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IN AND AROUND
THE OLD
'm
ouis Cathedral
OF NEW ORLEANS
Rev. C. M. Chambon
New Orleans
P/iilippe's Printery, Exchange Place
1908
LIBRARY of CONGKESS
Two Copies Received
NOV 6 1908
Copyrlgnt entry
CLASS ck. XXc. No,
COPYRIGHT, 1908
BY C. M. CHAMBON
NEW ORLKANS
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TO THE MEMORY
OF THE
MISSIONARIES AND COLONISTS
WHOSE
FAITH AND GALLANTRY
MADE OF
LOUISIANA A LAND OF RELIGION AND ROMANCE
THIS ESSAY IS
HUMBLY INSCRIBED
INTRODUCTION.
This publication does not lay claim to originality.
It has been composed with the help of many sympa-
thizers, and some of its pages are mere translations
of old documents or quotations from periodicals and
local publications.
The author wrote with the sacred love of the
past, but never failed to aim to the verity of facts,
even when he found it necessary to differ from noted
historians whose merits are beyond question. The
best tribute one could ever confer ou the Mother
Church of Louisiana is to present its history clothed
in the divine garb of truth.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Francois XaYier Martin :
The History of Loixisiaua from the Earliest Period. New
Orleans, 1882.
Charles Gayarr^ :
History of Louisiana. New Orleans, 1903.
Alc^e Fortier :
A History of Louisiana. Paris and New York, 1904.
John Giluiary Shea :
History of the Catholic Church in the United States. New
York, 1892.
The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church in the United
States. New York, 1886.
The Defenders of Our Faith. New York, 1892.
Camille de Rochemonteix :
Les J68uite8 et la Nouvelle France an 18e Siecle. Paris,
1906.
Henry C. Castellauos:
New Orleaus As It AVas. New Orleans, 1905.
A Member of the Order of Mercy :
Essays Educational and Historic. NeAv York, 1899.
L. J. Loeweustein :
History of the St. Louis Cathedral of New Orleans. 1882.
James M. Augustin :
Sketch of the Catholic Church in Louisiana. New Orleans,
1893.
Transfer of Louisiana from France to the United States.
New Orleans, 1904.
Henry Rightor :
Standard History of New Orleaus. Chicago, 1900.
Howard Memorial Library:
Books and Pamphlets on Church History.
Manuscript Authorities:
Archives of the City Hall of New Orleans.
Archives of the Saint Louis Cathedral of New Orleans.
Centeuaire du Pere Autoine. New Orleans, 1885.
^•f
CONTENTS.
PART I — HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
chapter i.
The Saint Louis Parish Church of New Orleans and
THE Capuchin Fathers of France and
Spain in Louisiana.
First Religious Structures in New Orleans — Orgauizatiou
of the Catholic Church iu Louisiana — The Capuchin
Fathers of Champagne — New Orleans and Its People
in Early Colonial Days — The Jesuit War — The Capu-
chin Quarrel — Truth Better Than Legend — The End
of an Epoch ......... 15
chapter II.
Don Andres Almonester y Roxas.
A Nohle Benefactor — A Solemn Dedication — The Troubles
of a Generous Man — "Sic Transit Gloria Mundi." . 37
chapter III.
Pere Antoine.
A Much Debated Character — The Tribunal of the Holy In-
quisition iu Louisiana — Humility and Charity of P^re
Antoine — A Pompous Funeral 47
PART II — THE SAINT LOUIS CATHEDRAL.
chapter i.
In Coming Down a Century. 63
chapter II.
A "Te Deum" of Victory.
General Jackson Welcomed at the Cathedral's Threshold by
Abb^ Louis Guillaume Dubourg 64
chapter III.
The Cathedral of Our Days.
The Cathedral Repaired, Decorated and Furnished . . 71
— 10 —
chapter iv.
For Visitors' Sake.
Cosmopolitau Character of a Congregation — The Swiss
Guard — A Glimpse of the Altars, Paintings p.nd Stained
Glass Windows — The Abode of Illustrious Dead . . 75
CHAPTER V.
The CATHEDitAL Archives.
How the Records Were Handed Down — Oldest Entries —
Terrible Stories in a Few Lines Side Lights on Civil
and Religious Life of Old 91
PART III — AROUND THE CATHEDRAL.
chapter i.
The Old St. Louis Cemetery.
Successive Locations of the Earliest Cemetery of New Or-
leans — Inscriptions of Historical Interest — The For-
gotten Corner — Lessons on Life Learned from the
Dead 107
chapter h.
St. Anthony Mortuary Chapel.
The Origin of a Shrine — The Last Years of a Soldier Priest
— The St. Anthony Chapel Becomes an Italian Parish
Church 123
chapter III.
The Old Ursuline Convent (Archbishopric).
Pioneers of Female Education in North America — Memo-
rable Journey of the Ursuline Nuns — A Triumphal Pag-
eant — A Mute Witness of the Past .... 133
CENTENNIAL GLORIES.
A Century of Episcopacy 153
"Mutantur Imperia, Ecclesia Durat" . . . 165
ILLUSTRATIONS.
His Grace. Most Rev. James H. Blenk (frontispiece)
Father Dagobert de Lougiiy .....
The Saiut Louis Cathedral of New Orleans in 1794
Don Andres Almonester y Roxas ....
Right Rev. Penalver y Cardenas
Fac Simile of the Page Recording the First Sale of
Pews of the Saint Louis Cathedral
Pere Autoiue de Sedella ......
The Cathedral Viewed from the River about 1840
Abb6 Guillaume V. Dubourg
Very Rev. H. C. Mignot ....
A Cosmopolitan Group
The Swiss Guard in Full Regalia
Altar of Our Lady of Lourdes
Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes .
Interior of the Cathedral ....
The Cathedral Archives and Their Custodian
Side View of the Old St. Louis Cemetery
Charles Gayarr6 and Etieune de Bora's Tomb
The Neglected Corner
A Forlorn Alley
St. Anthony Chapel in 1840 ....
Father Turgis
The Landing of the Ursuline Nuns
The Present Ursuline Convent
The Old Ursuline Convent (Archbishopric)
His Grace, Most Rev. Francis Janssens
Very Rev. H. Hage
A Memorable Procession
Rev. de la Morini^re
Right Rev. Mousignore J. M. Laval, V. G. .
His Excellence, Most Rev. Louis P. Chapelle
the
28
38
41
43
45
51
65
67
73
77
79
83
85
87
93
113
115
117
119
125
129
137
145
149
155
158
167
169
171
175
PART I.
HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
CHAPTER I.
THE SAINT LOUIS PARISH CHURCH OF NEW ORLEANS
AND THE CAPUCHIN FATHERS OF FRANCE
AND SPAIN IN LOUISIANA.
First Religious Structukes of New Orleans — Organiza-
tion OF THE Catholic Church in Louisiana — The
Capuchin Fathers of Champagne — New Orleans
AND Its People in Early Colonial Days — The
Jesuit War — The Capuchin Quarrel — Truth Bet-
ter Than Legend — Thic End of an Epoch.
It is impossible not to feel the peaceful repose,
the strange stillness which pervades the atmosphere
of the Saint Louis Cathedral: romance and religion
blend there more closely than at any other spot of
this quaint old city. But few, if any, of the vast
throngs that daily cross its threshold have ever given
a thought to its predecessor, an humble church of
old wherein, for more than sixty years, Capuchin
Fathers toiled and ministered to the settlers and
colonists of the earlier New Orleans.
