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On Oct. 3, 1939, Dudley J. LeBlanc donated a St. Theresa statue to St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Abbeville.
That was one of numerous St. Therese statues that LeBlanc, affectionately known as “Coozan Dud,” had donated to churches in Louisiana.
More than 80 years later, Robert Vincent is working to track down all of the statues donated by LeBlanc.
“When the world came to a stop in March with the pandemic,” Vincent said, “I felt now is the time to go find the many statues given by Coozan Dud.
“I was ‘in search of St. Therese.’”
He has located 10 statues at different churches in Louisiana.
For Vincent, the subject of LebBanc, a famous entrepreneur and politician from Vermilion Parish, and the statues is one that piqued his interest 30 years ago.
“When I was 10 years old,” Vincent said, “my mother and I attended a mass at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Abbeville. I noticed the St. Theresa statue outside and we went to look at it. We read the plaque on the statue saying that it was donated by Dudley J. LeBlanc on October 3, 1939. I questioned my mother about Dudley J. LeBlanc, or “Coozan Dud” as he was affectionately known. My mother told me a little about Coozan Dud and that my great grandmother had worked for him at one time at the HADACOL factory.
“This began my lifelong study of his life and the collecting of any product produced by or advertising related to LeBlanc.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic flipped so much upside down earlier this year, Vincent saw the time as right to ramp up his mission.
Vincent was previously aware of four statues. Along with the one at St. Mary Magdalen, Vincent knew of St. Theresa in Abbeville, St. Anne in Youngsville and Sacred Heart in Morgan City as each having one.
“Over the years, I’d get excited every time I would discover a ‘new’ St. Theresa statue that was donated by LeBlanc,” Vincent said. “I always wanted to know more, but was never able to find any articles explaining the reason why he made the donations or which churches had them. I knew that LeBlanc was a devout Catholic and had donated the land where St. Theresa Catholic Church in Abbeville is located.”
The question about the St. Theresa statues has always stayed in the back of Vincent’s mind. Recently, he decided to ask Morgan LeBlanc what he knew about the statues. Morgan is Dudley J. LeBlanc’s son.
“Morgan was very helpful,” Vincent said. “He contacted his siblings and they told me that their Dad had a devotion to St. Theresa. He always prayed to St. Theresa and asked for her intercession.
“It was this devotion that lead to his generous donations.”
Vincent researched the Abbeville Meridional archives, a book on the history of the Diocese of Lafayette as well as his own LeBlanc collection.
“I was excited to find a prayer card to St. Theresa in my LeBlanc binders,” Vincent said.
In his collection, Vincent also found a program from a Salute to Senator Dudley J. LeBlanc given by Acadian Village on Aug. 16, 1987. This program took place 16 years after his death on his 93rd birthday.
“No ceremony honoring Coozan Dud would be complete,” Vincent said, “without mentioning his devotion to St. Theresa or as he called her in French, ‘St. Therese.’ Included in the program was the following:
“To St. Therese
A special thanks to St. Therese who “let fall from heaven...a shower of roses” creating for Senator Dudley J. LeBlanc a rose petal path to trod.”
As it currently stands, Vincent’s efforts have turned up nearly a dozen churches that have statues of St. Theresa.
“We have been able to locate 10 churches with statues,” Vincent said. This includes churches as far away as Alexandria and Plattenville and stretches across four dioceses.
“At this point, I have no idea how many statues are out there.”
He asked LeBlanc’s family.
“They were unsure when it came to the number of statues and how the churches that have them were selected,” Vincent sad. “They felt it was more than eight, but even the LeBlanc family was unable to provide an exact number.”
Vincent cast a net on social media, to see if anyone had an idea about other churches that may have statues.
“The response has been great,” Vincent said. “People are really excited. I posted on Facebook asking anyone with knowledge of any other statues to contact me. I thought I may get a few responses. To my surprise, the post has been shared 29 times with numerous comments.
“Some people told me they couldn’t tell me where to locate any other statues. They were excited about the project and requested I keep them posted. I even had an aunt and uncle that drove for 6 1/2 hours and over 100 miles looking for statues.
“In that time, they passed by 23 Catholic Churches in three parishes!”
Even if people are aware of the statue’s locations, Vincent said this has drawn interest.
“Most of the donations were done seventy years ago and people don’t know the history,” Vincent said. “I’ve received several messages from people saying they were so happy to learn a little of the history. I look forward to sharing more of the story of the St. Theresa statues as I discover them.
“Until then, my search for St. Theresa continues.”

