What started out as a mission of Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Hahnville is now one of the most well-known churches in the area and the host of one of the largest local festivals.
Home to more than 630 households, St. Gertrude Catholic Church in Des Allemands offers five Mass times per week, with Fr. Joseph Duc Dzien presiding, and many other activities for its parishioners.
During the school year, members can participate in the church’s Bible study every Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
Ronald Matherne leads the Bible studies and said it is a great place for anyone in the community, young and old, to learn about the Good Book.
“It’s for anybody that wants to come. At home we read the readings and answer questions, then we meet and discuss everything that’s been read,” Matherne said.
He said that many times, the study guide questions will lead to even more questions and the members of the Bible study group can work to find answers together through God.
Bible study will start up again in mid-August with Second Corinthians.
Kids can be a part of the strong Catholic Youth Ministry, which puts on a Christmas play each year and works tirelessly to clean and improve the church. The church also holds a vacation Bible school each summer and has an active Ladies Altar Society.
St. Gertrude Catholic Church was first built in 1955 with Father Joseph Pooley presiding over the first Mass.
Before that, there was a small chapel built in 1901 along the bayou for locals to attend Mass.
The church’s first communion class graduated in 1904 and families were called to church on Sundays by the ringing of a bell.
Historian Opal Dufrene said that the bell was an integral part of the community in the church’s early years.
“By the third bell, you better be at church or you better be running because Mass was ready to start,” Dufrene said.
The entire community joins St. Gertrude each year to celebrate the Catfish Festival.
The Rev. William McCallion founded the festival in 1975 to raise money for the church and to stimulate the economy. The same year, Governor Edwin Edwards signed a proclamation declaring Des Allemands the Catfish Capital of the World and in 1980 the Legislature passed a resolution naming it the Catfish Capital of the Universe.
Mass times include 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, 8 a.m. on Monday, an 8 a.m. Communion service on Wednesday, 4:30 p.m. Mass and Adoration on Thursday and 5 p.m. Mass on Saturday.
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