Two Catholic Landmarks - New Orleans, Louisiana

(Photos/www.staugustinecatholicchurch-neworleans.org; CNS photo/Frank J Methe, Clarion Herald))

Destination: Two old churches in New Orleans, both of which received preservation grants from American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation after Hurricane Katrina, are worthwhile stops on your next visit to the city.
St. Augustine Church — which was saved from closing in 2006 — received $75,000 for repairs to its parish hall’s sealtab-shingle roof, and the St. Alphonsus Art and Cultural Center was given $80,000 to restore the 1891 front portico of the church building.
Mass is offered at St. Augustine Church at 10 a.m. Sundays. No Masses are said at the cultural center, a former New Orleans church.
In the photos are the Tomb of the Unknown Slave (top), which is part of the St. Augustine Church grounds. St. Alphonsus Art and Cultural Center (below).
Why to go: These Catholic landmarks represent two sides of the Church’s history in New Orleans.
St. Augustine Church, in the Treme neighborhood, was dedicated in 1842, as a church of the free black citizens of New Orleans, but welcomed both free and slave worshippers. The church was designed by J. N. B. de Pouilly’s, who also designed New Orleans’s St. Louis Cathedral. The parish is home to the Tomb of the Unknown Slave. The monument features a fallen cross made from a marine chain, each link weighing about 45 pounds. Simple crosses, chains and shackles, along with a memorial plaque, complete the memorial honoring nameless slaves buried on the church grounds and elsewhere throughout the U.S.
St. Alphonsus Art and Cultural Center, the girlhood parish of author Anne Rice, closed in 1979 and slowly deteriorated until a group of New Orleans residents convinced the Archdiocese of New Orleans to lease them the property in 1991. Consecrated in 1858, St. Alphonsus was originally built in 1855 by the Redemptorist Fathers to serve Irish immigrants. It boasts one of the largest collections of frescos crafted by Italian artist Domenico Canova in the world, contains stained-glass windows from Germany installed in 1888, and “from an artistic point of view, the building is priceless,” said Michael M. Davis, a center board member.
Access: There are some low stairs to manuever.
Admission: St. Alphonsus Art and Cultural Center is open Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
St. Augustine Church is an active parish, so it might be worth a call to arrange for a tour or to be sure it’s open for a visit.
(Grand) Kid friendly: At both sites, children are welcome to visit.
Info: Address: St. Augustine Church, 1210 Governor Nicholls St., New Orleans, LA 70116. Phone: 504/525-5934. Web: www.staugustinecatholicchurch-neworleans.org
Address: St. Alphonsus Art and Cultural Center, 2025 Constance St., New Orleans, LA 70130. Phone: 504/524-8116. Web: www.stalphonsusneworleans.org

- Compiled by Sharon Boehlefeld
Send your Catholic destinations ideas to seasonedobserver@rockforddiocese.org

Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis - New Orleans, Louisiana

(Observer photo by Amanda Hudson)

Destination: Formally known as the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis King of France, this New Orleans, La., church is the oldest, continuously-operating cathedral in the United States. It has been a parish since 1720.
Masses are 7:30  a.m. Monday-Saturday, 5 p.m. Saturday, 9 and 11 a.m. Sunday.
Why to go: In the historic French Quarter of New Orleans, the spires of the church rise over Jackson Square and can be seen from the opposite side of the Mississippi River. A small wooden church, built in 1718, was the first on the site. The Great New Orleans Fire of 1788 destroyed the second church, a brick and timber building finished in 1727. Construction of the third church on the site took place between 1789 and 1794. It was expanded and remodeled in 1850. Both Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II visited the cathedral.
On one side of the cathedral is the Old Ursuline Convent. Built in 1752, it is the only building from the French colonial period still standing in the United States. On the other side of the church, across Pirates Alley, is the Cabildo, site of the signing of the Louisiana Purchase, and a state museum. Both the convent and the Cabildo are open for tours.
When you’ve toured to your heart’s content, cross Jackson Square for a beignet at Cafe du Monde.
Ammenities: There are gift shops in the cathedral and the convent.
Access: Walking to the cathedral is easy from anywhere in the French Quarter. Be careful, there are some loose cobblestones in the walkways and a few steps to climb.
(Grand) Kid friendly: All of these sites are kid-friendly.
Info: Address — Cathedral-Basilica of Saint Louis King of France,  615 Pere Antoine Alley, New Orleans, LA 70116-3291. Phone — 504/525-9585. Web — www.stlouiscathedral.org

- Compiled by Sharon Boehlefeld
Send your Catholic destinations ideas to seasonedobserver@rockforddiocese.org