History of St. Francis Xavier church parish

Written by Fr. Chad Partain

“The story of the parish of St. Francis Xavier has been an epic in faith, zeal and sacrifice.” –  Archbishop Joseph Francis Rummel of New Orleans, 1936

Part I: Construction of a new Church

The soaring Neo-Gothic style brick clock tower of St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, with its pealing bells,  has long been one of the iconic landmarks of downtown Alexandria.  At the time of its completion in 1907 the 141 foot tower was the tallest man-made structure in Central Louisiana.  Its completion marked the culmination of a hope long cherished by a faith community ravaged by war, famine, sickness and flood.  Like so many historic structures St. Francis Xavier Cathedral speaks not only of engineering, art and science but also of faith, hope and love.

The present structure on the corner of Fourth and Beauregard Streets is the third church erected by Catholics in the city of Alexandria.  Few traces of those earlier structures have survived the years.  The town of Alexandria grew out of the small military post established by the French sometime after 1727 and maintained by the Spanish as ‘El Rapido’.  The name is derived from the series of low irregular falls that marked the channel of the Red River at this point.  The plan for a formal town, ‘Alexandria’,  was laid out and surveyed under the direction of Alexander Fulton in 1805.  Over 192 years have passed since the first small chapel was built in 1817 for visiting missionaries from Natchitoches who came down the Red River to celebrate mass four times a year in the small village ‘at the rapids’.  In the Cathedral collection French colonial chalices and a monstrance are the only remaining relics of that period.  That small chapel was later replaced in 1834 by a white wood-frame church, on Front Street, dedicated to St. Francis Xavier.  The building, constructed by Theophilius Hilton, measured 80 feet long and 36 feet wide.  The first resident pastor, Fr. Robert Doogan, took up residence in 1840.

St. Francis Xavier Church survived the destructive fire set by retreating Union troops that leveled almost all of Alexandria on Friday, May 13th, 1864.  As Alexandria slowly recovered from the ravages of war and the bitterness of Reconstruction the church grew too small for the congregation.  Foreseeing the need for a new structure Bishop Antoine Durier of Natchitoches ordered that no more money be spent on the aging church and that plans be drawn for a new building of brick and stone.  It took ten years to fulfill the bishop’s request.  In 1890 the Catholic population of Alexandria numbered about 800 souls.  Monies collected that year from all sources amounted to only $2,367.16.  The projected costs of a new church totaled over $40,000.

The priest who had the heavy responsibility of fulfilling Bishop Durier’s orders was Fr. Leonard Menard.  Fr. Menard was a native of France who had been recruited by Bishop Auguste Marie Martin for the Natchitoches diocese in 1875.  He was born on August 2nd, 1854 at Pleine, Fougeres in Brittany and was 21 when he volunteered for the American missions.  He was ordained in New Orleans on June 6th, 1877.  In 1883 Bishop Durier assigned him as pastor of St. Francis Xavier – a position he held for 29 years.  Fr. Menard shared Bishop Durier’s dream of a new Catholic center in Alexandria, the growing heart of Louisiana.  Railroads and the growing timber industry revived the economic life of the region and by the turn of the century Alexandria’s population doubled in size.  The growth in population demanded a new growth in educational opportunities.  In August, 1887 the Sisters of Divine Providence arrived to open an elementary school in the parish and in October of 1892 the cornerstone was laid for a new boys’ school.  St. Francis Xavier Commercial College, staffed by four Brothers of the Sacred Heart, was formally blessed by Bishop Durier on the second Sunday of September 1893.  Most of the parish resources as well as most of Fr. Menard’s own savings were used for the establishment of these parochial schools.

It was not until late summer of 1895 that sufficient funds were on hand to begin construction of a new church. Architectural plans were drawn by Mr. Nicholas Joseph Clayton of Galveston, Texas.  A noted church architect, Mr. Clayton designed three churches for the Natchitoches Diocese: St. Francis Xavier in Alexandria, Holy Trinity Church in Shreveport and St. Matthew’s Church in Monroe.  Mr. Clayton’s designs called for a Neo-Gothic styled church – the structure and design were heavily influenced by the Romanesque architecture of southern France as well as the High Victorian architecture of the period.  Because of the city’s new growth and expansion a new, larger site was chosen on the corner of Fourth and Beauregard Streets in the northern part of town, known as the Casson addition, on land that had once been part of the Flint-Thomas Plantation.

