History of Our Lady of Prompt Succor
St. Joseph Parish in Gretna was established in 1857. It was the mother church for the West Bank of Jefferson Parish.
There was an influx of survivors from Cheniere Caminada after the hurricane of 1893, increasing the population of Westwego.
Father Ernest Ehrhart of St. Joseph Church came from time to time to celebrate mass in the little public schoolhouse on Sala Avenue. Mass was also celebrated in the homes of some of the residents.
On February 23, 1905, lot #11 on Laroussini Street, measuring 100’ x 320’, was donated by 12 Westwego men to St. Joseph Church in Gretna to be used for a church and presbytery in Westwego. The 12 men – Hypolite Eloi, Victorin A. Pitre, Ernest Lefort, Andre Curol, Leo Decures, Adrien Ortiz, Adrien Curol, Victor Arnaudin, J. Dupre Terronne, Felicien Sandras, Leograd Pitre, Edouard Pitre – had bought the lot from Alphonse A. Lelong.
On the north side of this site, on June 7, 1906, the Very Reverend Canon J.B. Bogaerts dedicated a new chapel as the Church of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, a mission of St. Joseph Church. A cemetery was then established on the south side of the lot, Cemetery No. 1.
In 1919, Msgr. Peter Wynhoven, pastor of St. Joseph Church, and Fr. Albert R. Koening purchased for $1600.00 the Jesuit Church on St. Charles Avenue, which was slated for demolition. It was photographed, marked, dismantled, and shipped across the river to Westwego, where it was stored in someone’s barn.
On May 15, 1919, Marrero Land donated four 32’ lots measuring 120’ x 130’ at the corner of Fourth Street and Avenue A to St. Joseph Church. The Jesuit church, called “Little Jesuits”, was rebuilt on this property and dedicated Our Lady of Prompt Succor Church on October 31, 1920, with Fr. Koenig as its first Pastor. Our Lady of Prompt Succor Parish was established on February 8, 1920. The property was donated to OLPS by St. Joseph on March 9, 1921.
All of the current property was either bought or donated over the succeeding years, including the cemetery property and School property.
On May 7, 1920, Fr. Koenigh bought a house at the eastern corner of Fourth Street and Avenue A from Dr. Julius R. Fenandez for $2600.00. This became the first rectory at OLPS.
Prior to the purchase of this property, Fr. Koenig and all priest before him who visited Westwego came from St. Joseph in Gretna on foot, by boat, or on horseback.
On March 19, 1921, lot #11 on Laroussini Street, including the Chapel and cemetery, were donated by St. Joseph Church to OLPS Church.
There being no further need for a Chapel after the “Little Jesuits” Church was dedicated in 1920, the Chapel was closed and used as a parochial school. In 1922, the steeple was removed and the Chapel was moved to a lot on Avenue A, across from the present Church, to become the first OLPS School.
In 1923, the Chapel/school was converted into a convent for the nuns, on the site of the present Badeaux Hall, and a new 2-story building was built, the second OLPS School. The first nuns were Sister M. Bonaventure and Sister Marcella, Order of Carmelites.
In 1926, the current rectory was built.
In 1929 the first half of a new convent was built on the site of the present Badeaux Hall. In 1952 an addition was made to the convent, to its present size.
The auditorium was built in 1932.
In 1945, the second school was moved to a site facing Avenue B., next to the auditorium.
The first half, Avenue A side, of the third school was built in 1949. In 1961, the second school was demolished and, due to an enrollment that exceeded 1000 children, an addition to double its size was made to the third and present school.
Circa 1954 – 1955, the “Little Jesuits” Church was moved to a site behind the convent.
On June 3, 1956, the present OLPS Church was dedicated. There being no further need for the “Little Jesuits” Church, the building was either sold or demolished.
With the arrival of the Selesian Sisters in 1987, the house next to the rectory was purchased, enlarged, and converted into their convent.
More recently, a section of adjacent property between OLPS Church and Cemetery #1 from OLPS parking lot behind the Convent.
All buildings except the Chapel of 1906 were developed under the guidance of Msgr. Albert R. Koenig, who served the area as a visiting priest from St. Joseph Parish from 1913 to 1920, then as the first Pastor of OLPS from February 8, 1920, to his retirement in 1962. He saw all of his dreams come to fruition.
The Pastors who followed Msgr. Koenig and preserved his dreams were and is;
Msgr. Raymond Wegman, 1962 – 1966
Msgr. John Newfield, 1967 – 1971
Fr. Anton Perkovic, 1971 – 1973
Msgr. Winus Roeten, 1973 – 1977
Fr. Anthony Serio, 1977 – 2003
Fr. David Rabe, 2003 – 2006
Fr. Hoang Ming Tong, 2006 – July 1, 2007
Rev. Edward M. Grice, July 1, 2007 – July 1, 2015
Rev. Emile G. “Buddy” Noel, III, July 1, 2015 – Present