Avenard, Father John Baptist, Alexandria, Louisiana, to Bishop Francis Xavier Leray, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1880 April 28

Begun Feb.3, 1880. His delay in answering Leray's circular or September 16 has been due to circumstances that did not allow the quiet of mind and body that he wished for in order to collect his thoughts. On October 18 he sent Leray $24.50, the total amount then on hand for the Propagation of the Faith . Since then he has received from the Plaisance station $15 and from Spring Creek $2.40. There are about 1400 Catholics in his missions scattered at Alexandria, Pineville, Kanomie or Bayou Boeuf, Spring Creek, Plaisance, Holloway's Prairie, Big Island, Little River Harrisonburg, Scicily Sicily Island, Trinity, Jena and Catahoula Prairie, and scattered elsewhere in an area of 110 miles by 50. It is difficult to state the exact number of Protestants. He suspects there may be 40,000. From October 1878 to October 1879 there were only six conversions. They must first labor to reclaim their Catholic population from gross ignorance and dull carelessness. They have one principal church at Alexandria and six chapels, all unfinished and unfurnished with the ordinary requisites of the sacred worship, located at Pineville, Bayou Boeuf, Spring Creek, Plaisance, Holloway's Prairie and Big Island. At the other stations mass is offered in private residences. They have only two small Catholic schools, one at Alexandria with an average attendance of 50, and the other at Pineville with 22 or 23. They are all Catholic except 2 or 3. The Sisters of Mercy, who are six altogether, can hardly maintain themselves. Their population is poor everywhere. A few are well off. Nearly all the members of the Church are white, and either born in Europe or descended from Europeans. Although the blacks outnumber the whites, they have only a few Catholics. The difficulties that existed in former years are being overcome by degrees and will vanish if they can obtain good labourers for the Lord's vineyard. Avenard has nearly run his own race: twenty odd years have worn out his moderately strong constitution. He thanks Providence for his young assistant, Father Leonard Menard . Admirably gifted for missionary life and full of zeal, he has resumed and continued the good work with remarkable ability and success. At Menard's desire, Avenard has abandoned temporarily to him all the means he obtains outside of Alexandria. He has made excellent use of them, and has spent income derived from his personal patrimony. The total amount received at Alexandria for 1879 was $612.80 and at Pineville $217. Elsewhere, owing to expenses incurred, the contributions received from Catholics are hardly worth mentioning. Expenses for 1878, and 1879 and part of 1880 were $175 for the church at Alexandria, $1200 for the chapels and $325 for the schools. Debts on the chapels are about $150. During 1879 there have been only six marriages attended by the priest either at Alexandria or elsewhere, three of them contracted after the dispensation for mixed religion. In the Church of St. Francis Xavier, Alexandria, and in the chapel of the Sacred Heart, Pineville, catechism is taught from September to June. It is taught every day in the schools and twice a week in the Church at Alexandria. The principal mission stations are visited once a month; the others once every second or third month. P.S. Menard is well and is passing 5 or 6 days at Holloway's Prairie to instruct the population and prepare part of it for First communion. He offered mass for the first time, on the first Sunday after Easter, in the new chapel on Big Island. :: VI-3-b A.L.S. 12mo. folio 17