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Fr. Stanislaus Buteux, True Benefactor
As pastor of Our Lady of the Gulf Church, Father Stanislaus Buteux invited the Brothers of the Sacred Heart in Mobile, Alabama, to come to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, a small Gulf Coast city officially named Shieldsboro until 1875.
Father Buteux had built a classroom for boys behind the Church in 1852 and had engaged four Christian Brothers to teach there. But in September of 1853, three of the four died from yellow fever, and the other withdrew. In June of 1854, Father Buteux wholeheartedly welcomed three Brothers of the Sacred Heart: Br. Basile Vamable, a 21-year old French missionary who was director; Br. Aloysius, a former Canadian Christian brother who was a novice; and another French missionary, Br. Leo Maligne.
The parish paid Br. Aloysius and Br. Basile $18 a month for teaching about 30 local boys; Br. Leo, the cook and carpenter, received no salary. In accordance with a written contract, the Brothers collected fees from a few resident students who lived with them in the presbytery. It was a rough start financially and otherwise. The young, inexperienced director failed to inspire confidence, and Br. Aloysius, who was unstable, soon left religious life. Br. Joseph Deimir, another novice, replaced him.
In the fall of 1854, Father Buteux traveled to France to ask Br. Polycarp Gondre, the superior general, for more Brothers to staff a boarding school. Fr. Buteux agreed to pay the passage for four Brothers and pledged to donate half of the cost of the property if the Brothers built. He returned in January of 1855 with four Brothers.
On February 24, 1855, the Brothers bought a strip of land 140 feet wide between Bookter and Union Streets. Bounded by the Bay of St. Louis, it stretched back 40 arpents, about 1.5 miles, almost to what is now Highway 90. Robert Clannon of New Orleans sold the Brothers the land for $4,000. Br. Alphonse (John-Baptiste Bernard), the provincial superior, signed a deed of trust, mortgaging the land back to Mr. Clannon, agreeing to pay him $1,000, plus 6% interest, every six months for two years.
With the help of Br. Lucius Ramond and a few local workers, Br. Leo designed and constructed a modest wooden building at a cost of $3,800. It served as a school and residence combined. The Brothers named their new school St. Stanislaus Academy after the patron saint of youth and in recognition of Father Stanislaus Buteux, a true benefactor whose help and encouragement enabled the Brothers to establish a simple school that would soon grow from its humble beginnings into the most renowned educational institution along the Gulf Coast.
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One of four promissory notes for $1,000 each whereby Father Buteux loaned the Brothers $4,000 at 6% interest to finance the building of St. Stanislaus Academy.
Humble Beginnings, 1854 - 1870