In 1785, St. Bernard Catholic Church was established to serve the colonist from the Canary Islands that settled along Bayou Terre aux Boeufs. It was the first church below New Orleans, thus becoming the mother church for St. Bernard and Plaquemine Parishes. Construction on the first church began in 1787, and the founding pastor was Mariano de Brunete. The second church on the site was built in 1852. 
 
There have been numerous priests at St. Bernard Catholic Church over the years. The following is a list priests and their years of service:

Mariano de Brunete	1785 – 1787
Agustin Lamar	1787 – 1793
José de Villaprovedo	1794 – 1797
Tirso de Peleagonzalo	1797 – 1803
Félix de Quintana	1803
Patricio Mangan	1803
Juan Brady	August 1803
Domingo Joaquin Solana	1803 – 1805
Jean Marie Rochanson	1805 – 1807
Herman Joseph Stocker	1807 – 1808
Pierre Bussi	1809 – 1815
Claudio Thomas	1816
Father Sibourd	1817
Joseph Milley	1820 – 1824
Auguste de Angelis	1825 – 1826
Juan José Casado	1827 – 1829
Félix de Loperanza	1830
Jean Martin	February 1834
Victor Jamey	May 1834 – 1835
Jean Caretta	1836 – 1855
Father Louis	1856 – 1859
André Cauvin	1859 – 1863
Claude Jacquet	1867 – 1868
Y. Rivoallan	1868 – 1871
A. Brumel	1872
L. G. Chemin	1872 – 1873
E. Forge	1873 – 1876
Joseph Jaxel	1877 – 1886
Antoine S. Doutre	1887 – 1899
Henry van Grinsver	1899 – 1902
Nelson Ayres	1903 – 1906
Laurent Borredon	1906 – 1916

The second church burned down on February 13, 1916, and was not rebuilt until 1925. St. Bernard Catholic Church was without a pastor from 1916 until 1968. Following the 1916 fire, St. Bernard Catholic Church, and the churches below, became missions to Our Lady of Lourdes, and were served by various priests assigned to Our Lady of Lourdes in Violet, Louisiana. 
 
St. Bernard Catholic Church became a parish again in 1968. It remains a very faithful community today even though the size of the church is small, and the members are not large in number, they are large in faith. The following are the pastors who have served us well since 1968: 

Stanley Iverson	1968 – 1978
Jerry Dabria	1978 – 1984
Thomas E. Kinney	1984 – 1985
Matthew Russo	1985 – 1986
Winus J. Roeten	1986 – 1987
Ed Grice	1987 - 1988
Donald Byrnes	1988 - 1997
John P. Grenham	1997 – 2003
Herbert J. Kiff, Jr	2003 – 2005
John Arnone	2008

St. Bernard Catholic Church is a very active parish with many of our members participating in various activities throughout the year.

Our Seder Meal held on Palm Sunday in Iverson Hall beginning at 6:30 p.m.. This has become over the years an event that many look forward to attending. Seating is reserved to 50 with tickets on sale at $10.00 per person. During Holy Week we split some of the services with San Pedro Pescador Catholic Church since we share the same Pastor and have for the most part since 1985. St. Bernard holds the Tenebre service on Wednesday night; San Pedro holds the Holy Thursday and the Good Friday services. St. Bernard has done the Light and Dark service on Good Friday for many years, but this year we will do The Deposition in the Cemetery. All are invited to attend. On Good Friday we have the Rosary marches starting around noon. Groups from St. Bernard, Delacroix Island, and Yscloskey, and they conclude their march at San Pedro for Good Friday services.
 
In May, for Memorial Day, the Veterans place flags on the graves of our fallen service members. The Knights of Columbus are there for Mass, and following Mass there is a ceremony held in the cemetery by the altar dedicated to our heroes. Memorial Day 2004 we had a fly over.
 
We try once a year to have an appreciation dinner at Iverson Hall for all those who in any way do something to help keep our church going. In planning for this dinner one can see just how many people actually work to keep it going.
 
The feast day for St. Bernard is August 20th, and the Sunday closest to this day, is when we celebrate with the help of Los Isleños. At the end of the Mass, names are read of Los Isleños who have died during the past year. Following Mass flowers are placed by the statute of St. Bernard, and then many go to Los Isleños Museum grounds for dinner.
 
Our Family Day is planned in October during the first weekend of the Pumpkin Patch. We start with Mass outdoors under the trees behind Iverson Hall and then have a covered dish dinner in the hall followed by hay rides.
 
Our big fundraiser for the past six years has been our Pumpkin Patch. We try to provide a safe environment for young children to come for a hay ride and pick out their pumpkin. We have many parishioners who volunteer their time for this event. Over the years each person has found just the position that is right for him or her. The Patch has grown over the years and we now have two hay wagons giving hay rides. The Patch is open during the day for daycare centers, and schools to bring their students for a field trip. The late afternoon and weekends are for families who want a fun outing. We have also had various groups come up for their meeting such as the Brownies and Cub Scouts. Some have even found it a good activity for a birthday party. The Patch opens around the second week of October and ends on October 30. 
 
On October 31, we have our All Hallows' Eve Mass in the cemetery starting around 5:30 p.m. Then on November 1, we have our All Saints’ Day Mass in the cemetery. Both of these Masses are special. Father Schneider had an altar erected in the middle of St. Bernard Catholic Cemetery as a war memorial. St. Bernard has been blessed with many of its residents serving in the military, many of which have given their lives for our freedom to worship, and we are reminded of that every time we look at this beautiful outdoor altar.

If you want to learn more of the history of Los Isleños please visit www.losislenos.org for more information. By learning more of the history of Los Isleños you will understand why this little church and cemetery are still in existence today. At their website you can also find information regarding the Los Isleños Museum and upcoming events.

St. Bernard Catholic Church is once again its own parish and all parishioners are very grateful to the Archbishop for his support in granting us the opportunity to bring out community back following Hurricane Katrina. We had our first Mass in the renovated church on November 11, 2007, and our new Pastor Fr. John Arnone celebrated his first Mass at St. Bernard on All Saint's Day 2008. We thank Fr. Danny and Fr. Charlie for all the work they did in helping us and for all the Masses they said in St. Bernard Catholic Church. WE have lots of work ahead of us and we know there will be many challenges for us in 2009 and 2010, but our faith is strong and we have a lot of committed parishioners ready for the work ahead. Now that we have a Pastor who is looking forward to the challenges he faces in helping St. Bernard and Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Churches return to what is hoped to be even stronger faith communities than before Hurricane Katrina.