Furniture, TVs and more will be auctioned off from decommissioned church

There will be an estate sale at the St. Gertrude the Great community center from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, with numerous items to be sold and proceeds to benefit the newly formed St. Michael the Archangel parish. 

 The Des Allemands Catholic Church merged in July with Paradis’ St. John the Baptist Catholic Church to form St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Paradis. The Archdiocese of New Orleans consolidated several church parishes due to economic and other challenges, with this merger part of that process. 

 Father Lance Campo, pastor of St. Michael the Archangel, said the sale will include the items from the church that will not be brought over to the new parish. It will be a wide array of items for sale, including a tractor, fans, kitchen tables and cabinets, a large commercial refrigerator, televisions, books, furniture, artwork and much more. 

“On some of those large items, we’ll be having more of a silent auction on those with bids,” said Campo. “The sale is going to include a lot of different things, both big and small.” 

St. Gertrude Church became a parish on June 25, 1955. Its annual Catfish Festival was established in 1975 by Rev. William McCallion as a fundraiser for the church, and became a very popular event with local families. 

In 2022, the Archdiocese told parishioners that the church would undergo a feasibility study to see whether it is viable for the parish to remain open as St. Gertrude battled through struggles compounded by COVID-19 and Hurricane Ida. With its church damaged, parishioners were having mass at the St. Gertrude rectory. 

The news came in late 2023 that St. Gertrude and St. John the Baptist parishes would be merged – that move officially came to fruition on July 1. 

Campo, who was named pastor of the new church after serving the community of St. Theresa of Avila in New Orleans, said the parishioners have made him feel welcome. 

“People (from St. Gertrude) are pretty happy to be back in the church,” said Campo. “And the people from St. John parish have been happy to have new parishioners, some new people joining them. They’ve been very welcoming to me, both the people and the leaders. 

“It’s been going well. The people who have been attending are getting to know each other and working together.” 

Campo said that process has been assisted by several church activities that are ongoing each month, including social groups, bingo, weekly prayer group and other outings.   

The sale will be held at 17336 Highway 90 in Des Allemands. St. Michael the Archangel Church can be reached via phone at 985-758-2668 or through e-mail at stmichaelthearchangel@arch-no.org.

 

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