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Ste Luce First Pastors
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Father Henri Dionne 1843 - 1860 Father Henri Dionne (1814 - 1861), who had served Ste. Luce as an assistant to Father Langevin at St. Basile, was named the first pastor, when the Parish of Ste. Luce was established in 1843 after the Webster-Asburtun Treaty settled the boundary dispute between the United States and Canada and between Maine, New Brunswick, and Quebec. His first task as pastor was to complete the rectory he had begun while serving the mission from St. Basile. In 1843-1844, he built the first church to replace the chapel erected by Father Sirois in 1826-1827. Father Dionne was responsible for the building of the Red Church at St. François de Madawaska, and the churches of St. Joseph in Wallagrass, and St. Louis in Fort Kent, according to the Souvenir Centenaire de la Fondation de la Paroise Sainte Luce (1843 - 1943) (Note the pages were not numbered). An excellent write-up on Father Dionne is available on the Upper St John Valley web site.
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Father Charles Swéron 1860 - 1908
Father Swéron (1828 - 1908) was born on 15 October 1828 in Weert, Belgium in the Flanders region. He had been recruited by Bishop Connolly of St. John, N.B. during a visit to the College of Propaganda in 1857-1858. Ordained on February 7, 1858, Father Charles Swéron, was appointed as assistant to Father Dionne on 29 August 1858. The two men found their personalities were not very compatible. Father Swéron's brusque character clashed with Father Dionne's mild demeanor. In January, 1859, Father Swéron was named the first pastor of St. François de Madawaska, thus easing the tension between the two priests. When Father Henri Dionne retired in December 1859, Father Swéron became his replacement in January 1860. He continued to minister to St. François until 1864 when Father Dougal S. McDonald was named the resident pastor. Father Swéron was to remain pastor of Ste. Luce for 48 years until his death in 1908. During this time, he built the second church in 1889-1890 to replace the first chuch destroyed by fire started by lightening on May 19, 1889. A strong proponent of eduction, he was instrumental in bringing the Sisters of the Holy Rosary (les Soeurs du Saint Rosaire) to the parish and built their first convent in 1901-1902. On Sep 5, 1905, the convent caught fire which lept to the church and completely destroyed both buildings. The families of Damas Levesque and Michel Gagnon provided the sister temporary lodging. Amidst controversy with his parishioners on which to rebuild first and where to rebuild, Father Swéron rebuilt the convent first in 1905-1907 and then the third church of Ste. Luce in 1907-1908 in their previous locations. Father Swéron celebrated the first mass in his new church on 8 March 1908. He died eleven days later and is buried in the parish cemetery in plot #153 shown on page 2 of the cemetery plot map pages. Father Thomas Bergeron 1908 - 1915, 1916 - 1927
At 31, one of the youngest priest in the diocese, he replaced the oldest one. Almost immediately after his arrival, Father Bergeron constructed a new rectory, which still served as the pastor's residence until the tri-parish of Ste. Agathe, St. Joseph of Sinclair, and Ste. Luce were consolidated at St Agatha in 2002. In the fall of 1914, Father Bergeron was diagnosed with a sort of non-contagious pulmonary tuberculosis. On advice of his doctor and the Bishop, he accepted a transfer to Waterville in August 1915. Father Louis A Renaud replaced him in Ste. Luce. However, Father Bergeron found the task of ministering to a large parish more taxing on his health than the cold climate. So six months later he returned to Ste. Luce in February 1916 and Father Renaud was assigned to Skowhegan. In September 1928, he left Ste. Luce and took up residence in Edmundston, N.B. where he died on 16 June 1930. His funeral was held at Ste. Luce and he was buried in the parish cemetery in plot #151 on page 3 of the cemetery plot map pages Father Alexandre LaVenture 1928 - 1938
Father LaVenture was responsible for replacing the original bell with three bells in 1929. At the blessing of the bells in 1929, the largest was named "Alexandre, after the pastor", the medium one "Luce after the patron of the parish", and the smallest "Elizabeth after Elizabeth Daigle, who was la ménagère du presbytère". (Raymond, p. 27,citing Dubé, 1954). He also built the Parish Hall. Father LaVenture died on 11 February 1938 in Lawrence, Massachusetts. His funeral was held four days later at Ste. Luce and he was buried in the parish cemetery in plot #66 as shown on page 1 of the cemetery plot map pages.
Father Pierre Hamel 1938 - 1941 
Father Pierre Hamel (1894 - 1957) was the first American born pastor of Ste. Luce. He was born in Central Falls, Rhode Islands, on 15 July 1894. He was a graduate of Assumption College, in Worcester, MA and the Seminary of Philosophy in Montreal. He was ordained on 22 June 1922 for the Diocese of Portland. Father Hamel was known for his excellent counsel, which came at a time when the parish was experiencing the worst of the depression and a drain of its young men who were leaving in mass to seek employment in the manufacturing plants in Connecticut. His pastorship at Ste. Luce was a brief three and a half years. He was transferred to Ste. Bridget's in North Vassalboro in 1941. He died on 23 April 1957 at Waterville's Sisters' Hospital and is buried in his native parish in Rhode Island.
Father Philippe Dubé 1941 - 1954 
Father Philippe Dubé (1878 - 1960) was born in the parish of St Louis de Kamouraska, Québec on 3 Mar 1878, like many of the early settlers in the parish. He studied theology at the Seminary in Joliette and was ordained on 28 August 1904. Father Dubé, who had been a vicar in the Ste Luce parish in 1925, became its pastor in 1941. One of his first responsibilities as pastor was to organize the centennial celebration of the parish in 1943. Father Dubé was responsible for several renovations in the parish, adding the aluminum roof to the church and renovating the church interior, and replacing the front porch of the rectory. Since the old convent no longer met building codes for a school, the Bailey School was built by the Town of Frenchville in 1951 to replace the convent during Father Dubé's tenure. The sisters continued to teach in the public school for several years. Father Dubé was responsible for enlarging the old cemetery in the early 1950s. Father Dubé, who may be remembered for his brusque manner, deeply loved Ste. Luce and his people. He retired from Ste. Luce after 50 years in the priesthood. He died on 24 January 1960 in Joliette, Québec. References A History of Chautauqua, Dionne Plantation, Dickeyville, Frenchville compiled by Hal and Emma (Martin) Underhill, published by the Frenchville Historical Society, 1994 Liver D'or de la Paroisse Ste. Luce, by Fr. Phillippe Dube, 1954 (as cited by Father Raymond) Sainte Luce 1843 - 1993, A History of the Sainte Luce Parish, Upper Frenchville - Frenchville, Maine, 1843-1993, by Father David R. Raymond, 1993 Souvenir Centenaire de la Fondation de la Paroise Sainte Luce 1843 - 1943 Frenchville (en haut), Maine |
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Father Bergeron (1877 - 1928) was born in Les Eboulements, Quebec on 22 December 1877, the son of Léandre and Angele (Larouche) Bergeron. He studied philosophy and theology at St. Bernard's Seminary in Rochester, New York and was ordained in Valleyfield, Quebec on 12 July 1903. 
Father Alexandre LaVenture (1877 - 1928) was born on 13 March 1870 in Joliette, Quebec, the son of Prosper and Leocadie (Tarte) Champoux dit LaVenture. Father LaVenture, who did not use the name Champoux, received his theological training from the Grand Seminaire de Montreal, where he was ordained in 1892.