This Saint Louis Parish Church, as it was called,
has long since disappeared, its priests are dead and
forgotten, and nothing remains to tell their story
but a few documents, almost all incomplete, dis-
orderly, and some partly altered by legend.
Nevertheless, each and every one of them is a
fragment of history, and all deserved to be gathered
le-
as to give not only a mere accnnmlation of facts,
but also the true significance of their compilation.
Although the Saint Louis Parish Church traces
its origin to the very beginning of the foundation
of New Orleans, it was not the first religious edifice
ever erected in this city. According to the his-
torian, Charlevoix, the Saint Louis Parish Church
was preceded by another church and two temporary
shelters devoted to religious purposes.
" I have at last arrived in this famous city called
La Nouvelle-Orleans,writes Charlevoix to the Duchess
of Lesdiguieres on January 10, 1722 * * * about
a hundred huts placed here and there, a large store
of wood, one or three houses and half of a miserable
store comprise the town; the humblest village in
France can boast of better homes. It was in this little
store the Lord was first worshipped, but hardly had He
been placed therein, when they had Him removed to
place Him under a tent." To our eyes, an utter disre-
gard of religion, but little else could be expected from
the settlers who first cleared the land and built some
hundred huts along the river. They were not May
Flower Pilgrims, but mostly traders, soldiers and
adventurers, whose religious feelings had been un-
doubtedly dulled by their life of travel and hardships.
However, shortly after Charlevoix's visit, and
possibly at his own instigation, something more
decent than a tent was offered to the Lord as a house
of worship. This was a small stucco church, the
first regular church ever built in New Orleans.
Lovenstein, in his history of the Saint Louis Cathedral,
— 17 —
asserts that this church had been dedicated to Saint
Ignatius, its rector being- a Capuchin father named
Matthias 5 but of this we find no record whatsoever.
All we know of this first parish church of New Or-
leans is its destruction by a terrible hurricane which
occurred on the 11th of September, 1723.
Again New Orleans was without a place of wor-
ship, and the prospects of the Church in this new
country would have been hopeless if a religious organi-
zation had not been already planned and fostered for
Louisiana.
Catholicism had penetrated into Louisiana with
civilization. De Soto, La Salle, Bienville, in all
their expeditions, were accompanied by missionaries.
Priests from Canada came down the ^Mississippi with
the traders and the soldiers to christianize the
Southern tribes and minister to the first settlers
scattered along the Gulf and the lower banks of the
" Great River."
But these missionaries were almost without re-
sources, completely isolated, and thus their ministry
could not be progressive or fruitful ; a more syste-
matic as well as a broader ecclesiastical government
was deemed imperative.
Reports had reached Bishop Saint Vallier of
Quebec about the laxity of religion and utter dis-
regard of moral law then prevailing among the
colonists of Louisiana. These reports, together with
other statements from authentic sources about the
spiritual destitution of the colony, induced the
Western Company's Commissioners to come to a
— 18 —
better fulfilment of the duties they had shouldered
in obtaining the monopoly of trade in Louisiana.
"As we regard particularly the glory of God, reads
the 53rd clause of the " Lettres Patentes,' we desire
the Inhabitants, Indians, Il^egroes, to be taught the
true religion. The said Company shall be compelled
to build, at its expense, churches at the place where
it forms settlements, as also to maintain the required
number of approved ecclesiastics, either with the
rank of parish i)riests, or such men as shall be suitable
to preach the Holy Gospel, i^erform divine service
and administer the sacraments; all to be under the
authority of the Bishop of Quebec, the said colony
remaining in his diocese as heretofore, and the parish
priests and other ecclesiastics which the Company
shall maintain there, being at his nomination and
under his patronage."
With the consent of the Bishop of Quebec, the
Commissioners of the Council of the Western Company
issued an ordinance, May 16, 1722, dividing Louis-
iana into three ecclesiastical sections. North of the
Ohio was intrusted to the Society of Jesus and the
priests of the Foreigu Missions of Quebec and Paris.
The district between the Mississippi and the Rio
Perdito, as also the country north of the Ohio, was
tendered to the Discalced Carmelite Fathers, with
their headquarters in Mobile. The French and Indian
settlements of the Lower ^Mississippi were assigned
to the Capuchin Fathers of the Province of Cham-
pagne, France.
I^ot long after, this division was greatly altered.
The Carmelites were recalled and their district given
over to the Capuchins. But they, not having the
— 19 —
requisite number of priests, forced the Western
Company to intrust tlie religious welfare of all the
Indian tribes to the Jesuit Fathers. Thus, Louisiana
was finally divided between the Capuchins and the
Jesuits : the former in charge of the colonisis and
the latter in charge of the Indians. Both the su-
periors of these orders were vicar-generals of the
Bishop of Quebec, each in his own jurisdiction.
It is no wonder that we find the Jesuits among
the pioneers of religion in Louisiana. They are and
have been nearly everywhere where Christianity
could be propagated. But the presence of the
Capuchins, under these Southern skies, astonishes
us somewhat. In fact, their coming into this country
originated from a mere coincidence. When the Com-
missioners of the Western Company applied for mis-
sionaries, the spiritual welfare of the colony was
intrusted to Louis Francis Duplessis de Mornay,
Bishop "in partibus " of Eumenia and Coadjutor to
the Bishop of Quebec.
This prelate, who had been a Capuchin himself,
resided in Paris, and from there supervised and
directed the missionaries of the ])rovince. When
the Western Company applied to him in 1717 for
missionaries to be seut in Louisiana, Bishop de
IMornay tendered the offer to the Capuchin Order,
from which he came. They accepted gratefully and re-
ceived the King's approval on April of the same year.
However, their earliest appearance in their new
field of labor is not chronicled before 1720, three years
after their assignment. Father Jean Matthieu de
— 20 —
Saiute Anne is the first whose name has been recorded
in this country. He signs himself in the register of
the parish of New Orleans on the 22d of October,
1720, as '^ Jean Matthieii de Sainte Anne, Pretre Mis-
sionnaire et Cure du Vieux Biloxi." Further on, on
the 18th of January, 1721, he again signs himself as
" Vicaire Apostolique et Cure de La Mobile."
In 1722 Father Bruno de Langres sailed from
France with several of his brethren. Father Kaphael
de Luxembourg, Superior of the Capuchin Missions
in Louisiana, arrived the following spring, 1723, and
took charge of the Parish Church of New Orleans.
A register in the Saint Louis Cathedral archives
shows his signature August 18th, 1723, as "F.
Eaphael de Luxembourg, Superieur de la Mission et
Cure de I'l^glise paroissiale."
A little later, January, 1721, he adds the title of
Vicar-General, which he had received from the Bishop
of Quebec.
The first Capuchins who came to Louisiana bad
much to contend with upon their arrival in New Or-
leans. Their congregation was scattered over a large
area, and, added to their poverty, there was a total
ignorance of religion. Colonists were even imbued
with the skepticism and naturalism, which at that
time were already undermining the French nation.
Father Raphael tells us when he landed in New
Orleans he could hardly secure a room for himself
and his brethren to occupy, and much less one to
convert into a chapel, for the population was indiffer-
ent to all that savored of the church. On Sundays,
a little over thirty persons attended mass. Un-
daunted, the Capuchin Fathers toiled on and at last
— 21 —
were rewarded by seeing" dormaut hearts pulsate
once more for their religion. The garb of these
monks became a familiar sight and the ceremonies of
the Church brought the colonists sweet recollections
of their mother country.
