New Orleans shines with that luminous Catholic maxim, "both/and." She is a city that offers a feast for the body and the soul. Along with the andouille gumbo and crawfish étoufée, uptown parades and jazz funerals, clacking streetcars and Spanish moss, New Orleans also has a deep, rich Catholic history—maybe the richest in the United States.
It's hard to walk more than a few blocks in this city without encountering a beautiful, historic church. Here are just three of them, and these three are especially are dedicated to Our Lady. Take a weekend, or a day, or just a few hours between beignets and balconies to make a pilgrimage to these sacred places.
National Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor
In 1788, a fire doomed the city, including the Ursuline convent that housed sisters who had come from France to establish the first school for girls in the new United States. As the other sisters rushed to evacuate their students, Sister St. Anthony—one of the most elderly—climbed back up the stairs toward a window that faced the flames. She removed a small plaster statue of Our Lady from her pocket and placed it on the windowsill. Sister St. Anthony knelt down and prayed, "Oh, Lady of prompt aid, save us or we are lost." Almost instantly, the wind turned. The fire burned out.
About thirty years later, in 1815, a massive and elite British military doomed the tiny, ragtag American army at the Battle of New Orleans. Andrew Jackson warned the Ursulines to evacuate or prepare for violent, catastrophic destruction. The Ursulines refused to leave their mission, and began praying all-night vigils to ask Our Lady again for her prompt aid. Soon, citizens began flocking to the Ursuline's chapel. They joined the all-night vigils of prayer before the petite statue. Against all odds, the Americans triumphed. The city and her people were spared.
After the 1788 fire, one of the Ursulines told her students, "Our Lady saved us because she is a sweetheart." The little painted plaster statue has been known as "Sweetheart" ever since, and beloved by generations of New Orleans Catholics. Sweetheart may be the oldest existing image of Our Lady in the nation.
The Ursulines eventually moved their convent and school from the French Quarter to Uptown, bringing Sweetheart and another wooden statue of Our Lady of Prompt Succor with them. This national shrine was consecrated in 1928. Many marriages are celebrated here (that's my parents' wedding above). It is open daily for prayer and Mass. Snack tip: Is there a good reason you wouldn't take a 15-minute stroll over to Humble Bagel? No. There is not.
Immaculate Conception Jesuit Church
This stunning church has been built twice: first, in 1857, and then again in 1930 after the church floor split in half in a foundation rupture. Immaculate Conception is an ode to Our Lady's purity and beauty. The church offers an uncommon Moorish and Byzantine style of architecture and decoration. You'll see these elements in the 1,500-pound bronze doors, the rosettes on the cast iron pews, and the bronze chandeliers that hang from the soaring ceiling. Three levels of stained glass windows illuminate scenes from the lives of Our Lady, dozens of saints, and key figures of the Jesuit order.
The uniquely-shaped gold altar was designed by famed New Orleans architect James Freret, then constructed in Lyons, France. The altar won first place at the 1867 Paris Exposition. Above it is "Mary's Niche," where a beautiful marble rendering of Our Lady, hand-carved for the last queen of France, beckons from a gold backdrop.
Tucked between downtown offices and hotels, Jesuit Church (as locals call it) can be easy to miss. But above the busy sidewalk, pedestrians scrolling their phones, and tourists searching for souvenirs, the distinctive striped arches and rose windows are a bright sign of how our faith calls us to be in the world, yet not of it. Confession and Mass are offered frequently at times convenient for workers on their lunch breaks or between meetings. Snack tip: There's a French Truck around the corner on Canal Street for a coffee break.
Our Lady of the Holy Rosary
It's fitting that Holy Rosary is nestled among the great oaks of Esplanade Avenue near City Park and the New Orleans Museum of Art: here, you will encounter an oasis of glorious painting and sculpture. This church began as Sainte Marie du Rosaire in 1908 with the donation of land from a local family in honor of their mother. The church features a traditional organ and ornate white marble altar and pulpit. Circling the interior are stunning stained glass windows depicting the mysteries of the rosary. We often begin date nights with a visit to pray at Holy Rosary.
Our Lady of the Rosary also happens to be an ideal parking place for Jazz Fest. A special Jazz Fest Mass schedule offers convenient options so you can worship God before you soak up all that music and crawfish bread. Snack tip: You're across the street from Cafe Degas. Wine is 30 percent off on Thursdays. You're welcome.
“The loveliest masterpiece of the heart of God is the heart of a mother. In trial or difficulty
I have recourse to Mother Mary.” +St Therese of Lisieux
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