History of Our Lady of Lourdes church parish

When the English took over all lands east of the Mississippi after 1763, Don Jose Vidal abandoned his concession near Natchez and received a land grant across the river in Spanish Louisiana. He built a new plantation called ‘Concord’. His brother, Fr. Matteo Vidal, offered mass for Catholics living in the area in Don Jose’s private chapel. This small chapel was abandoned after the Spanish relinquished control of Louisiana back to France. It was not until 1887 that the rector of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Natchez secured permission from Bishop Antoine Durier to minister regularly to the Catholics in Vidalia. Fr. Theophile Meerschaert laid the ground work for the new parish which he dedicated in honor of Our Lady of Lourdes. The first resident pastor, Fr. J. H. Cartissier, arrived in 1887. He and his assistant, Fr. Francis Grosse, worked in the area without a church or rectory. In 1890, Fr. Peter Cooney arrived as pastor. Fr. Cooney built the first church and rectory before his death in 1895. For the next 7 years the parish was administered by priests from the Natchez cathedral.