Less than a couple of years following his arrival,
Father Raphael was gladdened by the erection of a
church built to replace the first one i^rematurely de-
stroyed by the hurricane of September, 1723. It was
on a larger scale than the former, built of brick
and dedicated to Saint Louis, in honor of Louis the
Fifteenth, then King of France.
Thus, after years of hardships and trials, the
Capuchins were comparatively established in a stately
manner, and their '^ Saint Louis Parish Church " was
destined to become, for a period of sixty years and
more, the center of the colonial life in New Orleans.
When Xew Orleans completed its first decade of
existence, the Saint Louis Parish Church was the
only redeeming feature of the city. Although it was
comj^aratively a small and poorly decorated church,
its spire towered over the other buildings with some-
what of majesty. The Capuchins' residence stood at
its left, the Guard House at its right. In front of
its porch, the " Place d'Armes" infolded a square of
green, through which two diagonal alleys led to the
harbor. The homes of the colonial officials and com-
mercial potentates were mostly situated on the water
front or along Chartres street. The " Place d'Armes "
and its surroundiugs were then the fashionable
quarters.
As for tlie rest, it was forlorn coiifiusion, and,
tliougb the plan of the city showed a large parallel-
ogram of five thousand feet of river front by a
depth of eighteen hundred, yet, the greatest part of
it was rather disorderly and squalid, the ground
being" occupied but by a few scattered log cabins,
thatched with cypress, isolated from each other by
willow brakes, sloughs, bristling with dwarf palmet-
toes and reedy ponds swarming- with reptiles. JSTo
one yet had built beyond J)aui)hine street, nor below
the Hospital— now the corner of Chartres and Hos-
pital streets — nor above Bienville, except the Gover-
nor, whose i)alace stood at the extreme upper corner
of the town — now Customhouse and Decatur streets.
Such was New Orleans when it completed its
first decade of existence. If we deprive the vision
of its halo, the New Orleans of 1728 was nothing
more than a poor village, hastily built between a
formidable river and dismal swamps. Nevertheless
it was New Orleans, and beyond the far horizon,
the wise could foresee its future glory already dawn-
ing. In his letter to the Duchess of Lesdiguieres,
Charlevoix wrote these prophetic words : '' My hopes,
I think, are well founded that this wild and desert
place, which the reeds and trees still cover almost
entirely, will be one day, and that day not far distant,
a city of opulence, and the metropolis of a great and
rich colony."
We cannot, indeed, refrain from wonder and ad-
miration when we think of the little village of 1728,
and compare it to the New Orleans of to-day, gra-
ciously bending its mighty crescent along the restless
■waters of the Mississippi.
— 23 —
Although Xew Orleans by no means in its be-
ginnings suggested the splendors of Paris, there was
no lack of interest in its social life. There was a
Governor with a military staff ; and the army ofQcers,
with their manners once displayed at the Court of
Versailles, lent to the colonial life an air of gallantry
and grandeur. As in France, in this time, the Gov-
ernment was in close touch with the Church : the
Governor used to call on the good Capuchin Fathers
and his wife visited the Ursuline Ladies who had
come to take charge of the hospital and give the
daughters of the colonists the thorough education im-
parted in French convents.
But besides the manners and usages imported
from the mother country, there were also quaint
customs which gave to the Louisiana of colonial
days characteristics so much talked of in romance
and so little known in history.
There has been lately discovered, in the archives
of the Saint Louis Cathedral, a document partially
illustrating this subject. It refers to a meeting held
by the prominent citizens of the city at which were
discussed the most feasible ways and means of rais-
ing the necessary funds for the erection of a pres-
bytery.
The following extract is translated from the
original: ''This second day of November, 1738, the
inhabitants of the colony assembled at the Hotel of
the Intendauce, upon the requisition of Father Mat-
thias, Vicar-General to the Bishop of Quebec, in
presence of Mr. de Bienville, Governor of the pro-
vince of Louisiana, and Mr. Salmon, Commissary
of the Navy and First Justice of the Superior Coun-
— 24 —
cil. The assembly had been amiouuced yesterday in
the parish church of this city, and the bells were
rung to call the meeting- to-day." Then follow the
deliberations "which could not be put into execution
on account— says a later report — of a war and gen-
eral famine, which broke out in the colony." In 1744
this same project was revived and the following reso-
lutions adopted : "A tax of fifty cents will be im-
jiosed upon all the inhabitants of the parish for each
and every head of negroes. In addition to this the in-
habitants have agreed upon a personal tax propor-
tioned to the amount of real estate owned by them,
said amount to be decided by a board composed of
ten of the most prominent citizens."
Through the generosity of the parishioners the
presbytery was erected. There dwelt the parish
priest,
Father Raphael de Luxembourg, with his assistant,
Father Hyacinthe, and the school master,
Father Cecil.
It also served as a "pied-a-terre" for the follow-
ing Capuchin Fathers, then iu charge of the country
missions :
Father Theodore, from Chapitoulas.
Father Philippe, from Les Allemands.
Father Gaspard, from La Balize.
Father Matthias, from La Mobile.
Father Maximin, from Natchitoches.
Father Fhilihert, from Natchez.
Father Yietorin Dupny, from Les Apalaches.
— 25 —
The decisions of the Western Coinpauy gave to
the Capuchins the exclusive control of the colonists;
as we already know, the evangelization of the In-
dians had been intrusted to the Jesuit Fathers. Their
Superior, Father Petit, resided iu New Orleans, as the
most convenient place to have his headquarters to
direct and support his brethren in charge of the
tribes and whose names, taken from a report of that
time, are as follows :
Father Poisson, with the Arkansas.
Father Tartarin and
Father Le Boulenger at Kaskia.
Father Gnypeneau among the Metchigameas.
Father Dontreleau on the Ouabache.
Father Sonel among the Yazoos.
Father Beaudouin, who was then attempting the
dangerous task of establishing a mission among the
treacherous Chickasaws.
Notwithstanding the distinct and separate juris-
diction of the Capuchins and of the Jesuits, there
occurred some friction between these two orders,
which gave rise to a series of contentions known de-
risively as the "War of the Capuchins with the
Jesuits."
Father Beaudouin, having received a commission
as Vicar-General from the Bishop of Quebec, per-
formed in that capacity certain ceremonies in the city.
The Capuchin Fathers, together with the Councilmen,
protested against what they considered an encroach-
ment upon their rights in their jurisdictiou, adding
that according to their agreement with the Western
Companj^, the Superior of the Jesuits could reside in
New Orleans, but could not, without their consent,
— 26 —
perform therein any religious function. To this the
Jesuits objected, maintaining- that there was no vio-
lation of the established rules, as tlieir Superior acted
not as a Jesuit, but as Vicar-General to the Bishop
of Quebec. So tlie motive of the famous war was a
mere question of jurisdiction; in reality a petty dis-
cussion unworthy of notice. Some writers, however,
have exaggerated its importance, but failed at the
same time to emphasize the shameful spoliation of
the Jesuits by the French Government, which sud-
denly put an end to the quarrel. For it was at this
same time, the 9th of June, 1763, that an Act of the
Superior Council of Louisiana supi)ressed the Order
of the Jesuits throughout the colony, saying it was
dangerous to the royal authority, to the rights of tlie
bishops, to the public peace and safety. The Jesuits
were forbidden to use the name of their society, as
also tlieir habit. Their property was confiscated and
sold for $180,000. Moreover, the Jesuits were not
only deprived of their property, but their chapel was
leveled to the ground, leaving exposed the vaults
wherein the dead were interred. They were com-
pelled to give up their missions, and were placed on
a vessel about to sail for France.
