Beccard, Father Améé, Lafourche, Louisiana, to Archbishop Anthony Blanc, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1854 February 1

Beccard asks for a dispensation for first cousins for some persons of color Negroes . These people form a society apart and believing themselves offended by some procedures of white people, have stopped coming to church and read the Protestant bible. Beccard won them over by some visits although he has never seen any of them approach the sacraments. The parties are Pierre and Louisa. Beccard needs the power of attorney from Blanc as owner of the church land at Canal Fields, St. Andrews . Some people have made burials in the cemetery without payment; Beccard must have power of attorney to collect. Beccard is contented enough with his parish. The income is very limited. The pews here at St. Mary's Lafourche do not go over 200 piastres; at St. Andrew's at Canal Fields hardly 68. The small improvements Beccard made with his purchases of furniture, vestments, etc. amount to 600 piastres and all told he will have only 700. As for the district of his church, what wealth there is is on the other bank, they are not disposed at the moment to do great things for building the church. On this side, the people in general are poor and while good, largely endowed with that Creole laziness which is not one of the least obstacles to good. In spite of that, he is encouraged about the future of the parish. The Sunday that he visited this congregation, in coming from Father Charles M. Mènard's, before Beccard was stationed here, there was such a noise of conversation and even laughter, before and after Mass that a cannon could not have been heard. During Mass all were seated. Beccard often has quite large congregations of persons who approach the sacraments on feast days. All are quite ignorant. Beccard has validated many civil marriages. Some, married thus, make their Easter duty with no thought about it. Some leave the confessional before Beccard has finished talking and go to Communion without absolution. The big difficulty is to reconcile the two chapels for the division of Masses. As the return to religion spreads Beccard will consider his church as the principal parish and the chapel below as a mission. He will continue to give two Sundays a month to the congregation below and two here, the fifth when there are feasts during the week. In spite of the low price of the pews at St. Andrew, and the bad roads, the place has a future. Lockport, the small village next to the church, will give it importance. The Methodists and Odd Fellows have tried to establish themselves here. Beccard tried to binate two Sundays. The first time, having covered the six miles in an hour, he was so fatigued he had to hold on to the altar and could only say a few words. The second time he arrived too late. :: VI-1-g A.L.S. French 4pp. 4to.