When the contractor, August Touissant, and the superintendent of construction, Dennis McManus, began work on the foundations Fr. Menard knew that he only had sufficient funds to bring the walls up to a height of four feet where the new flooring would be laid.  Over 700 barrels of concrete would be need just for the foundation piers.  To save money and cut costs Fr. Menard begged for materials.  Used bricks were salvaged from the ruins of Mooreland Plantation, the former home of Governor Thomas Overton Moore.  The home had been burned during the Red River Campaign of 1864 but the brick chimneys and foundations remained.  Governor Moore’s grand-daughters, Mrs. Leroy Stafford, Mrs. Louis Hakenyos and Mrs. Shirley Staples, donated the bricks for the new church.  Even today in the basement level many of those bricks still show scorch marks from the War between the States as well as thumb marks and finger prints from the slaves who fashioned and fired them.  Sand for mortar was not bought.  Fr. Menard had parishioners dig it out of sand bars in the Red River during low water and transport it to the building site.  Cypress for the subflooring was cut on Sunflower Plantation and donated by Mr. John Napoleon Belgard.

On December 3rd, 1895, the Feast of St. Francis Xavier, Bishop Durier celebrated a Solemn High Mass at the old church on Front Street.  After the final blessing the crowd and clergy processed to the building site where the bishop blessed the cornerstone and the foundations.  27 days later an early-morning fire destroyed the old church and rectory.  Rushing from the burning building at 1:45 am in his bare feet Fr. Menard lost everything he owed including his large library considered to be the most extensive in North Louisiana.  An even greater loss was suffered with the destruction of the church records and registers.  These records, dating back to the 1740’s,  had survived the fire of 1864 and could never be replaced.  The estimated value of the property destroyed was over $10,000 but the insurance coverage on both structures totally only $1,500.  A temporary wooden chapel was erected on the Fourth St. site for mass and services while construction continued.  Fr. Menard eventually moved into the sacristy of the still-unfinished church.  A statue of the Sacred Heart and some of the church vessels were saved and survive to this day in the cathedral collection.

In February of 1896, Mr. Patrick Kelly, the local undertaker, removed the bodies of six priests from the site of the old church on Front Street and re-interred them within the foundation walls of the new church.  Five of these priests served the parish as pastor or assistant: Fr. Robert Doogan, Fr. Jean Pierre Bellier, Fr. Jean Baptiste Avenard, Fr. Jerome Bres and Fr. J.M. Ledreux.  The sixth priest, Fr. Thomas Hayes, was ordained for the Diocese of Halifax in Nova Scotia.  He came to Alexandria on a visit to see his brother, a local lawyer and to relieve his tubercular condition.  He died as a guest of Fr. Hector Figuri in the rectory in 1849.

As construction costs mounted Fr. Menard requested permission to borrow funds.  Bishop Durier refused saying: “You have my consent for everything except one and that one thing is to saddle a debt on the church.”  Mr. Danny Williams began construction on the steeply pitched slate roof.  On October 19th, 1899 the Building Committee, C.S. Ransdell, Patrick Kelly, P.A. Huchez, A.B. Rachel, H. V. Gossens, and P.K. O’Shea, informed the bishop that the new church was debt free – no party could have any claim to it.  Fr. Menard said the first mass on the new altar on the last Monday in November, 1899.  Bishop Durier dedicated the new church on November 30th, 1899 before a crowd of over 800.  A choir of 32 voices performed Leonard’s ‘Mass in B’.  Miss Loula Hochendel accompanied the soloists with her violin.  Fr. Garesche preached the dedication sermon.  Misses Kramer, Josephine Hoy, Katie Rachal and Mary O’Shee took up the collection.

On the day of its consecration the new church of St. Francis Xavier was the largest religious building in the diocese – larger even than the cathedral in Natchitoches.  The outside length was 168 feet, the interior ceiling rose to a height of 43 feet with a front tower of 65 feet.  The original plans called for a tower of 140 feet but construction had to be halted due to lack of funds.  Finishing work and decoration would go on into the next century. Bishop Antoine Durier who had started the project did not live to see it completed.  He died in March of 1904.   He was succeeded by Bishop Cornelius Van de Ven.