Not only did the Capuchins forget their dissen-
sions, but interfered in the behalf of the Jesuits,
going so far as to offer them a temporary shelter
alongside their own. The hitter, greatly pleased by
this solicitude, exi)ressed their gratitude by leaving
their hosts the books they had saved from the spolia-
tion.
It is sad to say that the same writer who de-
scribed the Capuchin war to its trilling details, did
— 27 —
not find a single Avoid wherewith to bhime the spolia-
tors who marred our history with such a shaineful
crime against the light of proi)erty and hiiinan lib-
erty. Among the men responsible for this horrible
profanation, La Freniere's name alone descended to
us. Strange to sny, his fate was an awful one. Less
than six years after the exile of the Jesuits he was
charged with conspiracy and put to death by the
Spanish Government. In history he is ranked among
the martyrs of liberty; but who could heartily give
such a title to the very one who shamefully wronged
his fellow citizens, and banished those who had con-
tributed so much, both to the social and the materuil
advancement of the colony 1
Out of the nine or ten Capuchins left in Louisi-
ana, when the Jesuits were expelled, five resided in
New Orleans, with Father Dagobert de Longuy at
their head. He had succeeded as superior Father
Hilaire de Gen^vaux, exiled from the province some
years previous, for having refused to share in a
scheme of revolt planned by the council men against
the Spaniards. Father Dagobert was well known
and beloved in the colony. Having landed in ISTew
Orleans in the very beginning of 172.3, he was already
an old man when promoted to the Siiperiorship of his
Order. He lived long enough, however, to witness
the landing of the Spaniards, as also the flrst years
of O'Reilly's administration. It was he who stood on
the threshold of the church to welcome this famous
General in the name of the clergy and parishioners,
— 28 —
when the hitter, on the 18th of August, 1769, sur-
rounded by his escort in gorgeous array, crossed the
"Place d' Amies" and proceeded to the church.
Amidst the hon-
ors and solemni-
ties befitting the
occasion. Father
Dagobert prom-
ised fidelity to the
Crown of Spain
and blessed the
new colors which
were hoisted in
place of the white
banner of France.
The change of
government caus-
ed a change of ec-
clesiastical juris-
diction. The prov-
ince passed from
the hands of the
Bishop of Quebec
to the hands of the Bishoi^ of Santiago of Cuba. At
first the new prelate confirmed Father Dagobert in
his capacity of Vicar-General, with which he had been
invested after the expulsion of the Jesuits. This was
the wish of Louis XV, who asked, in the cession of
Louisiana, "for the ecclesiasticals to be continued in
their functions in the province." But, soon, this royal
wish was disregarded, and not long after the landing
of O'Keilly, Spanish Capuchins began to fill the place
of their French brethren.
Photo C. M. C. Courtesy of Miss DeVilliers-
Rev. Father Dagobert de Longuy.
— 29 —
This action, however, did not pass without trou-
ble, and the same monks who protested against the
alleged encroachments of the Jesuits, tried, some ten
years after, to oppose the pretentions of the Spanish
Capuchins. Contradictory reports reached the new
bishop about religious conditions in Louisiana, and
led him to investigate. For tliis purpose he sent
Father Cyrillo de Barcelona, with four Spanish Ca-
puchins, to New Orleans, namely: Fatlier Francisco,
Father Angel de Revillagodos, Father Louis de Quin-
tanilla and Father Aleman. They landed on the 19th
of July, 1773. Father Dagobert, leading the French
Capuchins, and followed by a large crowd, went in a
procession to the levee. Standing in front of the
"Place d'Armes" the new comers were received with
due honors and great demonstrations of joy. The
next day they were formally introduced to Governor
Unzaga. Father Cyrillo then presented his creden-
tials from the bishop, whereupon the Governor ex-
pressed his willingness to carry into execution the
mandates of his superior, the Bishop of Cuba.
Fathers Aleman and Angel de Revillagodos were
at once appointed to parishes requiring pastors, and
Father Cyrillo, with his two other companions, re-
mained in ISTew Orleans as Father Dagobert's guests.
This arrangement, however, was not destined to last,
both characters being utterly dissimilar. Father
Dagobert v/as more a father than a monk; having
come into the colony as a young missionary, he had
baptized and married almost every one. He was
kind, meek, and always ready to render a service to
the humblest of his flock, thus inspiring love instead
of fear and mistrust.
— 30 —
Fatlier C^u-illo was the very opposite of this.
Brought up iu the Spanish convents, where stern dis-
cipline knew no master, he always abided by the rigid
rules of his Order. Therefore, the manner in which
his French brethren exercised their duties seemed
scandalous to him, and he informed the Bishop of
Cuba concerning what he considered lax methods of
administration. Governor Unzaga interfered iu be-
half of the French Capuchins, and wrote a letter of
remonstrance to the bishop, in which he censured the
Spanish friars severely. This offended the bishop
and both parties referred the matter to the Spanish
Court. The Government, without expressing a de-
cisive opinion, advised both Prelate and Governor to
compromise their disagreement so as to better pre-
serve harmony between civil and ecclesiastical au-
thorities. And peace was once more restored : Father
Cyrillo continued to minister with an indomitable
zeal, whilst Father Dagobert remained in charge of
the Saint Louis Parochial Church of Xew Orleans
until his death, which occurred on the 31st of May,
177G.
Tlie funeral services were conducted by Father
Cyrillo himself, and he signed the following entry in
the mortuary register:
"I, Cyrillo de Barcelona peiformed the
funeral service of Rer. Dagobert of Longuy of the
Province of Champagne, a member of the Capuchin
Order, and Apostolic Missionary of this Province for
fifty-three years, eleven months and eleven days, as
it appears from his act of obedience to the Rev. Bar-
tholome y Faxera. He was rector of this Parish
Church when he died, at the age of seventy-four
— 31 —
years, nine mouths and eleven days, on tlie 31st of
May, having- received all the sacraments of the
Church in the Presbytery.
'•New Orleans, June 1st, 1776.
"Rev. Cyrillo de Barcelona."
The same liistorian who related, as the world be-
lieves, so graphicall}', even to the minutest details,
the war of the Capuchins with the Jesuits, deemed
"it not inappropriate" to give in full the dreadful
letters of Cyrillo; but this historian had failed to
offer a true explanation of the cause and character of
the whole quarrel.
Some speak of Father Dagobert as if he was a
saint, others paint him in the most ugly colors. But
all exaggerate, and it is more truthful to say that
Father Dagobert deserves neither that excess of
honor, bestowed on him by some, nor the indignity
heaped upon his memory by others. Governor Un-
zaga eulogizes Father Dagobert and refers to him as
a man loved and revered by the people, a most de-
serving ])riest, in whom one could not detect a single
one of the crimes imputed to him. ^Moreover, if he
had been as this historian depicts him, he could not
have escaped Count O'Reilly's vigilant eye, as the
latter lived but a few yards distant from him, and
would have had him removed for less than his ac-
cusers charged hi in. "The declarations which are
sometimes found in the writings of that day, respect-
ing clerical depravity," says a writer, whose impar-
tiality is universally recognized, "as a rule, had their
origin in monastic prejudice or secular antipathies.
— 32 —
The clergy must have shared in the virtues of that
period, for, otherwise, their iniluence among- the peo-
ple would appear incomprehensible."
