St. Mary Magdalen Church, Rectory, and Cemetery

St. Mary Magdalen Church, Rectory, and Cemetery is a historic Roman Catholic church at Pere Megret and Main Street in Abbeville, Louisiana.It was built in 1911 and added to the National Register in 1988.HistorySt. Mary Magdalen Parish was established in 1842 by Pere Antoine Desire Megret. The first church, the remodeled home of Joseph LeBlanc, was built and dedicated in the spring of 1844. From the beginning it was placed under the invocation of Saint Mary Magdalen, a favorite saint among the descendants of the Acadian exiles all through South Louisiana. The name was always retained, except for a short time during Father Laforest’s administration, when after the 1907 fire, the church was temporarily called Saint Ann's, at least in the reports.In September 1847, Reverend Nicholas Francais was given charge of Saint Mary Magdalen Church, but Pere Megret continued to look after the Catholics of Abbeville and vicinity. Father Francais served there until after September 1850.In 1851, Archbishop Blanc made Vermilion Parish an independent parochial jurisdiction, with Saint Mary Magdalen’s Church as the parish church, and Reverend Hubert Thirion, a young French priest, the first resident pastor. He was joined by Reverend Francis Mittlebronn, a newly ordained priest, who became the first parish assistant. Father Thirion and Father Mittlebronn remained until sometime after October 12, 1852.The church was without a pastor for a time, then in February 1853, Reverend J. Regale was sent to take charge of the parish. Father Regale left Abbeville sometime in 1853, and in either November or December that year Abbeville was given its new pastor, Reverend Stephen (Etienne) Joseph Foltier, a French priest.In February 1854, a fire at the rectory destroyed the church records. The current parish records begin on February 20, 1854. There was an attempt to reconstruct the baptism records by having the parishioners come in to report the baptism of their children. The marriage records were completely lost.