Did you know that at the time of the 75th Anniversary of the Church, 25 years ago there was a vitality and sense of purpose in the parish Reminiscent of the days of Fr. Joseph Dube and Father Bartholomew Hines? They said “What’s next on the St. Francis Xavier Horizon? Only the good Lord knows. The journey to our centennial should prove very interesting”.

Did you know that in October 1991, Father William Norvel was appointed the 14th pastor of St. Francis Xavier, and the first African American priest to hold the position?

Did you know that on June 7, 1981, under the direction of Father Melton Elwood, the mortgage on the new church was burned.

Did you know that when the bids came in to build a new church, the lowest bid was $120,000. It was approved by the Bishop on September 24, 1978 at 3pm, forty years this Monday, Bishop Sullivan dedicated the new St. Francis Xavier Church.

Did you know that permission to build a new church was given on June 1, 1976? Parishioners laid-out a fund raising plan. At that time they had $80,000 in trust. By February 1, 1977 they had $161,000 in trust.

Did you know that when Bishop Tracy retired Bishop Joseph Sullivan was appointed, the issue of the church was revisited? This time a committee of “New and Experimental Parishes” came to see Fr. Hines. His (Fr Hines) assessment of their group was “They could not see building a church here…..when St. Agnes is down the street half empty. I also got the distinct im- pression….that the whole idea was to save St. Agnes.

Did you know that because of the condition of the church, Bishop Tracy approved the building of a new church at a cost of $150,000. According to Father Hines, the Bishop’s idea was that it should be built in such a way that if the population moved out or there were not enough people to continue the church, it could be used as an auditorium or gym or some other purpose. The Bishop and the people at the chancery wanted to avoid something that would be strictly a church – big bell towers, stained glass windows etc. the idea was to have it free of pillars.

Did you know that changes in the school situation (a merger with St. Agnes that created a interparochial system) resulted in a drastic decline in enrollment, and served to rally parishioners to come to the defense of their Church and school? Some 300 parents participated in a prayer vigil at the Catholic Life Center to dramatize the need for solving the problem. Father Hines, who was operating the church on a skeleton crew to save money for a new structure, was leading the charge.

Did you know that at the Golden Anniversary Banquet in 1969 on the program were Dr. B.V. Baranco, whose brother Raymond and his sister Sarah Leone led the movement to build St. Francis Xavier? Also on the program were; Miss Mary Sibrie, whose work with the church and school spanned most of her life, Norman Toles, Lynn Ricard a student at Redemptorist High School, the Holy Family Sisters, and the Josephites.

Did you know that Father Edward Ledoux began a mission for the people of Scotlandville and the students of
Southern University Celebrating Sunday Mass in the Cook Theater? The theater mission operated for seven
years until Immaculate Conception was built – another Church constructed by the St. Francis “mechanics.”