Lunch break leads us to Houma, a small Louisiana town. It was named after the Native American tribe who settled here, the Houmas Indians. The word houma or ouma means “red” in the tribe’s language, which referred to the sun or possibly to their war emblem, the crawfish.
Most Houma people speak French as their first language. Many also speak English. In the past, Houma Indians spoke their own Houma language, which most linguists consider to be a dialect of Choctaw.
European influence began in the 16th century, and La Louisiane (named after Louis XIV of France) became a colony of the Kingdom of France in 1682, before passing to Spain in 1763. It became part of the United States following the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.
While the first St. Francis de Sales church was built in the Romanesque style in 1848, The current building was built as the parish Church of St. Francis de Sales in 1938 as the original structure was damaged by a Hurricane in the 1920s. The current building was made possible by the generosity of the Rev. August Vandebilt.The current church plant includes the main church building, the youth center and gymnasium, the convent, the school, the rectory and the historic cemetery, St. Francis de Sales Cemetery number 1.Stunning mausolea, some very old and overgrown, others tended to and repainted regularly.Small details that survived the frequent strong winds from hurricanes.Fernisation.Ornaments and statues of saints and other guardians make this walk a spiritual experience.The resemblance to other historic cemeteries in France is uncanny, we enjoy the french and spanish cultural influences very much.
