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^ietnnmcsc rolugco Father Anthony Doan Tran has fount! a honic at Our Lady of the GuK Catholic Church in Day St. Louis, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary this weekend Tran escaped from his home country in 1980, landed in Virginia and later came to the Coast to work as a priest.
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Associate pastor’s adventures add to Our Lady of the Gulfs 150th anniversary
MARQUITA SMITH E.H. STOCKSTILL
: SON IIKKAIJ)
ike tin.- founders of Our Lady of llic Gulf
Catholic Church, Father Anthony Doan ■^lYan arrived in the United States hy hoat. Vietnamese refugee, 'Iran (led his war-torn leland in 1980 and landed in Roanoke, Va., \ug. .'10, 1980; he came to the Biloxi diocese 98f>. later serving at Sacred Heart Catholic rch in D’lbervillc and St. Alphonsus Church 'cean Springs.
>w associate pastor at Our Lady of the Gulf,
i	and his adventures add to the history of parish, which is celebrating its l.W-year versary this weekend as the oldest Catholic cli in Hancock County.
Lady of the Gulf is the oldest Catholic 5h in Hancock County, the third oldest ie Coast and the fifth oldest in the state.
Said Tran: "It fulfilled my wish. ... It made my dream come true."
Like the church, Trail has come a long way.
Born in 19!>0 in North Vietnam, he moved to the south with his family when he was W/<, began seminary studies in 1970 and stayed in his home country until 1980. That year, he set out for America, and he spent nine days and nights crossing international waters.
"Die on the sea or freedom." Tran said about his decision to (Ice. "If you want to escape, you have to accept that."
Like Tran's steel-like determination. Our Lady of the Gulf has outlasted tough times, from the early days, when "it became the center of social and civic activities," said Charles Gray, president of the Hancock County Historical Society.
Catholicism in Bay St. Louis, once known as Shicldsboro, dates to 1699 and Iberville's landing, but the 1800s maiked the emeigence of Hancock County into mainstream society. Gray said.
In the 18th century, the area had no churches, no schools, no real government. Some county residents wore Indian-style clothes, married American Indians and lived in Indian-style houses. Most of the original French settlers were Catholic, so bishops from the .old Natchez diocese sent priests to the Coast to perform marriages and funerals, and others visited from Mobile and New Orleans.
Taverns served as early meeting places.
"There were no centers for gathering until the church came in,” Gray said.
The founding of Our Lady of the Gulf on July Ml, 1847, ensured a Catholic stronghold for years to come. With no bridge to Harrison County until 192H (although there as an overland route through Kiln), Catholic influences
continued to filter in from Louisiana and the Mississippi River and look root.
The Coast’s third oldest Catholic congregation anti Mississippi’s fifth oldest, the parish originally included Bay/Waveland, I’iiss Christian, the Pearl River, Jourdan River and Wolf River communities and territory 25 miles to the north.
From the early days, education and religion went hand-in-hand, a tradition that continued with Thursday’s opening day of the church’s school.
"The early leaders from faris, Lyon and Bourg were themselves part of a church and culture that experienced seismic shifts after the French Revolution," wrote Our Lady of the Gulf pastor Father I’eter Mockler in a brief history for the anniversary events. "They knew that education led to freedom and opportunity, and if we today can brag about our schools, our enlightenment and progress in education, let us not forget we sec farther only because we stand on the shoulders of great men and women who are a part of our past.”
Former church pastors agree.
“The first pastor, (Father L. Stanislaus Buteux), who was a Frenchman ... he was an educator,” said Msgr. Gregory Johnson, pastor from 1969 to 1977. "He really worked hard to establish what used to be St. Joseph Academy, which closed in 196!)."
The church survived the yellow fever epidemic of 19fV1, the Civil War and even a fire on Nov. 16, 1907, that destroyed the old wooden church, rectory, school and convent along with beachfront houses and businesses.
One church history tells this story:
Please see Church, l'-2
Schedule of events
What: Historical re-enactment: The founding of the parish in 1847.
When: 10 a.m. Saturday.
Etc.: Picnic "Bring-A-Dish," hamburgers and hot dogs provided, games provided for the children. Storytellers from the Storytellers Guild of Poplarville will be on site. Memorabilia will be set up for viewing in the Community Center throughout the afternoon.
What: Guided Tours of Church.
When: 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday at the church.
What: "An Afternoon of American Sacred Song" by Our Lady of the Gulf Choir in Parish Community Center.
When: 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
What: Closing Mass with Contemporary Ensemble.
When: 5:30 p.m. Sunday.
Where: All events Our Lady of the Gulf, 228 South Beach Blvd., Bay St. Louis.
Details: 467-6509.