St. Valerie, Roman Virgin and Martyr

St. Joseph Church, Thibodaux, Louisiana

The first St. Joseph Church was erected in 1819. The Old St Joseph Church was begun by Pere Charles Menard, pastor of St. Joseph Church, in 1848, and completed in 1849. On April 18th, 1867, the relic of St. Valerie, obtained by Pere Menard, arrived from Rome and was placed in the Church. The solemn ceremony was attended by more than four thousand people. The church was destroyed by fire on May 25th, 1916. Only a few items were saved, including the Relic of St. Valerie. The relic was then brought to the Chapel at Mt. Carmel Convent, where it stayed until the completion of the new St. Joseph Church, on Canal Street, in 1923.