History

  After the Civil War, in 1865, the Very Reverend Canon Charles M. Menard, and the priests of St. Joseph Church in Thibodaux, decided to construct a mission chapel about six miles down Bayou Lafourche. The chapel was built on the property of Mr. and Mrs. Vasseur (and Odilia) Bourgeois. The property was located along what is today Highway 1 on the west side of Bayou Lafourche "where the oak is on the road".  The chapel was named St. Charles, from which the community proudly takes its name today. The "oak on the road" was damaged by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 and completely removed in 2007.
  
  In 1912, many changes occurred in the St. Charles Church Community. The
Very Reverend Cannon Alexander H. Barbier of St. Joseph in Thibodaux petitioned the
Most Reverend James H. Blenk, Archbishop of New Orleans, to recognize the need for a separate church parish in St. Charles. On March 19, 1912, the Feast of St. Joseph, Father Albert S. Mauret was assigned as the first pastor in residence of the new  St. Charles 
Church Parish. Father Albert S. Mauret would remain pastor for 26 years until his death on January 29, 1928. During his pastorate, more property was needed to construct a new church.  A decision had to be made as to where the new church would be located. This was a rather controversial issue since people living on both sides of Bayou Lafourche attended mass at the chapel. Whatever the decision, some parishioners would have to continue crossing the bayou on the "pull ferry".  Finally, the decision was made to construct the new church on the opposite side of the bayou-the east side, under the ancient live oaks, which still lend their beauty to the property today. The property and residence were purchased from the Jules Beauvais family for $6,000. Half was paid in cash, and the remainder was covered by a two-year promissory note. Ten men of the parish gave their backing for the $5,000 needed to build St. Charles Church. The dedication of the new church was in 1914. The former chapel was moved to the new location, across the bayou on Highway 308, and was used as the Church Hall, until 2001.
                                                                                                                                              
  On February 12, 1917, a Sunday night, the church bells began to ring
frantically. The rectory, formerly the Beauvais home, was on fire. Very little was
saved, with the exception of vital church records. Therefore, a new rectory would
need to be constructed. Money obtained from the church's fairs, donations, and the
Sunday "picture shows", and the rental of pews helped generate the funds for the
new rectory. (The practice of renting pews was discontinued in 1944, under the
pastorate of Rev. Delepine, by order from Archbishop Rummel.)
                  
 Today, one hundred and eight years later, the church grounds are home to four buildings and the St. Charles Borromeo Cemetery. The original church, which is one hundred and six years old and now named Keller Hall, serves the community as classrooms for Youth Formation Students. The current Church Complex, constructed in 1989, houses the church, chapel, rectory, and administrative wing. The St. Charles Church Oil Well helped fund a portion of the current church facilities. The Church Hall has now been torn down and replaced with the Mauret Family Life Center which opened in August 2002.
   
 In 1917, families began using the St. Charles Cemetery rather than The Joseph Cemetery
in Thibodaux or the St. Mary's Cemetery in Raceland. The cemetery includes a new mausoleum and priests' tomb. Several other mausoleums have been added to the cemetery.
  
St. Charles Borromeo Church Parish is currently home to an estimated 800 families, and
continues to provide spiritual guidance and religious education to it's parishioners.
The parish is realizing its growing responsibilities as the community labors to make
the living body of Jesus grow. By the grace of God, a church of "living" stones is
becoming more and more visible, and each priest who has served the community
over the past 106 years has helped make this possible. At St. Charles Borromeo, we
are proud to say, "Our past was the birth place of our future!"