from St. James Church.”

I learned that as the parish grew, they needed a new church. The new build was in the Roman and Gothic style formed as a cruciform basilica. The church was built and blessed in 1833. The new church and cemetery are located about a mile upriver of the site of the original church and cemetery. The old which is now under the Mississippi River. The octagonal spire was blown down in a 1965 hurricane, and never replaced.

Inside the church is the famous Lourdes Grotto. The grotto is modeled after the religious site in Lourdes France. The Lourdes Grotto constructed in 1876. On the website they share this was only 18 years after the apparition of the Blessed Virgin to St. Bernadette Soubirous. Saint Bernadette is the patroness of illness, people ridiculed for their piety, poverty, shepherds, shepherdesses, and Lourdes, France.

The schools.

Next to the church is a closed Catholic school the Academy of the Sacred Heart built in1825. Thie town was named Convent in honor of the sisters and their school. The school operated until the sisters left Convent. That year the St. Joseph School for African Americans was moved from the Sacred Heart Academy to St. Michael. Only a few years later St. Michael Parochial School opened in 1840. Although closed today, you can imagine the students and how busy this place once was.

There is a historic plaque sharing this area was also the site of the Jefferson College from 1831 until 1931. From the blog, Savingplaces.org, I learned that the Manresa House of Retreats for Jesuits, is the former site of the Jefferson College. The writer also shares, “…and once used aa barracks by Federal Troops during the Civil War.”

Sadly, it is not open to the public.

Church grounds and more

The church is filled with amazing stained glass. There is also a 500-pound bell from Belgium, and much more. Take the tour to hear all the stories!

In the last 200 years, the parishioners of St. Michael have gone through floods, hurricanes, yellow fever epidemics, economic depressions and war. Changes took place in 2002, when St. Michael was clustered with St. Joseph in Paulina, and Sacred Heart in Gramercy. Today, the three parishes are now working together.

Story of the Grotto

Built behind the main alter, the grotto was added in 1876. The grotto has a unique source for its construction; it was built using bagasse from sugar cane. Bagasse is crushed sugar cane residue and simulated stone. The actual alter is built from clam shells from the Mississippi River. Theron Oubre said the stones represented people who came seeking miracles. The grotto was built by a local resident Christophe Colomb, an artistic builder of stone and pottery. Florian Dicharry, a parishioner, served as the architect.

A further connection to the sugar cane history is the recessed dome of the grotto is fashioned from an overturned sugar kettle. This type of kettle was commonly used in 18^th century sugar production.

Other church details.

The church also houses the Henry Erben organ. This is the oldest continuously operating pipe organ in Louisiana. Henry Erbe was a world-renowned organ builder from New York City. Another unique feature is the Holy Water jar shipped from France to Jefferson College. In the 1800’s it was filled with olives. It was then moved to St. Michael Church where it held Holy Water. It was sold in the 1980’s, then when the church was restored, the owners returned it to the church.

The Cemetary

St. Michael’s cemetery and mausoleum sit next to the church. This area is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge. There is a sign erected by the Bourgeois Famille Louisiane, Inc. “that the cemetery is dedicated to the memory of our courageous Acadian ancestors who settled this area in the mid 1700’s. Once buried here, most of their original graves have been lost to time and the river.”

The cemetery is filled with Renaissance Revival tombs and gravesites that date back to the early 1800’s. While walking through, I even spied a stone belonging to a James Mather, former mayor of New Orleans.

Take a minute to walk through the tombstones and read some of the stories of those that lived here back when. This area is filled with stories, fields of sugar cane, rare Perique tobacco, plantations, and a culture unlike anywhere else.