In November of 1906, A.J. Touissant began to lay the 40,000 feet of board lumber needed for the tower scaffolding.  700,000 additional bricks raised the tower to 140 feet making a grand total of 1,800,000 bricks used in the total construction.  The original Clayton plan had called for a towering steeple but that plan was altered to accommodate a four-sided clock.  Nine foot diameter openings were left to accommodate the four clock faces.  In August of 1908 the massive clock works, weighing over 1200 pounds, was installed.  Three bells were placed in the tower.  One, the gift of Mrs. J Lamarque, weighs 1500 pounds and was blessed in 1903.  The largest bell, ‘Sacred Heart of Jesus’, weighs 2000 pounds.  It, together with a smaller bell, dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, weighing 750 pounds, were blessed by Bishop Van de Ven in January of 1908.

On August 6th, 1910, the Feast of the Transfiguartion of Jesus, Pope Pius X, responding to the petition of Bishop Van de Ven, suppressed the former episcopal See of Natchitoches, erected July 29th, 1853, and erected the new Diocese of Alexandria.  St. Francis Xavier Church was designated as the new cathedral for North Louisiana.

Part II – The Cathedral – Church

Since 1910 hardly a decade has passed without renovation, repair or improvement to the church.  In 1910 the Alexandria cathedral was still a work in progress.  The interior walls had been plastered but not painted and rough dark-stained bead-board covered the barrel vaulted ceiling.  Despite its lack of paint and polish the cathedral already had many of its elaborate appointments in place.

The centerpiece of the church is a magnificent walnut altar carved by German craftsmen employed by the Josephinum Church Furniture, Co. of Columbus, Ohio.  The walnut altar, purchased by the Ladies’ Altar Society in 1899 for $720.29, features three tall spires – the center spire towers over twenty feet tall.  The three spires top three large niches.  The center niche holds the altar cross of church bronze and quartz with a silver corpus.  This cross matches the six massive candlesticks on the main altar – a set purchased for the cathedral by Fr. Clement Neudling.  The two flanking niches support marble angels, donated in memory of John W. Ball, Jr by his parents.  The original tabernacle and altar stone are still found in the main altar which was painted white and gold during the 1930’s.

The side altars dedicated to the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph were purchased from the Josephinum Church Furniture, Co. in 1903.  They are similar in style to the 1899 main altar but are not identical.  The Blessed Mother’s altar, a gift from twelve Syrian families of the parish, features an almost life-size statue of Our Lady of Lourdes in the center niche.  The two side niches hold marble statues of St. Philomena and St. Agnes, two young virgin martyrs.  The two statues are identical in face and form.  Both carry the martyr’s palm but St. Philomena holds an anchor while St. Agnes holds a lamb.  In 1991, under Bishop Sam Jacobs, a new tabernacle was placed in the Blessed Mother’s altar to serve as the repository for the Blessed Sacrament.  The original tabernacle in the high altar was covered over with a carved panel and the sanctuary lamp repositioned.  The sanctuary lamp of Gothic design, the gift of the Mary M. Carter estate, was placed in the cathedral in 1951 under the direction of Msgr. Leon Roy Aycock.

The side altar of St. Joseph was donated by fourteen Italian families of the parish.  The central figure of St. Joseph and the child Jesus is carved from marble as are the two flanking statues featuring St. Aloysius Gonzaga and St. John Berchmens.  These two young Jesuits novices died at an early age and are regarded as patron saints of Catholic youth.  On Christmas Eve, 1905 three masses were celebrated at the same time on the three altars with Fr. Leonard Menard at the main altar, Fr. Michael Paul Nothofer at the Blessed Virgin’s altar and Fr. John Girards at St. Joseph’s altar.  Both the Blessed Mother’s altar and St. Joseph’s altar were originally dark walnut.  They were painting white and gold to match the high altar at the direction of Fr. Neudling in the 1930’s.

In front of St. Joseph’s altar is the marble baptismal font.  In 1921 Fr. Neudling complained that the original wooden baptismal font had to be braced with wooden blocks and bricks to keep it level.  Casper P. Kramer and his family donated a new font in memory of their mother, Anna Kramer.  The last child baptized from the old wooden font was Joseph Earl Lemoine.

On the left side of the sanctuary, the old ‘gospel’ side, is the bishop’ ‘cathedra’ or throne.  The current throne sits under a carved wooden baldechino or canopy.  This delightful piece of Victorian Gothic carving was made by the Josephinum Church Furniture Co. in 1910.  Originally the throne used by Bishop Auguste Marie Martin, the first bishop of Natchitoches, was placed here after the transfer of the see to Alexandria.  Bishop Martin’s throne was returned to Natchitoches in 1953 at the time of the centennial celebration of the establishment of that see.  Today the original throne is used as the celebrant’s chair in the Basilica-Church of the Immaculate Conception in Natchitoches.  A new throne was acquired in 1953 for the Alexandria cathedral by Bishop Charles P. Greco.  It is this throne that is still is use today.  When the new throne was acquired the carved wooden canopy was painted white and gold to match the altars.

