Alphabet File page 85
Father LeDuc was a builder of the first rank. HE rebuilt the original church, which had been condemned by the architects. HE built churches at Bayou Binanchoa, Bayou cadet, Pearlington, Bayou LaCroix, Waveland, and St. Josephs on Dunbar avenue, and in his will he left money for the erection of a church at Edwardsville. HE opened St. Marys cemetery on December 22, 1872. His records show that in the year 1879 he attended 13 missions in addition to the Bay and during this year 382 were Confirmed; of this number 49 were converts. These facts are sufficient to stamp him as a missionary of apostolic zeal.
I Was Baptized by Pere LeDuc - In July, 1897, Father LeDuc decided to visit his native land. IN boarding the ship he hurt his leg. The injury hastened his death, which occurred August 27, 1897. HE was buried in France, far from his beloved parish. Forty years have passed since the death of Father LeDuc, but he is still loved by ;his spiritual children. Even to this day you can her the older members of the congregation say with a feeling of pride; I was Baptized by Pere LeDuc, showing that this was considered a distinct privilege and that a special function was imparted by his ministrations. His cause may never be submitted to Rome, but he has long since enjoyed domestic canonization at the hands of his people.
The third past of Our Lady of the Gulf Church was Very Rev. Florimon J. Blanc, January 1, 1898, to June 14, 1903,. Father Blanc was born in the Diocese of Le Puy in France, April 4, 1842. At the completion of his classical course he entered St. Marys Seminary at Baltimore. He was ordained for the Diocese of Natchez and, in the fall of 1870, began his missionary work in Mississippi. Only a man with the zeal of an apostle could stand the difficult missions of Aberdeen and Columbus back in the 70s, but zeal he had in abundance, and for 10 long years he lived the life of a pioneer missionary. From 1880 to 1890 he was pastor of Pass Christian where his record shows that he was a great builder and an able financier. As pastor of Biloxi from 1890 to 1898 he kept up this excellent work, and for this reason Father LeDuc requested that good Father Blanc succeed him as pastor of Bay St. Louis. bishop Heslin acceded to the wishes of Father LeDuc, and Father Blanc became pastor of the Bay about January 1, 1898.
During his short tenure of office Father Blanc lived up to all expectations. He repaired the church, bought the property where the present rectory stands, put electric lights in the church and made other important improvements. As pastor he endeared himself to all the people, and they loved him as a father.
Father Blanc fell ill about June 1, 1903. His condition failed too improve, and he went to Hotel Dieu for treatment. On Sunday, June 14, he died. On Tuesday, June 16, 1903, he was buried in the vault beneath the Calvary in St. Marys cemetery.
Father Aloise Says First and Last Masses in Diocese - Father Blancs successor was Very Rev. Aloise van Waesberghe, who served form July 1, 1903, to April 6, 1906. He was born in Ecloo, Belgium, on April 17, 1856. He was ordained in Malines on May 22, 1880, after having completed his theological course at the American college at Louvain. HE came to the diocese in December of the same year, and it is interesting to note that his first, as well as his last, Mass in the diocese was celebrated at Bay St. Louis. He spent nine years in the missions of Hancock and Harrison counties in addition to his work in other parts of the state. He was pastor of Pass Christian from 1896 to 1903. On July 1, 1903, he became pastor of Bay St. Louis.
Father Aloise, as he was affectionately called, was loved by the people of the bay. His excellent work in the diocese in general, and in this parish in particular, dew the attention of Bishop Hesilin, and Father Aloise was made honorary cannon and dean of the Mississippi coast - honors which were enjoyed by his illustrious predecessors, Father LeDuc and Father Blanc.
His untimely death on Friday, April 6, 1906, caused universal sorrow. Father Aloise was buried beside his predecessor in the vault reserved for priests in St. Marys cemetery.
Rev. John M. Prendergast was born in Natchez on January 30, 1870. He began classical studies under Rev. C. A. Oliver, D.D., at Jackson. Later he continued at St. Charles college, Maryland and Jefferson college, Louisiana. His philosophical and theological studies were made in Belgium and ate the University of Fribourg. Bishop Heslin ordained him to the priesthood in the Cathedral at Natchez on October 24, 1894. After his ordination he was appointed assistant at the cathedral, where he remained until 1896. Then he was appointed assistant at St. Pauls church in Vicksburg. His heroic work in the stricken town of Edwards will ever remain one of the most brilliant chapters in the history of the plague of 1897.
In December, 1897, he was transferred to Bay St. Louis. On August 18, 1898, he left for Santiago, Cuba, to serve as chaplain during the Spanish-American war. He spent some time in non-Catholic mission work, then became pastor of Gulfport. On June 23, 1906, he was appointed pastor of Bay St. Louis, a post which he held until January 17, 1918.
New and Greater Church Planned - On Saturday morning, November 16, 1907, a great catastrophe occurred. The parochial school for girls, St. Josephs academy, the Church of Our Lady of the Gulf and the Catholic rectory were destroyed by fire. The church was one of the oldest landmarks; its associations and memories made the loss irreparable. Father Prendergast, however, was not disheartened. He formulated plans for a new and greater church. On October 4, 1908, the cornerstone of the new church was laid by Rt. Rev. Thomas Heslin. The first Mass in the new church was celebrated by Father Prendergast on Sunday, December 13, 1908; it was likewise the day of the first initiation of the Knights of Columbus in Bay St. Louis. The architecture of the church is Romanesque; the proportions are 65 feet front by 149 feet in depth. Even to this day it is one of the finest churches in the Diocese of Natchez.
Many and great were the difficulties to be faced in the parish during these years. The zealous pastor not only met and solved these problems but, like a true missionary, he opened new fields. HE built the Church of St. Henry at Edwardsville, dedicated the church at Lakeshore and built the church at Clermont Harbor.
During his residence here Father Prendergast endeared himself to all the people. they recognized his splendid worth as a citizen and as a priest. The prosperity of the parish during his administration stamped him as an executive of rare ability; his profound learning was always evident; his eloquence was proverbial; his zeal, self-sacrifice and fatherly affection caused everyone to love Father John. Bay St. Louis sincerely regretted his departure for Vicksburg, where he became pastor January 17,1918.
Very Rev. Andrew J. Gmelch was born November 30, 1877 at Rohrbach, Germany. He made his ecclesiastical studies at Cullman, Alabama, and at New Orleans. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 14, 1901, in St. Stephens church, New Orleans. The early years of his priesthood were spent in Clarksdale, Vicksburg, and Merigold. In the fall of 1905 he became pastor of Bay St. Louis on January 17, 1918. (sic)
Fathers of Divine Word Are Welcomed - Father Gmelch quickly realized that Waveland and the adjoining missions were about ready for a resident pastor, and he consulted Bishop Gunn on the matter. The plan met with the favor of the Bishop, who had come to this conclusion while on a visit to the missions on November 16, 1912. ON July 27, 1918, Bishop Gunn purchased from the Jesuits a tract of land they had inherited. This acquisition made it possible to build a priests house and install a pastor at Waveland. On June 1, 1919, Rev. Michael Costello, Assistant at Bay St. Louis, as appointed to take charge of Waveland and the neighboring missions.