St. Eugene Catholic Church

St. Eugene Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic church in Grand Chenier, Louisiana. St. Eugene Parish is one of the newer church parishes in the Diocese of Lake Charles, having been established in 1961 by the Most Reverend Maurice Schexnayder, Bishop of Lafayette. It is one of the most isolated of the 36 church parishes, in the southern most reaches of the diocese.

1890 January

Sacred Heart of Creole was established. The Catholic community of Grand Chenier was first a part of Sacred Heart Parish. The parish was 160 miles wide, stretching from Hackberry and Johnson Bayou to the west, Grand Lake to the north and Grand Chenier to the east.

1892 December

The first pastor was Fr. John Engberink, a Dutch priest from the Netherlands. He travel by horseback, boat and by foot to reach his areas. He built the first chapel in December, 1892, now known as Immaculate Conception in Grand Chenier, on property donated by Mr. & Mrs. Alcide Miller.

1902

Fr. Hubert Cramers built St. Martin Church, on east Grand Chenier on land donated by Mr. & Mrs. George Mayne.

1936

St. Martin Church was replaced by St. Eugene in 1936 under Fr. Francis Bischof on land donated by Mr. & Mrs. Pierre Montie.

1957 June 27

Destroyed by Hurricane Audrey

1961

The Rev. Joseph Decoteau, M.S., later pastor of Our Lady of LaSalette Parish in Sulphur LA, was the founding pastor. St. Eugene Church was built in 1961 under his guidance, with the help of generous people.

Pastors who served the Grand Chenier Catholic Community BEFORE the establishment of an independent parish:

A new St. Eugene Parish was established in June, 1962 with Immaculate Conception as its Mission Chapel. Fr. Joseph Decoteau, who was then pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Creole, officially became its first pastor, then moved from Creole to Grand Chenier and stayed in a home given by a parishioner.

Pastors who served the Grand Chenier Catholic Community AFTER the establishment of an independent parish:

The present St. Eugene parish is 22 miles long and 8 miles wide, stretching from Superior Canal to the east, Mermentau River to the west, Gulf of Mexico to the south and Chenier Perdue to the north. In 1994 it consisted of about 200 families, many of which are cattlemen, farmers, fishermen, and oilfield workers.

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