At the center of the sanctuary is the new altar of sacrifice constructed during the extensive 1996 renovations.  This permanent fixed altar replaced the portable wooden altar used since the implementation of the 1970 missal.  The mensa of the altar, a solid block of red marble with white veining, the gift of the Camille F. Gravel and Tom David, Sr. families, rests on a base constructed from fragments of the old 1939 marble communion rail.

The marble communion rail, the marble wainscoting and the marble pulpit in place today are part of the major renovation undertaken by Fr. Clement Innocent Neudling, rector of the cathedral from 1921 to 1939.  It was Fr. Neudling who tirelessly pressed for improvements to the cathedral plant.  Much of the beauty that we see and appreciate today is due to his energy and dedication.  Fr. Neudling inherited a $47,500 debt on his arrival in Alexandria.  With a monthly salary of $75 Fr. Neudling took out $5000 worth of life insurance and borrowed against it in order to help fund many of the most necessary repairs.  His dedication and generosity was matched by that of his parishioners.  Even in the midst of a world-wide depression work on the cathedral never stopped.

In 1938 Mrs. Victor Kramer donated a new marble pulpit in memory of her husband and Mrs. Annie Kramer Jacobs and other deceased members of the Kramer family.  The elevated marble pulpit features bas-relief sculptures symbolizing the four evangelists and the Holy Spirit.  The reliefs are highlighted with gold mosaic.   The marble communion rail was the gift of the Sanctuary Society.  Mrs. Clarence Pierson, the president of the Sanctuary Society, and Mr. Phil Scalfano, co-chairman of the bazaar, were responsible for spearheading the raising of over $10,000.  The large angel sculptures that rest on the ends of the communion rails were the gift of an anonymous donor in 1933.  They were incorporated into the design of the communion rail in 1939.

The walls and pillars of the cathedral are painted in a neutral shade of beige highlighted with Victorian geometric stencil work in red, white and gold-leaf.  In 1949, under Msgr. Francis Joseph Plutz, the interior walls were repainted and waterproofed.  The original tongue and groove bead board ceiling was covered over with masonite panels and both the walls and ceiling were covered with decorative wallpapers in different patterns.  The ceiling paper featured a geometric design highlighted in blue, white and pink.  Various saints, angels and religious symbols were included in the decoration.  In 1964-65 Fr. Gerard Foley oversaw the installation of a new central air-conditioning and heating system.  The new temperatures in the church caused the 1949 wallpapering to slowly peal away.  They were removed completely during the 1979 renovations and the current color scheme was executed.

The Stations of the Cross are plaster composition work in Gothic style executed by the Daprato Statuary, Co.  They were the gift of Mrs. J. Lamarque for Lent 1900.  Originally painted in life-like colors the Stations were repainted in white and gold in 1979.

The two larger than life statues of white carrara marble featuring the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary found at the rear of the nave were originally placed in alcoves on either side of the high altar.  Placed in the church in 1906 they were the gift of Miss Lucia Brownell.  They were moved from the sanctuary to the nave in 1979.

The two statues in the vestibule depict St. Anthony of Padua and St. Vincent de Paul.  These two popular saints have stood near the entrance to the church since 1903.  They were crafted in plaster by the Daprato Statuary, Co. and were the gift of Mr. P.W. Harrison.  Originally decorated in natural colors they were gilded during the major renovations of 1978-79 under the direction of Msgr. Julius Walle.

In 1929 a tornado touched down across the river in Pineville.  High winds and pressure blew out several of the stained art glass windows installed in the church in November of 1899.  Fr. Neudling ordered new stained glass windows from the Jacoby Art Glass, Co. in St. Louis, Missouri.  These new windows would be ‘real’ stained-glass.  Instead of colored geometric patterns they would depict scenes from the life of Christ.  Today these windows are some of the largest and loveliest examples of leaded stained-glass in the area.  Some of the original 1899 windows still survive in the vestibule, the confessional and in the front facade of the tower.  The rest of the stained-glass throughout the church was placed between 1930 and 1953.

