St. Anne Church

The Natchitoches Times Article.
September 17, 1999 issue

PARISHIONERS CELEBRATE BLESSING OF RENOVATED CHURCH OF ST. ANNE

The rededication and blessing of St. Anne Church was held August 28 with Bishop Sam Jacobs and pastor, the Rev. Father Michael Manase, presiding.

Many members of the Adais Caddo Indians returned home to join their relatives in the celebration of the first major restoration since the church's construction in 1916 in the Adais Indian Community, formerly Spanish Lake.

Also present were Pat Arnold, deputy director of Indian Affairs with the Louisiana Governor's office. She is a member of the Houma Nation.

The origins of the church began when St. Michael of the Adais was founded for the Adais Indians by the Spanish Franciscan Fathers in 1717 near Robeline for the purpose of inducting the Adais Indians into the Catholic faith.

In 1721, Fort Los Adais was founded to protect the mission church and strengthen the Spanish position against the French in Natchitoches. Fort Los Adais served as the capitol of Spanish Province of Texas for 50 years. After Fort Los Adais was closed in 1773 by the Spanish, the tribe moved the church to the Shamrock area and remained there for 166 years until 1883.

Due to heavy Anglo Protestant encroachment into the Shamrock area, the Adais Indians again moved the church approximately 6 miles north to the present Saint Anne Cemetery site and renamed St. Joseph. After it was destroyed by fire, the church was rebuilt in 1916 and renamed Saint Anne and remains the oldest church in the Louisiana Purchase with the same Adais Indian descendants. The church is the mother church of the Caddo Adais Indians. The church was listed on the National Register for Historic Places in 1994, not only for the integrity of the building, but because of its historic value.