St. Charles Borromeo to break ground on plaza that will tell 300-year-old story of church

St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church’s tricentennial celebration will continue Saturday at 3 p.m. at a special unveiling and groundbreaking ceremony.

Mary Schmidt is a SCB historical committee member who has been working on events to celebrate the 300th year of the church. She said on Saturday the church will break ground on a commemorative memorial called Ascension Plaza – a permanent structure built to tell the story of 300 years of the Catholic church on the German Coast, the churches built there, the 38 pastors who have lead the church, the timeline that captures the church’s history, and the importance of the Mississippi River.

“We are a proud parish because as we are deeply diving into our history for this year … there were so many times our parish really should have just ceased to exist,” she said, explaining that early on in the creation of the church parish the church withstood settlers who died, hurricanes, fires, and disagreements between a bishop and trustees. “Here we are now a thriving and vibrant parish … clearly the hand of God is there … no doubt.”

Schmidt said that now in its 300th year, the church gets to create what will become our history going forward.

“Fr. Mixie has approved a tricentennial commemorative memorial to represent our first 300 years, built to last the next 300,” she said. “Parishioner architect, John Campo, designed the monument to be built just inside the cemetery entrance on the exact spot the red church oak stood before it split in half and fell. This permanent structure will represent 300 years of the Catholic church.”

The plaza’s construction is set to be finished in November, just in time for the large tricentennial event being planned.

Attendees of Saturday’s ceremony will also see the unveiling and dedication of an installation of Father Paret’s watercolors around the Little Red Church replica.

Paret was the pastor of the Little Red Church for 21 years before, during, and after the Civil War. He captured life at the time through journaling and painting watercolor landscapes. In 1987, 53 of Paret’s watercolors were discovered — still bound in their original sketchbook — among his personal effects. A book, Plantations by the River published by LSU Press, contains 28 of those watercolors.

Schmidt said it is difficult to overstate the historical significance of Paret’s sketchbook of landscape watercolors to the history of St. Charles Red Church. Built on the West Bank by the Capuchin priests in 1723, the Little Red Church was long ago claimed by fire but evolved into the symbol of strength and faith that now stands as St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Destrehan.

“Visual sources are rare prior to the mid-19th century,” she said. “Photography was in its infancy and artwork was usually commissioned and posed. Paret, pastor of the Little Red Church from 1847-1869, used a bird’s eye view technique for his landscapes … restored and published, they have become historians’ most valuable source for documenting plantation life in the lower Mississippi region prior to the Civil War. They provide a fresh view of social activities, plantation layouts, build types, fence and garden types, interiors, and the costumes for the entire parish during the years before the Civil War.”