Jesuit Bend, Louisiana


Jesuit Bend is an unincorporated community in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the West Bank of the Mississippi River.

History

Members of the Society of Jesus settled at this location in the early part of the 18th century, a bend in the Mississippi River, hence the name "Jesuit Bend". The Jesuit settlers brought with them from Asia the satsuma, a loosely skinned seedless tangerine. Satsumas have been farmed at this locale ever since.
At one point, Jesuit Bend had a station on the line. It also is the location of the , an effort to return open water to a fully functioning freshwater , to help reverse the longstanding problem of wetlands erosion in the Mississippi River Delta. Companies can purchase credits from the restoration project to compensate for construction projects that destroy wetlands.

Jesuit Bend Incident

In October 1955, parishioners at St. Cecilia Church in Jesuit Bend stopped Father Gerald Lewis, an African American Catholic priest, from celebrating Mass because of his skin color. Archbishop of New Orleans Joseph Francis Rummel placed the chapel under interdict. This lasted for two years before a priest, reportedly via subterfuge, obtained signatures from a number of parishioners promising to accept any priest sent to them. Archbishop Rummel approved the chapel's reopening before eventually discovering the ruse, but he wished to save face and not renege on the order. The chapel was destroyed by a hurricane soon after, and it was never rebuilt.