As to Cyrillo's accusations, they must not be
attributed to bad faith ; for when he arrived in Lou-
isiana he was totally ignorant of the customs and
language of the country. ^Misguided by his zeal, he
saw in Father Dag^obert's methods much to censure,
and thought it his duty to express his indig-nation to
the Bishop of Cuba.
But to depict Father Cyrillo as ambitious and
intriguing- would be doing- him a most undeserved in-
justice, as he led a very saintly life during his stay
in the colony. When Father Cyrillo succeeded Father
Dagobert as the head of the Parochial Church of iSTew
Orleans, the King of Spain was informed that the
Sacrament of Confirmation had never been adminis-
tered in Louisiana, owing to the impossibility of the
Bishop of Cuba traveling to such a remote part of his
diocese. Therefore, the King resolved in his Council
of the Indies, July 10, 1779, to apply to the Holy
See to give the Superior of the Missions in Louisiana
the power to confer Confirmation for a period of
twenty years. This proposition was not favorably
received, but the appointment of an auxiliary bishop
was suggested, with his headquarters in New Or-
leans, whence he could visit the missions on the JNIis-
sissippi as well as jMobile, Pensacola and St. Augus-
tine.
The Pope favored the plan and appointed Father
Cyrillo de Barcelona Auxiliary Bishop to the See of
Santiago of Cuba, with the title of Bishop "in partibus
infldelium " of Tricali. The new prelate was consecrat-
— 33 —
ed iu 1781 and proceeded to New Orleans, wLicli then
for the first time enjoyed the presence of a Bishop.
Cyrillo, being a really holy and saintly man, infused
new life into the province. In 1786 he issued a pas-
toral letter, urging his flock in eloquent terms to
attend mass on Sundays and Holy days, denouncing
the wicked custom of the negroes who, at the ves-
pers hour, assembled in a green expanse called "Place
Congo" to dance the bamboula and perform the hid-
eous rites imported from Africa by the Yolofs, Fou-
lahs, Bambarras, Mandigoes and other races of the
Dark Continent.
This zealous prelate proved tireless, faithfully
visiting the country parishes, and leaving on the pa-
rochial register a detailed report of his investiga-
tions, urging everywhere the careful fulfilment of the
mandates of the Council of Trent. During his admin-
istration the number of priests in Louisiana increased
rapidly, and from the official accounts we find five
priests in New Orleans and one in the following
places: Terre aux Ba?ux, Saint Charles, Saint John
the Baptist, or Bonnet Carre, Saint James, Ascension,
Saint Gabriel at Iberville, Pointe Coupee, Attakapas,
Opelousas, Natchitoches, Natchez, Saint Louis, Sainte
Genevieve, Saint Bernard, at Manchac, or Galveston.
Bishop Cyrillo's services in Louisiana were cut
short by the establishment of the province into a
diocese independent from the See of Cuba, in 1793.
"His Holiness" wrote the King, on the 23rd of
November, 1793, "having issued the consistorial de-
cree for the dismemberment of Louisiana and Florida
and the establishment of a new Bishopric in these
provinces, I have decided to withdraw your office of
— 34 —
Auxiliary, and order yoii to return to your Capuchin
Province of Catalonia, with a salary of -f 1,000 per
year."
Bishop Cyrillo returned to Havana and abided
with the Hospital Friars until such time as he could
obtain the ])ayment of his salary, whereby he could
obey the Kiug by returning' to his own country. We
have no record of when or how Bishop Cyrillo died.
But this much we know, his life was one of trials and
hardships, ending in poverty and humility. Such
was the man who unconsciously started and fought
the famous "Quarrel of the Capuchins."
The lives and the deeds of both Fathers Dago-
bert and Cyrillo, better than any plea, show that the
quarrel originated from the contact of two men di-
versely educated, but by no means si)rung from their
ambition or jealousy. Instead of "an historical illus-
tration" that Gayarre deemed "not inappropriate"
to iusert in his history, he has only succeeded in
writing a tale '-a la liabelais," but in a much less
talented wav.
AVhen Bisho[) Cyrillo was appoijited Auxiliaiy
Bishop to the See of Cuba, with the s[)ecial care of
Louisiana and Florida, lie resigned the rectorship of
the Saint Louis Patochial Churcli and appointed in
his stead Father Antonio de Sedela y Arze.
This famous monlc, better known as "Pefe Au-
toine," was the last rector of the Parish Cliurch, but
by lu:) nu'ans the less illustrious.
If we include the two priests wlio had exercised
the functions of lectors in New Orleans, previously
— 35 —
to the erection of the Saint Lonis Parish Church in
1724 or 1725, we obtain the following complete list of
the rectors of the ecclesiastical parish of IS'ew Or-
leans, from the foundation of the city to 1788, when
the Saint Louis Parish Church met with its unex-
pected fate :
Father Prothay Boyer, 1720, a Eecollet.
Father Joseph de Saint Charles, 1721, a priest of
the congregation of Saint Theresa.
The Eevs. John iMatthew of Saint Ann and J.
Eichard performed their sacred ministry in New Or-
leans from time to time about 1720, but never assumed
the title of rector. They signed " Eector of the ' Yieux
Biloxi.' "
Father Bruno de Langres was one of the first
Capuchins who landed in New Orleans. He signs as
rector of the city from 1722 until 1723, till the arrival
of his superior.
Father Raphael de Luxembourg, first Superior of
the Cai)uchins, and rector from 1723 to his death in
1735.
Father Matthias, his successor, was depriv^ed of
his functions in 1739 and was succeeded by
Father Philippe de Genevaux. also dismissed in
1741, and succeeded by
Father Charles de Iiamhervilliers, a holy man, who
did much to assure and maintain tlie concord between
the Jesuits and the Capuchins. He died about 1746,
and left as his successor
Father Dagobert de Longuy. This latter quarreled
again with the Jesuits and was succeeded by
Father George de Fauqucmont in 1753. After the
— 36 —
expulsion of the Jesuits, De Fauquemont was sup-
planted by
Father Hilaire de Genevatix, who arrived from
France in August, 1764. The following- year he was
banished by the Superior Couucil, and for the sec-
ond time,
Father Bagobert de Longuy was appointed Supe-
rior of the Capuchin Fathers, which office he retained
until his death in 1776. Following him came
Father Cyrillo de Barcelona, who himself ap-
pointed as his successor
Father Antonio de Sedella, in or about 1785.
The latter had been in charge but a few years
when the Saint Louis Parish Church perished in the
great coniiagration that swept a large area of the
city, on March 21st, 1788. So, unexpectedly, there
was erased from the heart of the city this church, in
which during more than sixty years the people of New
Orleans came to worship. Being the only parochial
church of the city in colonial days, it was the center
of the social and religious life.
With it disappeared the hist witness of romantic
and chivalrous Louisiana. But its ashes proved im-
mortal, as less than six years after the awful Good
Friday of 1788, a majestic Cathedral rose on the very
spot whereupon stood the '-Saint Louis Parish Church
of New Orleans."
CHAPTER II.
DON ANDRES ALMONESTER Y ROXAS.
A Noble Benkfactoh — A Solemn Dedication — Troubles
OF A Goi.d-Hearticd Man — "Sic Transit Gloria
MUNDI."
The Saiut Louis Cathedral of IS'ew Orleans owes
its existence to the generosity of Don Andres Al-
monester y Iloxas. This Spanish nobleman was born
at Mayrena del Alcor, in the Kingdom of Sevilla.
