St. Christopher’s diamond jubilee set for Nov. 5

By Christine Bordelon
Clarion Herald

It has been three quarters of a century since Father Patrick J. Quinn, the founding pastor of St. Christopher the Martyr Catholic Parish, declared his parish “a big field with a lot of trees.”

Neither he nor founding parishioners would recognize the parish campus today with a church, school buildings, parish center and its surrounding neighborhood.

To honor the parish’s development over 75 years, Archbishop Gregory Aymond will celebrate and be homilist at Mass of Renewal Nov. 5 at 4 p.m., followed by a reception.
600 families in 1947

When St. Christopher was formally dedicated Nov. 13, 1947, there were already 600 families in the parish. Its territory was carved from St. Catherine of Siena and St. Agnes parishes.

Masses were first celebrated at nearby Ella Dolhonde School, with chairs borrowed from East Jefferson High School that were transported weekly by the Ruppert family. It was in the home of John Ruppert where Father Quinn had an office until the parish procured three U.S. Army barracks from Camp Plauche to serve as the temporary church and rectory.

By 1949, parish growth necessitated building a Catholic school and a convent for the Marianite nuns who operated the school until 1975. Marianite Sister Luke, the founding principal, had a staff of four nuns and three lay teachers for 427 children. The convent was renovated into an early-learning center in 2014.

In 1953, St. Christopher had 2,000 families, prompting a new parish census, the addition of seven new classrooms and a modern cafeteria, adding more nuns and hiring more lay teachers. To pay for campus growth, Father Maurice Gubler, the second pastor, instituted an envelope system. He encouraged every parishioner “who has an income,” whether married or single, to contribute.

Rapid growth
This parish grew alongside an archdiocese expansion between 1955-71 to meet suburban growth of New Orleans. Even with six Masses on Sunday at St. Christopher, the church was overflowing. New Catholic parishes were carved from original parish boundaries including: St. Mary Magdalen, St. Philip Neri, St. Edward the Confessor, St. Benilde and St. Clement of Rome.

Lay principals followed the Marianites, including the late Glenn Gennaro, Janice Noto and Ruth Meche, a vice principal who became principal in 1982 before serving nearly  40 years and being succeeded by her former student, Rachel Karl  Trahan, in 2021.

“I tell Ruth she is a fixture here,” said Dean Angerdina, who with his wife Jackie have been active St. Christopher parishioners for 46 years, serving as extraordinary ministers of holy Communion and bringing communion to the homebound. Individually, Jackie was a cafeteria monitor and in the altar society, while Dean is a 4th degree member of Knights of Columbus Council 4508 and a former preschool board member.

Their three children attended the school and CYO in the late 1970s-early ’90s with so many other neighborhood children that after just two bus stops, the school bus was full.

The Angerdinas credit the school for the strong foundation their children received, enabling them to excel at Jesuit and Archbishop Chapelle high schools and beyond.

“We’ve absolutely had the best experience at St. Christopher,” Jackie said. “My children played sports and have fond memories of their years here. It was truly a family. And we’ve always had good leadership with our pastors.”

New milestones
In 1975, a rectory was constructed, then a gym. The parish embarked on a remodeling project in 1981 to upgrade buildings and fashion a more contemporary-style church interior with a cry room and stained-glass windows.

For the parish’s 50th anniversary, the annual Christmas-tree-lighting Mass and caroling was inaugurated. The current playschool/parish center was dedicated in 1997.

In 1999, then-Auxiliary Bishop Gregory Aymond celebrated a 50th anniversary Mass for the school, with the debut of a Fall Fest and ministry fair. In February 2000, a brick-selling fund-raiser reduced parish debt, and the devotional chapel became an adoration chapel.

By 2006, St. Christopher had celebrated 10,454 baptisms, 8,199 confirmations, 2,409 weddings, and 3,885 funerals. Pastors have included: Father Quinn (1947-54); Father Gubler (1954-64); Benedictine Father Ignatius Fossier (1964-76); Msgr. Andrew Taormina (1976-83); Msgr. Louis Le­Bourgeois (1983-90); Father H.J. Adams (1990-98); Father Kenneth Harney 1998-2002; Father Frank Candalisa (2007-19) and current pastor Father Raymond Igbogidi.

The parish has numerous ministries, including adoration chapel volunteers, altar servers, lectors, music ministers, finance and parish councils, Altar Society, parish School of Religion, Boy Scout Troops 117 and 269, Circle of Friends Club, confirmation formation program, Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts, CYO, eucharistic ministers, Evenings for the Engaged, Holy Name Society, Home and School and Men’s clubs, Knights of Columbus, Mission Rosary Makers, Parish Enrichment Group (PEG), Outreach Ministry, ushers and hospitality ministers.

Two years ago, Rachel Karl Trahan returned to her alma mater as principal. Her parents, Merrith and Elen Karl, had moved into the parish in 1970 after they were married and sent Rachel and her five siblings to St. Christopher School. Her parents were school board members, involved in Scouts, RCIA, extraordinary ministers of the eucharist. Like their daughter, other teachers attended the school.

“It’s more of a family atmosphere,” said Elen Karl about St. Christopher. “Parishioners have strong bonds. When you tell them there is a need, they will come to the aid of anyone.”       

Since his arrival, Father Igbogidi has been evaluating parish needs. He has convened the finance council and parish council and kicked off a $600,000 capital campaign to renovate the church and parish center. 

“In my personal experience over the past 7 1/2 years at the parish, I have found the parishioners to be very loving, caring, generous, understanding, forgiving and very appreciative of even the smallest gestures,” Father Igbogidi said. “St. Christopher the Martyr parish is a community of God’s family sustained by the grace of God. We strive to witness to Christ in our community and to extend the kingdom of God beyond our parish boundaries, to the other ends of the Earth. May God bless the pioneers of the parish and all those who have gone before us. May the Lord be with us in the present generation and may the blessings and love of God lead the parish onward.”

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