November 30, 1945 ~ July 8, 2020

ABBEVILLE — Cheryl Theriot Boudreaux, 74, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, July 8th, 2020 at her home surrounded by her loving family. A rosary and memorial service will be held in her honor on Thursday, July 16th, 2020 starting at 9:00 A.M. at St Mary Magdalen Catholic Church. The Rev. Msgr. Keith DeRouen, pastor of Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church, will officiate at the services. A private mausoleum service will be held for immediate family.
Cheryl was born on November 30, 1945 in Kaplan, Louisiana to the late Clifton and Maude Theriot, she was the youngest of three children.
Cheryl was educated at Mount Carmel in Abbeville and the University of Southern Louisiana. She married Guy Paul Boudreaux on September 18th, 1965 and they had three loving children.
Cheryl was a devoted wife, mother, daughter, sister, grandmother, great grandmother and friend to all. She loved cooking for her family, playing cards with her friends, going to Saints Games, traveling and spending time at her condo in Orange Beach. She was a beautiful vibrant soul who was always laughing and smiling. She touched many lives. Her catholic faith was the cornerstone of her life. Cheryl loved to say her rosary, read her devotional and pray for others.
Survivors include her loving husband, Guy Paul Boudreaux; her children and their spouses, Kathryn and Sam Hoffpauir, Kevin and Heather Boudreaux, Lisa and Ken Alexander; seven grandchildren, Jarrod Motty, Lauren Broussard, Andrew Hoffpauir, Zachary Boudreaux, Jake Hoffpauir, Jean-Paul Boudreaux and Anne-Marie Alexander; four great grandchildren, Jarrod-Michael Motty, Jonathan Motty, Talon Broussard and Ava Broussard; two brothers and their spouses; Roland and Margie Theriot and Kenneth and Marilyn Theriot.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Clifton and Maude Theriot.
In lieu of flowers please consider offering a mass in her name or making a donation to St Jude’s Children’s Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place Memphis, TN 38105 / donors@stjude.org or NSI Hospice, 1025 Camellia Blvd., Ste 201, Lafayette, LA 70508.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.vincentfuneralhome.net.
All funeral arrangements are being conducted by Vincent Funeral Home of Abbeville, (337) 893-4661.

The Governor’s Office has provided more detailed information on the mandatory mask mandate and closure of bars that was announced Saturday afternoon.
This past Saturday, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced a mandatory mask requirement for Louisiana and ordered bars in the state closed to on-premises consumption, as the state experiences increasing spread of COVID-19.
The Governor also limited indoor social gatherings like wedding receptions, class reunions and parties to 50 total people. With these additional restrictions, Louisiana remains in Phase Two of the Roadmap for a Resilient Louisiana.
The statewide mask mandate, which will allow for parishes without high COVID-19 incidence to opt out if they choose, and bar closures go into effect Monday, July 13 at 12:01 a.m., per a revised Phase Two proclamation signed today. The order will also limit the size of gatherings to 50. The new order is set to expire July 24, 2020, but could be extended.
“Cases in Louisiana continue to increase, including setting a record-high number of new cases reported in one day, today and yesterday. More than two thousand new COVID infections reported each of these days and increased hospitalizations are signs that we continue to go in the wrong direction in our work to control COVID-19 in our state. While I had hoped to avoid going backwards on restrictions, it is obvious that it is necessary to slow the spread of infection in our state, as COVID-19 has spread to every corner, at a level higher than we have previously seen. This is why I am now mandating face coverings statewide and also closing all bars in Louisiana to on-premises consumption, in addition to putting in limits on the size of indoor gatherings,” Gov. Edwards said. “Right now, all Louisianans need to work together to reduce the spread of COVID-19 by wearing their face masks, keeping social distance, washing their hands frequently and staying at home when they are feeling sick. These are reasonable expectations while we fight to reduce the spread of the illness in our state. This approach also gives us the best possible chance to again flatten the curve without moving back to Phase One.”