His parents, Don Miguel Jose Almonester and Donna
Maria Joanna de Estrada, were members of the first
families of Andalusia.
A royal notary, judge, standard bearer, colonel of
the militia, knight of the illustrious Order of Carlos
III, all these titles were borne by him with the utmost
dignity. His memory, however, would long since have
been forgotten if it had not been rescued from obli-
vion by his everlasting generosity.
When in 1779 a terrible hurricane swept away
the humble hospital which a simple sailor named
Jean Louis founded in 17.37, Almonester had another
one erected at a cost of no less than $114,000. In
1787, the same generous benefactor donated a beau-
tiful chapel to the Ursuline Convent and also built
schools for the instruction of girls.
A few years later, Almonester acquainted the
councilmen (they were at this time administrators of
the Church property) with his intention of rebuilding
the parish church that had just been destroyed by
^1 <^»l'!h
— 39 —
tlie fire of March 27, 17S8. The ofeer was gladly ac-
cepted and the work of reconstruction was com-
menced in the spring of the following- year.
At the close of 1794, the new edifice was com-
pleted, and on Christinas day dedicated with great
pomp. Don Joaqnin de Portillo, at that time recto r
of the parish, has left us an accurate account of
these ceremonies which we rescued lately from the
dusty archives of the Cathedral. This document ori-
ginally framed in Spanish remained unpublished and
is now given to the public for the first time :
"New Saint Louis Parochial Church of the
City of New Orleans.
"In the year of Our Lord 1794, in the twentieth of the Pontificate of
our Holy Father, Pope Pius VI, and in the seventh year of the
reign of His Catholic Majesty, Don Carlos VI, Don Louis
Penalver y Cardenas, being elected first Bishop of the newly
erected See of Louisiana; Baron de Carondelet, Brigadier
General of the Eoyal Army, being Governor of this city and
province, on the 23rd day of the month of December, the new
St. Louis Parochial Church of this city was blessed.
" This parochial church, which became the Cathedral Church since
the erection of Louisiana into a diocese distinct from that of
Havana, owes its existence to the piety and zeal of Don Andres
Almonester y Eoxas, a native of the city of Mayrena del Alcor,
Kingdom of Sevilla, in Spain, a knight of the illustrious Order
of Carlos III, colonel of the militia of Xew Orleans and per-
petual Regidor of the Supreme Court.
" This Tcnight, so commendable for his eminent piety, is almost with-
out an equal ; the three churches of this city in which are offered
prayer and sacrifice to our Lord are monuments of his devotion
and piety. At his own expense he built the chapel of the Ursu-
line Convent, a school for young girls, the Charity Hospital
and its chapel, and also donated ground to serve as a site for a
lepers' home.
— 40 —
" These works alone would suffice to make his name illustrious and
gain for him the esteem and friendship of all his fellow-citi-
zens. Yet, he did more. A fire havinc/ destroyed the parochial
chvrch on the 21st of MarcJi, 17SS, the fjrief of the people viade
him conceire the vast project, worthy of his great heart, of re-
building this sanctuary at his own expense. The edifice was
iegiin in March, 1789, and, in spite of a thousand obstacles,
Almonester succeeded within fire years in giving it the perfec-
tion, grandeur, solidity and beauty wliich we now admire.
"Finally, the parish being unable, for want of funds, to decorate
the interior in a manner worthy of a cathedral, he took upon
himself ihe necessary expense of building a gallery on each side
of the nave and proriding a beautiful balustrade for the choir,
together with a main altar omvhieh the workmen were still en-
gaged when another terrible fire broke out on the Sth of Decem-
ber and destroyed the temporary chapel. The Blessed Sacrament
UHis carried to the chapel of the Vrsulines and the ornamenta-
tion of the main altar hastily completed to receive our Lord so
that the people might with more facility assist at the offices of
the Church.
"■ The nnv edifice was blessed on ihe day and in the year before men-
tioned, in the presence of the ecclesiastical and civil authorities
of this city. At the opening of the ceremony, our illustrious
benefactor presented the keys of the church to the Governor,
who then handed them over to me. Immediately afterwards
Don Patricio TFalsh, an Irish priest. Chaplain of the Boyal
Hospital, Foreign Vicar, Ecclesiastical Judge of the Province
for the Bishop of Havana (the Bishop of Louisiana having not
yet taken possession), blessed the church. The Holy Sacrifice
of the Mass followed the blessing, and these magnificent cere-
monies filled with joy the hearts of all the faithful.
" The next day, December !24, the clergy assembled in tlie monastery
of the Ursnlines, to u-hieh the Blessed Sacrament had beoi car-
ried after the fire of December S. The Governor, with all the
notable piersonages of the city, also met therein ; a jivocession
was formed and the Blessed Sacrament carried u-ith the t/reatest
Photo B. de Villentroy. From an Old Painting.
Dox Andres Almonester y Roxas.
— 42 —
solemnity to fJte iieiv cliiireli in irliich I sang the Jirst Mass and
preached the first sermon.
" After the henediction of the Blessed Sacrament, the ceremony was
closed by the chanting of the ' Te DeunV for the greater glory of
God, and this was followed by lond salutes of artillery. M is
then hnt Jnst that the people and the ministers of the Church
should render perpetual gratitude to their illustrious and noble
benefactor, Don Andres Almonester y Eoxas, and it is to pre-
vent his ivories from falling into ohlivion that I mention Ms
name here 'AD PERPETUAM REI MEMORIAM.'
'' December 30th, 1794.
"Don Joaquin de Poktillo."
The fame of Almonester did not fail to give offense
to some less fortunate or less generous than he. Some
misrepresented his intentions and suspected him of
ambition ; others hindered his plans and did not even
hesitate to dispute his right to the control of the
hospital which he had founded. Governor Miro, his
friend, referred the matter to the King, who speedily
put an end to all intrigues and rewarded the gener-
osity of Almonester as became his great merit.
The King wrote:
" Having dulj-, in this my Council of the Indies,
considered the conflicting reports presented to me,
Don Andres Almonester is to be relieved from the
obligation of accounting for his administrative acts
in the hospital which he founded. * * * He is
authorized to occupy the most })romineut seat in his
church, second only to that of the royal Vice Patron
(the Intendant of the Province), and to receive the
Kiss of Peace (la paz) during the celebration of
Mass. He is entitled to assistance in case of neces-
Photo B. de Villentroy.
From an Old Painting.
Right Kkv. Pknalvkh y Caiidenas.
— 44 —
sity. and iu order that these ordinances shall be
faithfully carried out according to my royal command,
it is again ordered that the aforesaid Almonester,
whatever may betide, is to be given loyal support
and aid in whatever he may undertake, and, so as
to preclude all further cause of complaint, he is to
be treated in future with deferential regard as one
who has found grace near my royal person (grato a
me real persona) by the achievement of great works,
by drawing so generously upon his own resources
for the construction of the parochial church, the
T^rsuline Convent, the Charity Hospital and the Gov-
ernment Buildings of New Orleans. All of which
and of his free will, he has accomplished in honor of
his religion and of his state, and for the edification
and encouragement of mankind.
" Therefore, I do hereby order and command the
aforesaid Governor of the Province of Louisiana, and
also the Intendant of my Royal Exchequer, together
with the judges and justices of the above mentioned
province to keep, comply with, and execute this, my
royal decree, without contravening it, for such is my
roval will.
"Yo El Eey."
