St. Michael The Archangel Catholic Church in Paradis held its first catfish rodeo Saturday, Jan. 24. The 25 fishing teams caught over 495 pounds of fish during the event.
Denise Matherne, the catfish fundraiser chair, said the fundraiser was inspired by the history of St. Gertrude in Des Allemands.
“For years, St. Gertrude hosted the Catfish Festival,” Matherne said. “We thought we could honor that heritage while at the same time doing something new and different.”
In 2023, the New Orleans Archdiocese announced church merges affecting 11 area parishes. St. Gertrude in Des Allemands and St. John the Baptist in Paradis merged to become one new parish in summer 2024. The final mass of St. Gertrude the Great was celebrated in June 2024 by Father Ray Hymel, who expressed sadness but reminded his parishioners that they are the church, not any building, according to reporting by the Clarion Herald.
Nicole Dufrene, a member of the fundraising committee for the church, said the community is in an area with fabulous fishing adventures.
“Our hopes were to catch enough catfish to donate to the church for their annual Lenten fish frys,” Dufrene said. “Fundraising is essential to the success of our church parish. We have our religion education building that needs repair since hurricane Ida.”
Dufrene said over 100 people attended the event. Attendees enjoyed pulled pork plates and sandwiches while listening to Tet Dur perform live music. Tables of sweet treats were also displayed and attendees participated in a silent auction.
Each person that entered the rodeo received a goodie bag sponsored by business donations.
Dufrene said the church hopes to make the rodeo an annual event.
First place in the Jug Line Division was team Big Cat Killers, who received a $222.75 payout. First place in the adult division was Eddie Bailey and first place in the child division was Issah Ledet.
“Our community was amazed to see catfish so large,” Dufrene said. “Our lunker – the largest fish from each participant – was displayed [at the event].”