MASK MANDATE

The statewide mask mandate applies to all 64 parishes in Louisiana. However, parishes with a COVID-19 incidence of fewer than 100 cases per 100,000 people for the most recent two-week period for which data is available could choose to opt out of the mandate. Parish presidents do not have to opt out and may choose to keep a mask mandate in place. Currently, only three parishes in Louisiana do not exceed this standard, which will be updated every other week by the Louisiana Department of Health: Grant, Red River and West Feliciana.

•The order requires face coverings for everyone ages 8 and older except for the following:
•Anyone who has a medical condition that prevents the wearing of a face covering
•Anyone who is consuming a drink or food
Anyone who is trying to communicate with a person who is hearing impaired
• Anyone who is giving a speech for broadcast or to an audience
• Anyone temporarily removing his or her face covering for identification purposes
•Anyone who is a resident of a parish without a high COVID incidence that has opted out of the masking mandate
• Masks are strongly recommended for children ages 2 to 7.

CLOSURE OF BARS TO ALL ON PREMISES CONSUMPTION

All bars, including those with food permits from the Louisiana Department of Health, will be closed to on-premises consumption. They can operate for curbside takeout or delivery service only.
Since the start of the crisis, Louisiana has identified at least 36 outbreaks, impacting at least 405 people, involving bars, which were actually closed under the Governor’s original Stay at Home order. Public health officials believe going to bars is a higher public health risk than visiting other types of businesses because people are socializing and cannot wear masks when they drink. In addition, young people under the age of 30 make up the largest percentage of new COVID cases in Louisiana.

GATHERING SIZE

The new order also limits the size of social gatherings to 50 people indoors. Outdoor social gatherings are also limited to 50 people if individuals cannot avoid being within six feet of one another.

This crowd size limitation shall not apply to those businesses deemed essential as defined by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency or any businesses and organizations operating at 50% capacity pursuant to Paragraphs (1) through (6) of Subsection (G) of Section 2 of 83 JBE 2020, including churches and other faith-based organizations.

The 50-person limit will apply to indoor gatherings, like receptions, weddings and others. The changes are based on the advice of public health officials.

Journey Elyse Williams
A daughter, Journey Elyse Williams, was born Sunday, July 5, 2020, at Abbeville General to Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Thomas Williams of Abbeville. The mother is the former Dominique D’Ann Hawthorne.

Joseph Harkins Bergeron V
A son, Joseph Harkins Bergeron V, was born Tuesday, July 7, 2020, at Abbeville General to Cailyn Marie Adams and Joseph Harkins Bergeron IV of Abbeville.

Ryker Jude Cart
A son, Ryker Jude Cart, was born Tuesday, July 7, 2020, at Abbeville General to Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Anthony Cart of Abbeville. The mother is the former Nicole Matte Hughes.

Tahj Jamal Sinegar
A son, Tahj Jamal Sinegar, was born Tuesday, July 7, 2020, at Abbeville General to Shantasia Olittia Henry and Travis Jamal Sinegar of Abbeville.

Kenna Grace Johnson
A daughter, Kenna Grace Johnson, was born Wednesday, July 8, 2020, at Abbeville General to Bailey Deyon Marceaux and Jeffery Wayne Johnson, Jr. of Kaplan.