Given at Saii Ildefouso, August 14tli, 1794.
Nothing is more fleeting than glorj'. In the
same registers in which Dou Joaquin de Portillo had
written, in 1794, the dithyrambic i)raise of the
founder of the Saint Louis Cathedral, Don Perez re-
corded, four years later, the death of the generous
nobleman.
W'l^ ^.-/^'^ •' ' '''--futxent ■ - 35.
!^4^f,'iiiiiiiiiilif|gy - 034
■¥a,'m4*m»'i'hyr lV.*.i.:^.''-'/A-'."»' •>^i^/'>v/--^/-'3J
■I. '' . ,' Oi
t^
-v. 25
[■/2!
■.fJ<j^yVr
T'^/f',
''- \f^
. 4 ''^
-r2h
■'VI
• a:
'HIT.
./^^limn-ui /L.'i^Jr^'^
Photo C. M. C. Cathedral Archives.
Fac Simile of the First Sale of the Cathedral's Pews.
— 46 -
Don Andres Almonester y Koxas had died so sud-
denly tliat it was impossible to even administer to
bini the last sacraments of the Church.
His cori)se was solemnly lowered under the altar
of the Sacred Heart in the Saint Louis Cathedral.
A marble slab in the paA^ement marks the place
of his tomb and bears his coat of-arms together with
the record of his life, titles and services. The carved
letters are still visible, although somewhat effaced
by the ceaseless tread of several generations. The
iuscrii)tion written in Si)anish is generally translated
as follows :
Here Lie the Remains
OF
Don Andres Almonester y Eoxas
A Native of Mayrena,
IN THE Kingdom of Andalusia.
He Died in the City of New Orleans,
ON THE 26th Day of April, 1708,
Being 73 Years of Age.
A Knight of the Royal and Distinguished
Order of Charles III,
Colonel of the Militia of This Department,
Alderman and Royal Lieutenant of This Corporation,
Founder and Donor of This Holy Cathedral,
Founder of the Royal Hospital of St.
Charles and of Its Church,
Founder of thk Hospital for Lepers,
Founder of the Ursulines Convent,
Founder of the School for the Education of Girls,
Founder of the Court House,
All of Which He Had Built at His Own Expense
IN This City.
Requiescat in Pace.
— 47 —
The city bas long- since forgotten the man whose
name was synonymous with generosity. It is a sad
fact that the founder of the Cabildo and of our great
Charity Hospital, theflrst patron of female education
in the State, is not only seldom si)oken of. but the
memory of his benefits has not even been perpetuated
by naming a street in his honor. The church alone
still i)iously cherishes the memory of her benefactor,
and, from time to time, the tolling of her bells pro-
claims through the ages lier eternal gratitude.
CHAPTER III.
PERE ANIOINK.
A Mich Di 'jatkd Chauactek — Thk Tribunal of the Holy
Imjcisitiox in Louisiana — Humility and Charity
or Pei!k AxroiNE — A Pompous Funeral.
The Saint Louis Cathedral, so nobly erected and
adorned by Don Andres Almonester y Roxas, was
destined to be adiiiinisteied during the first thirty
years of its cxistencf by a man who more than all
otliers impressed liis individuality upon these times
and whose name, to this day, is mentioned with ven-
eration and love throughout the old French section.
Peiliaps tlie memory and the deeds of no man
have been more vaiiously discussed, analyzed, criti-
cised or eulogized tliiin tiiat of Father Antoine.
— 48 —
r"^ Many have been the disputes over the character
of this wonderful priest, for wonderful Avas he to
have left a name which, despite all criticisms, stands
out as one of the sweetest, truest and most benevo-
lent in the annals of Old New Orleans.
By some he is celebrated as a saint, a rival of
the hermits of Thebais, a gold hearted man whose
charity was only equaled by his [)rofound humility.
Others cannot find words harsh enough with which
to brand his alleged ignorance and ambition. But
by a faithful com})arison of the traditions concerning
Father Autoine with the old records of the Cathe-
dral archives, which have never yet been published,
it seems that Father Antoine deserved neither the
great indignities with which some have sought to
besmirch his memor}-, nor the excessive honor and
praise with which others have crowned him.
This man, a monk of the Capuchin Order, was
Autoine Ildefonso Moreno y Arze, born on the IStli
of Kovembei-, 1748, at Sedella. in the Kingdom of
Grenada, and more familiarlj' known as " Pere An-
toine." In his early youth he entered the religions
order of the Capuchins, and ui)on completing his
studies he received the degree of Doctor in Divinity,
a striking proof of the fact that he was a man of
profound learning and not the illiterate product of
ignorance rhat some claimed him to be.
In 1779, Father Antoine, in company Avith a few
others of his order, landed in New Orleans. These
Capuchins came to fill the vacancies caused by the
death or the departure of the French monks of their
order. That purpose was not only religious, but
educational; the country being since ten years a
— 49 —
colony of Spain, they did great work in spreading
the Spanish language and a knowledge of Spanish
customs.
Father Antoiue's zeal and brilliant talents
brought him into prominence, and a few years after
his landing he became rector of the Saint Louis
Church of Kew Orleans, at this time the only parish
of the city and the most important of the twelve or
fifteen churches scattered throughout Louisiana.
The rectorship of Saint Louis Church, which
would seem so desirable, did not prove a bed of roses
for Father Antoine, All sorts of troubles and dis-
putes arose, and for many years Father Antoine
fought his battles. He never knew from day to day
what the morrow would bring forth, and it was only
during the last years of his life that he breathed
peacefully, entirelj^ absorbed in works of charity
and devotion to his flock.
In the first place. Father Antoine had to deal
with the civil authorities on account of the Inquisi-
tion, of which he had been appointed the Commis-
sary on the 5th of December, 1788. His appointment
as head of the Holy Inquisition in Louisiana caused
him so much anxiety and sorrow that he kept it
secret, and it was only in the beginning of the follow-
ing year that he concluded to apprise Governor
Miro of the fact by ])lacing before him his commission
and instructions, which he had received from Spain.
" It is an historical fact," says Mr, H. C. Castella-
nos, in his 'New Orleans As It Was,' "that wherever
Spain exercised dominion, the peculiar institutions of
— 50 —
the motlier country were engrafted upon tlie colony.
So, by tlie mere transfer of Louisiana from France to
Spain, the Inquisition became ipso facto incorporated
into its political macliinery, and is extensively spoken
of in tLe '■ Bando de Gobierno,' issued by O'Reilly
on the 25tli of Kovember, 1709.
"The principal object of the institution of the tri-
bunal of the 'Santa Hermandad,' being to repress dis-
order and to prevent the robberies and assassinations
committed in nnfreipiented places by vagabonds and
delinquents who conceal tliemselves in the woods,
from which they sally forth and attack travelers and
the neighboring inhabitants, the Alcade Mayor Pro-
vincial, shall assemble a sufficient number of brothers
of the Santa Hermandad to clear his jurisdiction of
the perpetrators of such evil deeds, by pursuing them
with spirit, seizing or putting them to death,"
Now if we bear in mind that Father Antoine
landed in New Orleans in 1779, the charge upon him
of introducing the Inquisition falls naturally to the
ground. The Inquisition i)receded Father Antoine in
Louisiana by ten years, and, far from being the
originator of that so much liated institution, he has
been its only victim, as this part of the governmental
machinery remained merely nominal and was gen-
erally ignored by the people.
