Yellow Fever Returns in 1878

“Heaven was satisfied with the tribute it had paid in 1873, when five of its members fell victims to the same fearful scourge.”

Five years later, yellow fever returned to Louisiana. For months, the Marists were the only religious order spared from fatalities, although several men fell ill. Rev. John Muncaster, SM, a recently ordained Marist from England, taught at Jefferson College, but during the summer, helped at St. Michael’s Church, as two priests were away and the third was sick with the fever. Against advice, Father Muncaster—a young, robust man—continued to visit fever victims in St. James Parish. Although he stayed well through the summer, after traveling with another priest who was recovering from the illness, he got sick and died on October 30, 1878.

St. Michael's Church, Convent, LA, undated