By Pamela Seal
Diocese of Lake Charles
LAKE CHARLES — Leroy Crochet remembers finding refuge inside Christ the King Catholic Church during Hurricane Audrey in 1957 when he was 16 years old. It was a mission chapel of St. Margaret of Scotland Parish at the time.
He and his wife, Emma, were among the nearly 60 people gathered at the “Prayer Vigil of Thanksgiving” at 6:30 p.m. on the grounds of Christ the King on Thursday, October 17, as that same church was now a pile of rubble.
Built in 1955, the church was demolished four years after being destroyed by Hurricane Laura on August 27, 2020. A double-wide modular building on the property at 7680 Gulf Highway has served as a temporary worship space since December 19, 2020.
The pastor, Very Rev. Matthew Cormier, VF, wanted to offer closure to the many parishioners who have called Christ the King Parish their home for decades. It was built as a mission chapel under the care and supervision of St. Margaret and later Our Lady Queen of Heaven before being officially established as a church parish of the Diocese of Lake Charles on November 24, 2002.
“I was inspired by the Holy Spirit to offer the prayer vigil as an opportunity to come together as a community and give the parishioners some closure,” said Father Cormier, who assumed the role of pastor earlier this year on July 1.
The demolished structure was a visual reminder of the dying and rising to Christ.
“The vigil was a way to ritualize the tearing down of the old to build the new,” Cormier remarked. “We do everything with ritual in the Catholic Church, so why not this.”
on the grounds of Christ the King Catholic Church in south Lake Charles
on Thursday, October 17. The Crochets are longtime parishioners of the
69-year-old church that was torn down because of damage in 2020
from Hurricane Laura.
Crochet said that he and his wife attend daily Mass, so they were able to walk through the church before the demolition began a couple of days prior to the vigil.
“I retrieved some of the song books we used over the years since I was involved with a lot of music,” he said. “This morning when I drove into the parking lot for Mass and saw the (demolished) church for the first time, I was crushed. God has bigger plans for us. I believe that.”
Also in attendance were Raymond and Susan Reeds who have close ties to the church’s beginnings.
“My grandmother, Flavia Vincent Reeds, donated $10,000 and 1.5 acres of land on which Christ the King Chapel was built. It was all cattle pasture in 1954,” Raymond shared as he walked through broken glass holding an EXIT sign that he found still in one piece.
The community donated another $19,000 for the new chapel, and in January of 1960, an additional 10 acres was purchased.
“The only condition my grandmother made in donating the land was that it must be used to build a church, and she would be the one to name it,” said Raymond. “My grandmother also donated the Italian Carrara marble statues that were in front of the church, one of them being Christ the King.”
Susan Reeds remarked, “Our little church community meant the world to us. It is bittersweet, but we have to move forward. To do that, this church has to come down so we can build anew.”
Debbie (Warren) Broussard has been a member of Christ the King for 47 years. All four of her daughters made their sacraments there and her oldest daughter was married in the nearly 70-year-old church.
“One thing I liked about this church is that even though it was a little church, it is a community church. We always came together, and when somebody was struggling, we tried to help each other out,” she said.
That same sentiment was echoed throughout the evening as several shared memories and words of gratitude.
Janice Crador said, “This is the most wonderful community I have ever been a member of. I remember going to St. Elizabeth Chapel on Lincoln Road before we became Christ the King. It is the people who are the Church. This is a beautiful parish.”
During the prayer vigil, Father Cormier sprinkled the faithful with the waters of baptism followed by a special blessing.
“As this old church building is laid to rest, we look to the future,” said Father Cormier. “The early Church had no buildings, but the Church was growing because the grace of God was at work. Even though we do not have a proper church so to speak, the church here at Christ the King is still very much alive.”
Mickey Richard, a trustee, said that even with plans to build a new church across the street from the current location, “Christ the King will always be the little church by the airport.”
As the light of the sun faded, candles were lit to signify the Light of the World who dies no more.
Following the final blessing, all sang “To Jesus Christ Our Sovereign King.”
