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Father Stanislaus Buteux
Russell Guerin
When the census of all of Hancock County numbered only about 350 names and land was being sold by the federal government for $1.25 per acre, a solitary Catholic priest followed the order of his superiors and came down from Indiana to Shieldsborough. His duties were to attend to the spiritual needs of the area residents, thus making him a missionary in every sense of the word. There is evidence that his responsibility extended from Pearl River to Wolf River, including the area around Jourdan River.
He was to minister to the long established settlers, as well as those many settlers traveling here. There were also the Choctaws who had not yet been sent to Indian territory, many hiding out is the swamps of Bayou LaCroix.
The year was 1847. There was no church in Shieldsborough, and Fr. Buteux took up temporary quarters as the house guest of John B. Toulme, using an old county building for services.
Not a great deal is known about Fr. Buteux?s early history, and indeed, one must wonder at the abilities of a man sent to such responsibilities.
We know that he was bom in Paris in 1808 and took priestly vows in 1836. He was from a pious family from which his brother also took a calling to ministry, in this case to become a Jesuit. He was martyred by Iroquois in Canada.
It must not have been long before Fr, Buteux was sent to missionary work, as he was to be found near Terre Haute, Indiana in March 1840. At that time, he was mentioned in a letter from Bishop Celestin of Indiana to Bishop Blancq of New Orleans. The letter indicates that Buteux was to send Bishop Porter?s note for $200, and that Buteux had borrowed that amount from another source. The problem seems to have been connected with the mention of Buteux?s church at Thralls having just burned.
Later, in October 1840, documents described Buteux as he accompanied six nuns by stagecoach ?through thick forests on a nonexistent road? to Indiana. The nuns, who did not speak English, had come from France by way of Brooklyn and Philadelphia and Evansville. When they arrived in Vincennes, they were met by Fr. Buteux who had been assigned as their chaplain.
The nun in charge became the founder of the Sisters of Providence, which now ministers in twenty states. Her name was Mother Theodore Guerin. She was canonized as St. Thedora in 2006.