Draft:St. Nicholas Church, Réunion

The St. Nicholas Church was a Catholic church building, located in Champ Borne in the eastern part of the island of Réunion, a French département et région in the Indian Ocean. The church was inaugurated in 1847 and dedicated to St. Nicholas. It was damaged several times during its 115 years of service, before its total destruction by Cyclone Jenny in 1962.

History
In 1847, the church of Champ Borne was inaugurated and dedicated to St. Nicholas. On 11 January, 1853, Mgr Florian Desprez (bishop), bishop of Saint-Denis de La Réunion, established it as a parish. Champ Borne was under the jurisdiction of the town of Saint-Andr%C3%A9 (La R%C3%A9union); it acquired its independence from Saint-André by decree. The church thus obtained all the prerogatives and all the canonical rights over a territory which extends from the Rivière du Mât to the Chemin du Trou, and from the Chemin du Milieu to the intersection of Chemins de Lefayes and Lacaussade. The church of Rivière du Mât les Bas therefore depends on the parish of Champ Borne. The land belonged to a nobleman named Georges Louis Dufoix de la Blanchère who donated it to the church on 23 May, 1855.

Destruction by Cyclone Jenny
On 27 February, 1962, a tropical depression formed south of Diego Island. Cyclone Jenny (1962) which then formed headed westsouthwest at 35 km/h, hitting Mauritius then Réunion in turn. Gusts of more than 220 km/h destroyed everything in their path, killing 37 people. Homes were destroyed and 16,000 people were affected. The Champ Borne Church was devastated and was no longer rebuilt.