Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis King of France

Cathedral-Basilica of Saint Louis, King of France, Pere Antoine Alley, New Orleans, Louisiana, Združene države Amerike

Website of the Sanctuary

+1 504 525 9585

Opened for self-guided tours. Monday through Friday 10 am-4 pm, the last admission is at 3:15 pm and Saturday 9 am-3 pm, the last admission is at 2:15 pm.

Visit of Pope John Paul II

The greatest moment in the history of the St. Louis Cathedral was the visit of Pope John Paul II in September, 1987.

Pope John Paul paused for a prayer before the statue of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, patroness of New Orleans and Louisiana.

Many of the more than one thousand priests, sisters and brothers who packed the Cathedral were greeted personally by the Holy Father. The Holy Father also addressed gatherings of youths, educators and black Catholics and celebrated an outdoor Mass for over 200,000 on the New Orleans lakefront.

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History of the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis

The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis is one of New Orleans’ most notable landmarks.

This venerable building, its triple steeples towering above its historic neighbors, the Cabildo and the Presbytere – looks down benignly on the green of the Square and General Andrew Jackson on his bronze horse and on the block-long Pontalba Buildings with their lacy ironwork galleries. Truly, this is the heart of old New Orleans.

Since 1727 New Orleanians have worshipped in churches on this site. Half a dozen years earlier, the French engineer, Adrien De Pauger, who arrived in the newly founded city on March 29, 1721, designated this site for a church in conformity with the plan of the Engineer-in-Chief of Louisiana, LeBlond de la Tour, who was at the capital, Biloxi.

The new parish church, dedicated to Louis IX, sainted King of France, was thus perhaps the first building in New Orleans of “brick between posts” (bnquete entre poteaux) construction, an effective method of building that continued to be used in Louisiana until at least the middle of the nineteenth century.

De Pauger, unfortunately, died on June 21, 1726, before his church was completed. In his will he requested that he be buried within the unfinished building, a request presumably granted.

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During the six decades that the church stood, there worshipped within its walls French Governors Perier, Bienville, Vaudreuil and Kerlerec and Spanish Governors Unzaga, Galvez and Miro.

In this first little church were baptized the children of the colonists and the children of the slaves. Here were married the lowly and the highborn, and through its doors were borne the mortal remains of the faithful for the burial rites of Holy Mother Church on the last journey to the little cemetery on St. Peter Street.

Let us remain close in the same prayer! May the Lord bless you abundantly!

The Old Ursuline Convent museum

The Old Ursuline Convent is the oldest building in the Mississippi Valley. Constructed by French Colonial Engineers under the auspices of the crown, the convent was designed in 1745 and completed in 1752-1753. Over the centuries, this building has been a convent for the Ursuline nuns, a school, an archbishop’s residence, the archdiocesan central office, a meeting place for the Louisiana Legislature. Later, it served as a residence for priests serving mainly the Italian community and then housed the Archdiocesan Archives. Today, together with the St. Louis Cathedral and St. Mary’s Church, it forms the Catholic Cultural Heritage Center of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

Architecture

The Old Ursuline Convent’s facade is simple, with twelve bays, two floors and an attic level made of three dormers. The structure uses brick-between-post construction covered by a white plaster, simulating stone on the corners and central bay. The doors and windows use simple molding while a pediment underscores the main entrance. Having many doors and windows available and across from each other is a feature that was developed specifically for this climate as a way to battle the oppressive heat and humidity. Placing the doors and windows parallel creates a cross ventilation, forcing warm interior air out and cool outside air in.

According to the National Parks Service, “This is the finest surviving example of French Colonial public architecture in the country, Louis XV in style, formal and symmetrical, with restrained ornament. It was constructed between 1748 and 1752 for nuns whose mission was to nurse the poor and teach young girls”. (October 9, 1960, designation of the convent as a National Historic Landmark).

Convent museum: Opened for self-guided tours. Monday through Friday 10 am-4 pm, the last admission is at 3:15 pm and Saturday 9 am-3 pm, the last admission is at 2:15 pm.

Let us remain close in the same prayer! May the Lord bless you abundantly!

The Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis

The Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis is one of New Orleans’ most notable landmarks. Few cities in the world are so identified by a building as is New Orleans. The city is instantly recognized by our cathedral and its position overlooking Jackson Square.

This venerable building, its triple steeples towering above its historic neighbors, the Cabildo and the Presbytere – looks down benignly on the green of the Square and General Andrew Jackson on his bronze horse and on the block-long Pontalba Buildings with their lacy ironwork galleries. Truly, this is the heart of old New Orleans.

The Cathedral-Basilica of Saint Louis King of France is the oldest Catholic cathedral in continual use in the United States.

Let us remain close in the same prayer! May the Lord bless you abundantly!

History

The St. Louis Cathedral is one of New Orleans’ most notable landmarks. This venerable building, its triple steeples towering above its historic neighbors, the Cabildo and the Presbytere – looks down benignly on the green of the Square and General Andrew Jackson on his bronze horse and on the block-long Pontalba Buildings with their lacy ironwork galleries. Truly, this is the heart of old New Orleans.

Saint Louis Since 1727 New Orleanians have worshipped in churches on this site. Half a dozen years earlier, the French engineer, Adrien De Pauger, who arrived in the newly founded city on March 29, 1721, designated this site for a church in conformity with the plan of the Engineer-in-Chief of Louisiana, LeBlond de la Tour, who was at the capital, Biloxi.

The new parish church, dedicated to Louis IX, sainted King of France, was thus perhaps the first building in New Orleans of “brick between posts” (bnquete entre poteaux) construction, an effective method of building that continued to be used in Louisiana until at least the middle of the nineteenth century. De Pauger, unfortunately, died on June 21, 1726, before his church was completed. In his will he requested that he be buried within the unfinished building, a request presumably granted.

During the six decades that the church stood, there worshipped within its walls French Governors Perier, Bienville, Vaudreuil and Kerlerec and Spanish Governors Unzaga, Galvez and Miro. In this first little church were baptized the children of the colonists and the children of the slaves. Here were married the lowly and the highborn, and through its doors were borne the mortal remains of the faithful for the burial rites of Holy Mother Church on the last journey to the little cemetery on St. Peter Street.

Let us remain close in the same prayer! May the Lord bless you abundantly!

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