2022-0295
Title
Proclamation: 300th Anniversary of St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church
Body
P R O C L A M A T I O N
WHEREAS, St. Charles Parish, formerly referred to as the German Coast, is the 3rd oldest settlement in Louisiana after Natchitoches and New Orleans; older than the nation itself; and,
WHEREAS, 300 years ago in that first German Coast Settlement in 1722, St. Jean des Allemands Catholic Church was established at Karlstein, site of the first German Villages; and,
WHEREAS, in 1723, in the earliest census of the German Coast by French Officials, it reads: “Entry No. 45 The Chapel at the end of a yard surrounded by ditches and about 15 toises square; a house, a kitchen at the end of the yard; a garden, a cemetery covering all one arpent and a half”; and,
WHEREAS, St. Charles Civil Parish has been intricately linked for centuries to its religious namesake, the ecclesiastical Parish of St. Charles Red Church; and,
WHEREAS, Tradition says that in 1740, St. Jean des Allemands Catholic Church was relocated to the east bank and referred to as “St. Charles” or “Church of the Germans”; and,
WHEREAS, in 1770, Louisiana’s Spanish Governor Luis de Unzaga gave land grants to establish churches and cemeteries on the German Coast-one each in the ecclesiastical parishes of St. Charles and St. John; and.
WHEREAS, in 1806, the original log church in Destrehan burned and was replaced by a wood framed church painted red and thereafter referred to as “The Little Red Church”; and,
WHEREAS, St. Charles “Little Red Church”, now known as St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Destrehan, remained on the Spanish land grant through the centuries serving as the mother church for many mission chapels in the Parish; and,
WHEREAS, St. Charles Borromeo Cemetery is the oldest German cemetery in the South. This Spanish land grant and the church and cemetery along with their centuries old neighbors, Destrehan Plantation and Ormond Plantation, remain in St. Charles Parish’s Mile of History as symbols of our remarkable heritage; and,
WHEREAS, on the occasion of the 300th Anniversary of St. Charles Borromeo Church in Destrehan, we remain proud of the rich heritage and the traditions and the continuous religious services the church has provided to the area residents. For 300 years, St. Charles Parish residents have been the beneficiaries of this rich heritage and these traditions; and,
WHEREAS, the year-long celebration begins with the Family Day Picnic on Sunday, November 6, 2022, with many events planned throughout the following twelve months, building up to the Big Celebration Day, Saturday, November 4, 2023.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, WE THE MEMBERS OF THE ST. CHARLES PARISH COUNCIL AND THE PARISH PRESIDENT, DO HEREBY PROCLAIM AND LET IT BE KNOWN THROUGHOUT THIS GREAT LAND, THAT THE YEAR 2023, SHALL BE A YEAR OF CELEBRATION AND JUBILATION RECOGNIZING THE 300TH ANNIVERSARY OF ST. CHARLES BORROMEO CATHOLIC CHURCH.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, WE THE MEMBERS OF THE ST. CHARLES PARISH COUNCIL AND THE PARISH PRESIDENT, DO HEREBY PROCLAIM SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2023, AS
"ST. CHARLES BORROMEO CATHOLIC CHURCH DAY"
IN ST. CHARLES PARISH AND HEREBY INVITE ALL CITIZENS TO ATTEND THE CELEBRATION.
MATTHEW JEWELL DICK GIBBS
PARISH PRESIDENT COUNCILMAN, DISTRICT III
BETH A. BILLINGS NICKY DUFRENE
COUNCILWOMAN AT LARGE, DIV. A COUNCILMAN, DISTRICT IV
HOLLY FONSECA MARILYN B. BELLOCK
COUNCILWOMAN AT LARGE, DIV. B COUNCILWOMAN, DISTRICT V
LA SANDRA DARENSBOURG GORDON BOB FISHER
COUNCILWOMAN, DISTRICT I COUNCILMAN, DISTRICT VI
MARY K. CLULEE JULIA FISHER-CORMIER
COUNCILWOMAN, DISTRICT II COUNCILWOMAN, DISTRICT VII
300th Anniversary-St. Charles Borromero.2022.pcl.docx