Special
St. Francis de Sales Cathedral School: Steeped in history and tradition By Mary Anné Goodwin The founding of St. Francis de Sales Cathedral School in Houma is the cornerstone of Catholic education in Terrebonne Parish, and has a long and storied 150 year history with several name changes. First came the building and property … initially, education of children in Terrebonne Parish was held in over 46 one-room school houses scattered around Terrebonne Parish. Then, before the Civil War was to begin, the Houma College was planned. Its stockholders of local prominent citizens had a grand vision for a magnificent school for Protestant children. They employed the famous architect Henry Howard, who designed the historic Pontalba Apartments flanking Jackson Square in New Orleans, as well as the plantation homes of Madewood, Nottaway, Belle Alliance
and Bocage. On the nine acres now bounded by Barrow, Point, Aycock and Bond streets, they erected a beautiful antebellum two-story red brick building with a wooden cupola resting on a large garret. As fortune would have it, their new school only operated from 1858 to 1865 with its closure coinciding with the end of the Civil War. The beautiful edifice they had financed was now empty. Just a few years later, the Marianite Sisters of Holy Cross, a religious order of women dedicated to teaching and catechesis, received a request from the Archbishop of New Orleans asking the Sisters to open a school in Houma. Accepting the task, five Sisters (Claire, Stanislaus, Sebastian, Catherine and Mother Eutychius) planned their journey to Houma, not at all the quick trip we know today. They left New Orleans early in the morning traveling
34 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • October 2020
by train for their new mission. The Sisters waited patiently while the train ferry moved the train cars one at a time across the Mississippi River. By early afternoon they disembarked at the Terrebonne station in Schriever for the hackney coach ride to Houma and the home of a local parishioner. Once in Houma, arrangements were made for an “act of transfer” of stock from the Board of Trustees of the Houma College granting its nine acre grounds and building to the Marianites. The Sisters, three local ladies, and assorted helpers had the daunting task of restoring the school which had been empty for several years. Although still lovely on the outside, the interior was wrecked. The walls were defaced, the roof decayed and leaking; doors and blinds were broken providing easy access for critters. Outside, the fence was battered, allowing local cattle
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