On September 29, 1888, ten years after the founding of Jeanerette, Louisiana, the Catholic Sisters of Mercy arrived in Jeanerette at the invitation of the Pastor, Father Michael Bardy. On October 1, 1888 St. Joseph School was opened with two buildings on Provost Street. One building was for the girls and one for the boys.
In the mid 1950's the school was moved across the Bayou Teche to its current location. The Carlyle Bourgeois family donated a 16-acre (65,000 m2) plot for the new school and the St. Paul Bourgeois family gifted an area for athletics.
After a two-year financial struggle and low enrollment, the St. Joseph Catholic School announced it will close its doors at the end of this school year 2011.,[1]