Bishop Dorsonville selects a new chalice

A 100-year-old French chalice which once belonged to the Marianite Sisters of Holy Cross, who served St. Francis de Sales parish in Houma for well over 100 years, has become the chalice Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville has selected to use during the extent of his service as shepherd of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux.
  The Very Rev. Jay L. Baker, J.C.L., diocesan chancellor and rector of the Cathedral of St. Francis de Sales, and Father Rusty Bruce, administrator of St. Hilary of Poitiers in Mathews and the Community of St. Anthony in Gheens, provide details of the chalice’s background.

Father Bruce notes, “The chalice was one of this kind which was mass produced over a 30-year window between 1900 and the 1930s.”
Very Rev. Baker explains, “It came from New Orleans with the Marianites of Holy Cross when the sisters started St. Francis Academy – the first Catholic school in Terrebonne Parish – in 1870. The chalice was kept in their chapel and used for the Masses celebrated there. When the school and convent moved to their current location (in 1952), the chalice was brought here (St. Francis de Sales rectory).”

As the number of Marianites decreased, the sisters returned to their motherhouse in New Orleans. Sister Immaculata Paisant, M.S.C., former diocesan superintendent of Catholic Schools, left in 2011 bringing an end to the 141-year continuous presence of the Marianite Sisters of Holy Cross in this area.

Since that time Sister Carmelita Centanni, M.S.C., Ph.D., a Marianite, was named victims assistance coordinator for the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. She was appointed to that role in 2014.

“While planning for his installation, Bishop (Dorsonville) asked me if I had a chalice he could use,” Very Rev. Baker explains. “I told him yes. Bishop had given the chalice his parents gave him at his ordination to the priesthood to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.

“He agreed to use of the chalices under the condition that once he left us, the chalice would stay in the Cathedral. I sent him pictures and descriptions of several we had at the Cathedral. When he saw the one from the Marianites’ chapel, he said: ‘This is the one I should hold in my hands, the one for the people to see.’” 
  
This chalice was sent to be re-plated just five days ahead of the bishop’s installation Mass in March at the Cathedral of St. Francis de Sales.

“This is a very, very, very short window of time to get this done,” notes Father Bruce, who was involved in the process of restoration.
Father Bruce indicates there is no one locally who restores sacred vessels, so he contacted Mitchell’s Plating from Sugarland, TX, which he says has done good work for him. The family business has been known for restoring other sacred vessels used in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux.

He says he overnighted the chalice on Friday; Mitchell’s received it on Saturday; and it was stripped and gold plated. Also, a jeweler had to match one of the gems in the chalice as it was missing. The chalice was returned the following Tuesday, a day before the installation.

The paten – the flat, gold plate which holds the bread at the Eucharist – is not original to the chalice, informs Father Bruce.

“The chalice will be used anytime Bishop Dorsonville leads a diocesan Mass at one of our cathedrals in Houma and Thibodaux and at other special events,” says Father Bruce.

Upon his death or reassignment, the chalice will revert to the Cathedral of St. Francis de Sales according to the agreement Bishop Dorsonville has made with the diocese.

Since the installation planning committee had originally offered to buy Bishop Dorsonville a chalice to be a gift from the diocese, and this different arrangement resulted, the diocese presented him another gift.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Photo by Maegan Martin
Very Rev. Baker explains, “Considering his tenure as the director of Catholic Charities in
Washington, D.C., and understanding that the care of the poor and underprivileged was dear to bishop’s heart, the diocese made a donation to the St. Vincent de Paul Tri-Parish Community Pharmacy on the occasion of his installation.”