REV. CHARLES HENRY JEANNOTTE – The devoted service of Rev. Father Charles Henry Jeannotte of North Adams, as pastor of Notre Dame of the Sacred Heart Church is a record of faithful endeavor, which has commanded the respect and admiration of the people of this community. In his tireless activities for the progress of his congregation, both in the spiritual and material welfare, Father Jeannotte has endeared himself to the people who belong to this parish and his contemporaries in local advance have acknowledged his sincerity and recognized his achievements. Father Jeannotte has been a member of the Roman Catholic clergy for many years, having served for upward of half a century the progress of the church. He is a son of Pascal and Rosalie (Chagnon) Jeannotte, his father was a farmer and a worthy citizen of the Province of Quebec, Canada.
Charles Henry Jeannotte was born in Beloeil, Province of Quebec, November 12, 1854. His education was begun in the local parochial schools and he attended the Seminary de Monnoir, his ordination to the holy priesthood occurring, August 26, 1877. For about eight years following that date he served on the faculty of the above seminary, then was active in his holy offices in the church in Quebec for about two years. Coming to the States in 1887, Father Jeannotte was appointed to Holyoke as assistant curate of the Church of Precious Blood, but was shortly after, in June of the same year, appointed pastor of St. Joseph’s Church at Shelburne Falls. Serving that parish for nearly four years, he assisted largely in the erection of the church edifice, devoting his tireless endeavors to the forwarding of the movement which eventuated in the erection of that handsome edifice. In 1891, Father Jeannotte was appointed to Fitchburg, as pastor of St. Joseph’s Parish, a newly organized congregation, which was necessarily in a struggling condition since it had only begun its history. There he was instrumental in the erection of another fine church edifice and he remained in charge of this church for three years and a half. In 1894, Father Jeannotte was called to North Adams, to succeed the lamented Father Leduc, whose death, immediately prior to his coming, removed from the work of the church one of the most devoted spirits of his time. Thus Father Jeannotte became pastor of the leading Roman Catholic Church of North Adams, Notre Dame of the Sacred Heart, and his first work was to build a school. The classes of the parochial school had been held in the basement of the church building. Accomplishing the erection of the fine educational structure in 1896, Father Jeannotte received the commendation of the entire community. This parish was organized in 1871 and during the fifty-three years of its existence has had only three pastors. The first was Rev. Father Crevier, who came to the parish, January 4, 1871, and is still living, one of the most venerable and beloved priests of the church in the East. In his service in the present parish, Father Jeannotte has won the affection and esteem of the entire community and among his people he is looked upon as indeed a spiritual leader and guide. One of the most cherished memories of his long and honored career is a tour in Europe, when as a young priest he visited the holy city of Rome and was received by Pope Leo XIII.