Madisonville is known for its boats. Home to the Maritime Museum and the Wooden Boat Festival, the small hamlet will soon be home of another boat — St. Anselm Catholic Church.

Msgr. Frank Giroir, pastor of the church, said ecclesia means “ship or boat of salvation.” The new church building, now under construction and due to be completed in May 2009, is in the shape of a ship, literally a ship of faith.

Nestled in the middle of the riverside community, the faithful are often seen standing outside the church on Sundays, attending mass but unable to fit inside. The present church building only holds 300-350 people.

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Many people brave the heat, humidity, cold, rain and mosquitoes rather than miss mass at the small little church a block from the Tchefuncte River. By next summer, the weather will no longer be a part of St. Anselm’s masses.

The new church building will hold more than 850, almost triple the capacity of the present church. There will also be a handicapped section for those in wheelchairs. This will allow everyone an opportunity to share in the church’s activities without being in the weather or in another building.

The original plans were completed before Hurricane Katrina and the Rev. Alan Weseman, pastor at the time, was the impetus for the new church. Giroir said that upon Weseman’s untimely death from cancer, he was appointed by Archbishop Alfred Hughes to “build Father Alan’s church.”

Giroir said that as pastor, he is also the main fundraiser for the parish. The church has held several small fundraisers and a major one during the summer besides the capital campaign.

The original church project was for $4.7 million, an amount nearly completely funded before the hurricane. Now it is a $6.6 million project, thanks in part to building material inflation costs after the storm and additional building codes and requirements.

An original planned elevation of 6 inches before Katrina, the building had to add an additional foot after Katrina due to FEMA regulations, adding more costs to the project.

However, the building is moving along on schedule and is due for completion in May 2009.

The new church will be visible from the bridge in Madisonville over the Tchefuncte River. A block from the river, the building will architecturally add to the town. Inside the building, religious artwork will also be a focus of the church, with statues of St. Anselm, The Blessed Mother, St. Joseph, St. Anthony, St. Jude and St. Stephen included as part of the artistic design.

In keeping with the fish theme, the Christian fish symbol will be on the tabernacle behind the altar. Weseman had designed the building before Katrina, and Giroir is keeping faithfully to that design.

The parish, home to 1,600 families, had its humble beginnings in 1843 as the first parish established on the Northshore, St. Francis Xavier. The early years of the parish saw a priest from St. Louis Cathedral traversing the lake in a skiff to say mass.

After St. Peter parish was established in Covington, a priest served both parishes.

In the 1880s, the Benedictine Monks of St. Joseph Abbey moved from Gessen, near Rosaryville, to St. Benedict, its current location.

A priest from the abbey served St. Francis Xavier in Madisonville.

St. Anselm is actually a result of the merging of two parishes that took place in the 1960’s. Originally two Catholic churches served Madisonville, St. Francis Xavier and St. Catherine of Alexandria. After the Second Vatican Council, commonly known as Vatican II, the two parishes were combined at St. Catherine. Later, a new church built and both former churches were torn down. The present St. Anselm building was dedicated in 1964.