St. Francis Xavier: Spreading roots for 100 years

By Peter Finney Jr.
Clarion Herald

The sprawling oaks of Old Metairie frame the campus of St. Francis Xavier Parish and School, which on April 20 will celebrate 100 years of serving the spiritual needs of Catholics who still flock to the parish because of its deep connection to their own family’s history.

“There’s a strong sense of community and a great allegiance to St. Francis Xavier,” said Father Joe Palermo, who has served as pastor for the last six years. “Even though people move away, they come back here for baptisms and funerals, and they talk very fondly of the sacraments they received here and their involvement with the school. There’s a very strong bond and a very strong sense of family.”

The centennial Mass will be celebrated April 20 at 4 p.m. by Archbishop Gregory Aymond. Father Palermo will deliver the homily. A parish meal and celebration will follow.

Father T: A patient builder
Msgr. Andrew Taormina, who served for 31 years as pastor and built the new parish church before retiring in 2018, is still helping out at the parish when needed.

“He was the backbone of this church,” Father Palermo said of his predecessor, who slowly acquired apartments and homes to create space for the new church. “It took 23 years from the initial green light to go forward with building the church. The church is paid for, and we will be forever grateful to him. Father T still helps us out with confessions and celebrates Mass when someone is on vacation.”

St. Francis Xavier was formally established on Jan. 1, 1924, by Archbishop John Shaw, who carved out the new parish from St. Catherine of Siena Parish. Father Francis Xavier Rombouts was named the founding pastor, and the archbishop allowed him to choose his patronal saint, the great Jesuit missionary to the East, for the new parish.

Father Rombouts first celebrated Mass in a tiny chapel in Bucktown before he leased a home on Orpheum Street, which is still standing a few blocks from the present church. That home became the parish church and rectory and the site of Mass for two years while a building was constructed on Metairie Road that today is the church office.

Mercy sisters ran school
With the help of the Sisters of Mercy, who commuted by streetcar to Metairie every day, Father Rombouts opened a school in 1926.

In 1939, Father Felix Miller, the second pastor, built a larger church with a seating capacity of 300 that is now St. Joseph Hall. Due to a continued increase in the number of families in Metairie, Father Miller planned for a new school in the 1940s, which opened as a single-story facility in 1951, the first floor of the current school.

Evangelization flourishing
St. Francis Xavier today has more than 50 thriving ministries, and Father Palermo said the success in evangelization rests with overwhelming lay involvement. An adult faith formation program regularly attracts more than 100 people on Wednesday nights.

“Sometimes it’s videos or movies, sometimes it’s talks and presentations,” Father Palermo said. “It’s always coupled with a simple meal and then sharing and discussion. People are always asking, ‘What’s the next thing?’”

More than 300 people are active members of the parish’s seniors program, which offers an array of fun and educational activities.

“It’s guided by the priests, but driven and staffed by the laity,” Father Palermo said. The recent St. Joseph altar attracted more than 3,000 visitors and fed 1,800.

“Anything that was still there at the end of the day – the cookies, sweets, fruits and vegetables – were evenly divided and delivered to 10 charity ministries in the archdiocese,” Father Palermo said. “Some people told us they never get fresh fruits or vegetables. We purchased $5,000 worth of fruit and vegetables to decorate the altar, knowing it would then be given away.”

The parish has added stained-glass windows and other decor to the church and renovated the parish hall and parish center to accommodate high levels of daily activity.  The school has new computers, new windows, a renovated library and a STEM lab.

A new bell tower, part of the original church plans, but delayed because of the cost, is being erected on the right side of the church and should be completed by the summer.

The school, which has an enrollment of 410 students, is a past winner of the U.S. Department of Education’s Blue Ribbon School of Excellence Award. Mercy Sister Nicholas Schiro, the former principal, and Mercy Sister Evelyn Fournet, a longtime teacher, will bring up the gifts at the Mass.

After Mass, the parish of 1,600 registered families will enjoy a meal in the church yard and auditorium, with music from two live bands and other “surprises,” Father Palermo said.

“We thank God profusely for 100 years of grace in Old Metairie, and we ask Mother Mary, St. Joseph and St. Francis Xavier to continue to intercede for this community during the next 100 years,” Father Palermo said.

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