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MAURICE — Drawing on 25 years as a pastor and 30 years as an art collector, the Rev. Paul Bienvenu has brought a unique vision of ministry to St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in Maurice.
Bienvenu became pastor of St. Alphonsus on July 3.
Born in Lafayette, Bienvenu grew up in St. Martinville. He graduated from Catholic High in New Iberia.
He studied psychology at Louisiana State University. After graduation, he studied theology at Loyola University New Orleans. He completed his graduate studies in theology at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans.
He came to St. Alphonsus from Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary in Kaplan.
“It is always hard to leave every parish where one has been. In order to minister to people, one has to enter into real family relationships with the people entrusted to his care. Family is always missed when we have to move away,” he said.
Bienvenu, however, arrived at his new assignment with optimism.
“I was very pleased that the Bishop chose me for this assignment, with his confidence and belief that I was the shepherd to best take care of this flock.”
Bienvenu replaced the Rev. Joe Breaux, who recently retired. He said a new assignment can be difficult for parishioners and the new pastor, “as there is a lack of familiarity on both sides.”
“The people are accustomed to the patterned experiences that they knew with the previous pastor. This change often creates some anxiety and discomfort simply because of the good work of one's predecessor and the memories that the people have of him.”
Priests first meet parishioners through the celebration of mass, Bienvenu said. Though the mass serves as a formal introduction, Bienvenu has met parishioners before and after mass.
“My experience here has been wonderful. The people have given me an extraordinarily warm welcome. They have eagerly reached out to me and have shared with me the varied ways that my ministry has already affected their lives,” he said.
Bienvenu looks forward to getting to know his parishioners.
Parishioners and others might know him as the “art-collector priest.”
He lent 24 works from his large collection to an exhibition at the Acadiana Center for the Arts in Lafayette. The exhibition, called “French Connection,” ran from May 14 to July 22.
Bienvenu's love for art has molded his ministry. His art collection reminds him what it means to be a pastor.
“I have always understood my call to be primarily a call to become more like Christ each and every day and, in turn, invite others through example and encouragement to do the same. There is a particular work of art that has spoken to me for many years in this regard.”
Titled “The Condemned Man Was Led Away,” the print is an original Georges Rouault (1871-1958).
“Rouault was a French modernist and a devout Catholic who saw his own mission as an artist to be a disciple of Christ and proclaim that good news through his art.
“In one of his projects, he created two works to reference each other.
One of those works is an image of Christ condemned. The other image is one of an Everyman in that same pose and plight.
“After he was done with the project, Rouault gradually transformed the Everyman into a portrait of himself.”
Rouault's Everyman has a solemn face: closed eyes, a long nose and a short beard. His shoulders and arms are straight, if not stiff, and he bows his head.
“His identification with the call to become Christ by taking up his cross and following in the footsteps of Jesus speaks to me profoundly,” Bienvenu said. “While only a few of these transformed images exist, I am blessed to have one. I often look at it and renew my own commitment to doing the very same.”

After visiting Abbeville, France through an exchange program, Vermilion Catholic High School students will host students from France at their homes this Thanksgiving.
On Wednesday, Vermilion Catholic French teacher Julie Lapeyrouse spoke to the Rotary Club about the school's trip to France and plans for French students to visit Louisiana for 10 days.
Last year, Lapeyrouse received a message from Lycées Saint Pierre high school in Abbeville, located in the Picardie region of France, north of Paris.
“It said, 'We're a high school in Abbeville, France; you're a high school in Abbeville, Louisiana. Let's do something together,” she said, standing behind a wooden podium. Sitting at a white folding table next to the podium, four students turned their heads toward their teacher, smiling.
Lapeyrouse and her students arrived in France on Memorial Day. From the airport, a bus transported them to the World War I American Cemetery in Belleau, France. The students attended a memorial service with members of the U.S. Marines, Army, Navy and Air Force.
“We, the two schools from Abbeville, had a wreath laid at the memorial. That was, for my students, their first view of France.”
For a lesson in local history, students traced the steps of the Rev. Antoine Desire Megret, a Roman Catholic priest and the founder of Abbeville, Louisiana.
“One of the first places we got to see was the monastery where Pere Megret did his studies,” Lapeyrouse said.
“We got to visit the Abbey of Saint Riquier, which is right outside of Abbeville. That's the reason Abbeville in France is called Abbeville; it was a city that had an abbey. Pere Megret decided to name our Abbeville after the Abbeville that he knew.”
Students were quick to compare France and Louisiana.
“The concept of us both being from Abbeville was not lost on them,” Lapeyrouse said.
Ellis Vienne stepped to the podium.
“Once I got over the shock of not having air conditioning or ice in my drink in France, I really enjoyed the trip a lot,” she said with a smile.
“It was nice to see all the different landscapes because it's very hilly over there, and here, it's extremely flat. I stayed in a farmhouse, which was very nice. I helped with the chores, and I got to see the dairy farm. I actually stayed with two families, and the second time, I got to stay in a castle,” Vienne said, still grinning.
Camille Harrington stood up to speak.
“Bonjour,” she said with enthusiasm. “It was truly amazing that, even though we were an ocean apart, the students here and the students in that class in France were so similar.
“It was so interesting to see that they have castles and 16th century buildings right in their backyard. It made me see how rich of a culture they have.
“The French people knew that we have a French influence in Louisiana. They did not realize, though, that the French influence is still so strong. They were shocked to hear that we have French names,” Harrington said.
Fifteen students from Lycées Saint Pierre high school will stay with 15 Vermillion Catholic students and their families during the Thanksgiving break.
The program will teach French students about the Acadian exile.
Students will tour Abbeville, the Acadian Museum in Erath, Vermilionville in Lafayette, the Evangeline Oak in St. Martinville, Jefferson Island and Avery Island. They will also travel to New Orleans to visit The National WWII Museum, the Old Ursuline Convent and the French Quarter.
“The students asked to see a plantation,” Lapeyrouse said. “That's the closest thing we have to a castle.”
“I would really like for them to experience a bit of their home halfway across the world because we were able to have that experience there, to see those similarities,” Harrington said. “It was a very enlightening experience for us, and we hope to be able to give them a similar one.”
Lapeyrouse asked for donations to help with the cost of the program.
“We want to be as good of hosts to them as they were for us,” she said.
To donate, mail checks to Vermilion Catholic High School Attn: Abbeville exchange.