R. Reese Fuller

Church sues family over tiny island

by R. Reese Fuller

The Advocate reports today that St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church in Pierre Part is suing a local family there over a tiny island at the intersection of Bayou Grosbec and Bayou Pierre Part, which is home to a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The church contends that it has maintained Virgin Island for 100 years and wants to build a 65-foot walking bridge from the rectory to the island, but the U.S. Coast Guard needs proof that the church owns the land before it will allow it to build the bridge.

To resolve that issue, the church filed a lawsuit against a local Pierre Part family that, until the lawsuit was filed, claimed they owned the land.

No one, however, has been able to locate a title to the land, or determine if a title has ever existed, said family members and the attorney for the church, Charlie Cusimano. ...

“We don’t own the island, we don’t want the island. We just want this lawsuit dropped and our names out of it,” said Paul Templet, a descendant of the defendants.

Read "Church files suit to acquire tiny island."