History of St. Anthony of Padua church parish

With the establishment of the Texas and Pacific railroad through the tenth ward of Avoyelles in 1882, Catholic families in the area began to shape a small community. By 1888, this community had grown and the Catholics in the area were in need of a resident priest. At the time, the nearest parishes were in Cottonport, Mansura and Plaucheville.

In 1901, Fr. Alphonse Blomme, the pastor of Hessmer, celebrated the first mass in Bunkie in the home of Gervais Scallan. Fr. Blomme came once a month to offer mass for the dozen families that made up the Catholic population. From 1901 to 1904, mass was offered where ever room could be found. A committee was formed to finalize plans for a chapel. A town lot was donated by Capt. Alex M. Haas and by the end of the year a new chapel, dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua, was ready for use. The chapel was dedicated in honor of St. Anthony at the request of Mrs. A. M. Haas because she attributed the conversion of her husband to the intercession of St. Anthony. In 1915, a letter of petition was drafted to Bishop Cornelius Van de Ven asking that a resident pastor be assigned to serve Bunkie and the surrounding area. A monthly salary of $50 was promised. A new site was chosen for a larger church and on June 1, 1915 the present grounds were purchased from Mrs. Jennie Pearce.

On June 11, 1916, Bishop Van de Ven appointed Fr. Leopold Van Lint, a newly ordained native of Belgium, as the first resident pastor. As there was no rectory on his arrival, Fr. Van Lint lodged with various parishioners for his first few months in town. A rectory was soon built on the newly acquired land and the chapel was moved to the site.

As the parish grew over the next decade, it became evident that a larger church would be needed. The building committee launched a fund-raising campaign and construction began on October 21, 1925. The new brick Romanesque church was designed by Mr. W.R. Burk of New Orleans and built by E.E. Rabalais at a cost of $45,700.

On February 22, 1926, Fr. Van Lint was found dead in the rectory. He had suffered a massive heart attack. He was buried beneath the sanctuary of the unfinished church. Bishop Van de Ven appointed Fr. John Villeneuve Plauche as the second pastor. The cornerstone of the new church was blessed on June 6, and 2,300-lb. bell, donated by C. J. Pope in memory of his mother, was ‘christened’ on July 4. The large exterior statue of St. Anthony that crowns the front facade was blessed by Bishop Van de Ven on August 1, and the finished structure was consecrated by Bishop Van de Ven on Thanksgiving Day, 1926.

In 1931, Fr. Plauche erected a new school for the children of the parish. St. Anthony School was staffed by the Sisters of Divine Providence. The church was redecorated under Fr. Aloysius Olinger in 1944 and again, under Fr. Joe Montalbano in the 1990’s. Additional school buildings and a new convent were added to the complex in the early 1960’s.