The large triptych depicting the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven, was installed in the back wall of the sanctuary above the high altar in 1931 together with the side windows depicting the Agony in the Garden and the Supper at Emmaeus.  In the decade that followed new windows were placed in the nave of the church depicting the Resurrection, St. Francis Xavier, the Return of the Prodigal, Jesus receiving the Little Children, Jesus in the home of Martha and Mary, the Good Samaritan, Jesus giving the Keys o f the Kingdom to St. Peter and the Birth of Jesus.  The glass for the two large rose windows, twenty feet in diameter, were installed in the apex of the cathedral transepts in April of 1946.  Smaller windows were placed in the transepts below the rose windows.  These show Christ the King together with the Four Evangelists on one side while on the other we see Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Bernadette, St Therese of Liseaux and two angels.  Smaller window were placed in the choir loft in 1949.

Beneath the large rose window on the wall of the north transept there is large life sized crucifix executed in natural colored plaster by the Daprato Co of Chicago.  The crucifix depicting Christ suffering on the cross was donated by Mrs. Leroy Stafford in 1913 in memory of her son Andes Hailey Butler, a young naval officer who drown in the line of duty.

The first music used in the solemn liturgy at the cathedral had been performed by a mixed choir of men and women accompanied only by a violin.  In 1904, in order to conform to the norms issued by Pope Pius X regulating sacred music, Fr. Menard ordered that only men could sing in the choir and that Gregorian chant would be performed .  To accompany the chant and polyphony Fr. Menard purchased a new organ for his church in 1905 from funds collected for his ‘dime bank’.  The Mason and Hamlin pneumatic pipe organ was a two manual and pedal organ with sixteen speaking stops.  This innovation of a male only choir did not last long as female soloists performed at the blessing of the bells ceremony in 1908.  In January 1929 Fr. Neudling accepted the donation of a new pneumatic organ of 1,188 pipes.  Mr. W.H.S. Foster was the choir director and Mrs. J.F. Harrington played the organ.  Because of the proximity of the cathedral and the local synagogue the cathedral choir often assisted the Jewish congregational choir on Friday nights while some of the Jewish voices could be heard at mass on Sunday mornings.  A fund for the purchase of a new organ was organized in 1959 and led to the purchase of an Estey two-manual organ with 30 stops and 24 ranks of pipes.  The new organ was valued at $35,000 in 1963.  That organ served the Cathedral until the installation of the present organ in 2003.  The present instrument, the largest in Louisiana, was presented to the Cathedral in part through the generosity of the Knights of Columbus in memory of Bishop Greco who served as Supreme Chaplain for the Knights for 34 years.  Music continues to be a vital part of life at the cathedral with a regularly scheduled concert series and organ recitals throughout the year.

The pediment of the cathedral’s main entrance is crowned by a large statue of St. Francis Xavier.  This statue was added to the Gothic style portico by Msgr. Leon Aycock in the 1950’s.  The tower is topped by a large metal cross.  This cross, which is lit at night by floodlights, was erected in honor of Bishop Cornelius Van de Ven, the fourth Bishop of the Diocese of Natchitoches and the first Bishop of Alexandria, who served as bishop for twenty-eight years.  The marble statue of St. Therese of Liseaux, the Little Flower of Jesus, located between the rectory and Xavier Hall was given to the cathedral by State Senator Dudley LeBlanc in 1950 in gratitude for favors received through her intercession.  The statue of Our Lady of Victory which now stands on the Beauregard St. side of the cathedral complex was donated in 1919 by the Mothers of the Cathedral congregation in thanksgiving for the safe return of their sons from the First World War.  The statue originally stood in the center of the old school yard between the rectory and the current Xavier Hall.  The grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, located behind the rectory patio, was erected in 2006 by Fr. Chad Partain as a thanks offering.

Behind the rectory is a large tree-sized Chinese wisteria vine.  Planted by Msgr. Leonard Menard after the construction of the new rectory in 1903 it is the oldest and largest surviving growth on the cathedral grounds and  the oldest wisteria vine in Rapides Parish.  It remains today as a beautiful symbol of the cathedral parish for it is a living thing – ancient and yet ever new.  Its massive knarled truck puts out new shoots each year as a sign of growth.  Its purple spring blossoms are a source of joy; its summer leaves a symbol of hope.  Like the vine the cathedral church is a sign of faith, hope and love – a living reminder of the past and a promise of hope and continuity for the future.

“All Powerful Father, today we rededicate ourselves to your service.

For what has been achieved we give You thanks;

for the work that still remains we ask your help.

Grant that under your providence St. Francis Xavier

may continue to share Your blessings with the people of Alexandria.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

One God, forever and ever.  Amen”  – Msgr. Julius Walle, 1976