Still, to give effect to the mission entrusted to
his fidelity. Father Antoine requested the Goveruor
to furnish him with a posse, as the secular arm was
necessary to enforce the law, and there began a most
serious entanglement of affairs, which to this day
remains in many ways unexplained, and which has
been often misjudged and misunderstood. A simple.
Photo B. de Villentroy. From an Old Painting.
Peke Antoine de Sedella.
— 52 —
manly refusal would have sufficed to strike the pro-
ceeding with nullity, but the Governor followed a
different course. He received the friar with apparent
cordiality, promised to grant him his request, while at
the very time he was planning the ruin of his unsus-
pecting countryman. Within twenty -four hours after
the interview a platoon of soldiers filed into the bed-
room of Father Antoine and forcibly carried him
out to a ship about to sail for Cadiz. Governor
Miro, in a special report to the Court of Spain, dated
June 3, 1789, explained the whole affair as follows:
"When I read the communication of that Capuchin I
shuddered. The mere mention of the Inquisition ut-
tered in New Orleans would be sufficient not only to
check immigration, which is successfully progressing,
but would also be capable of driving away those who
have recently come, and I even fear that, in spite of
my having sent out of the country Father Sedella, the
most frightful consequences may ensue from the mere
suspicion of the cause of his dismissal."
These are the facts of the whole transaction, and
it is upon them that some writers do not hesitate to
lay ou Father Antoine this most hideous accusation
of having introduced the Inquisition in Louisiana.
This charge, which is a mere calumny, needed only
this plain statement of facts to be utterly refuted.
Father Antoine canie back to New Orleans in the
si)ring of 1791, after an absence of two years, with
the title of Honorary Preacher to His Most Catholic
Majesty, the King of Spain. For the ten years fol-
lowing we lose sight of this marvelous character, and
- 53 -
tbe quiet and unobtrusive life he must have led is the
best proof of how little tliought he had of ever forc-
ing the Inquisition in Louisiana.
Many years have passed, and the calm, deliberate
recital of historical facts gleaned from the most relia-
ble authorities brings out the character of Father
Antoine in its true light.
If they do not entirely exonerate him from hav-
ing taken an active part in the sad dissentions of his
time, if a dispassionate reader could expect a differ-
ent line of conduct from a man who had pledged his
life to obedience and self-denial, it would be never-
theless unjust to lay upon him any blame. Whoso-
ever says that he was an ambitious man for whom
everything was a means towards self-advancement,
proves by this imputation only a sad ignorance of the
private life of Father Antoine.
It would not indeed be an easy task to reconcile
these charges with Father Antoine's proverbial repu-
tation for asceticism and his no less admirable char-
ity and, above all, with the deep veneration with
which even now his memory is regarded. He lived
like an anchorite, though dwelling in the central i^art
of the city. In the rear of the old Saint Louis Ca-
thedral he built himself a simple hermitage. It was
a hut of planks and boughs, much more uncomforta-
ble than a dog kennel, and much more exposed to
weather than a cow shed. It had no furniture but a
bed, made of two hard boards, a stool and a holy
water font. But here the good iiriest slept and ate
and prayed; blessing God alike whether it rained or
froze. Although at his death he left little or nothing,
his income must certainly have been large; for he
— 54 —
never visited a scene of birtb, of marriage, or of
death, ^Yitllont receiving" some gift; and his daily
visits were many. His charity, however, was greater
than his income; and his purse, like that of the fairy
tale, was being forever enii)tied, though fresh gold
always glittered there in the jilace of that taken out.
This purse, tradition says, was a great bag tilled with
clinking coin and carried at the girdle. Whenever
Father Antonio appeared upon the street the chil-
dren of the French qnarter followed after him. They
would always kneel down beside him in the mud
to ask for his blessing when oi)portunity offered, and
they never failed to demand that a lagniappe, (*) in
the shape of a small coin, be thrown in with the bless-
ing". It is probable that they cared much more for
the lagniai)pe than they did for the blessing; but tlie
good father never refused either.
Fully occupied as he was with his ministry and
charitable works, he never cared for the tem^wral ad-
ministration of the parish affairs. This management
remained entrusted to the wardens, and Father An-
toine left them such freedom in the financial adminis-
tration that they finally believed that they were the
true owners of the church properties, which they
could dispose of according to their own will and
pleasure.
The man who cared so little for worldly goods
was equally disinterested as regards public honors. In
(*) Lagniappe: A word of Spanish patois signifying a bonus,
something in kind given by storekeepers in the French
quarter after purchasing articles. Lagniappe consisted of
candy or pecans, and in the case of Father Antoine it might
have been a fevs^ cents.
the warden's miuntes we read a letter from Father An-
toiiie to the Bishop of Baltimore, which acqnaiiits us
with au event which up to now has remained unknown.
Having heard that some members of the clergy and
laity had applied to Eome in order to have him ap-
pointed Bishop of Louisiana, Father Antoiue declared
to the Bishop of Baltimore that he would not con-
sider for a u)oment such a proposition, that he was
unworthy of such an honor, and too old to do any
good. Consequently he would be very grateful to the
Bishop if he were to cut short any further efforts in
that direction.
Father Antoine remained until his death what
he wished to be: a monk devoted to charity, chastity
and obedience. In his cabin he was more influential
than the constituted anthorities of the government,
richer than those who extended to him their chari-
ties, and as such loved by his flock as the most zeal-
ous priest could wish to be.
He died on the 22d of January, 1829, and his
burial was more of a triumph than of a funeral.
The body of this revered patriarch, says the
Louisiana Advertiser, the spiritual father of the
past and the present generation, remained exposed
in the building where the Catholic vestry holds its
meetings, Orleans street, from Monday, the day of
his decease, till yesterday, when it was transferred to
the church. During that time, a crowd of i)eople of
all ages, sexes and colors flocked to pay their last
tribute of respect to him, whom, when alive, they
regarded as their guide, their father and friend.
— 56 —
Father Aiitoiiie's features bad preserved their
mild aud placid expression. Death had dealt geutly
with him and laid a soft liand upon him. He seemed
like a saint rapt in holy meditation, nothing in
his countenance indicating the ravages of sickness
and the approach of decay. The silent tears, the
sob of anguish, the prayer of the good, the blessing
of the poor attested that a whole life devoted to
deeds of charity and virtue had received its only ap-
propriate earthly recompense — the sincere regrets
of a grateful jieople.
Early on Thursday morning the firing of a can-
non announced that his venerable remains were about
to be removed to their last abode. Both Houses of
the Legislature, in accordance with public sentiment,
had resolved to adjourn for that day and to assist
at the interment. The Court of Justice, on the
motion of Mr. Livingston, the oldest member of the
bar, had adopted a similar determination. The City
Council also had passed the resolution of Mr. Laverty,
declaring that its members would join the procession
and wear crepe for thirty days.
The Cathedral was dressed in the insignia of
deep mourning. A splendid catafalque, surmounted
with lofty white feathers, stood on the right. Op-
posite the main altar an elevated platform had been
erected, surrounded with steps and covered with
black cloth. On the angles of the structure and on
all the steps, lighted tapers were placed. On the
right, under the altar consecrated to Saint Francis,
at whose shrine the deceased had daily for half a
century i)aid his devotions, the grave, destined to re-
ceive whatever of him was mortal, stood ojien.
— 57 —
The Louisiana Legion and tlie Lafayette Riflemen
were drawn up in front of the church, the main
portal of which was hung with black drapery, sur-
mounted with the following- inscription, admirable
alike for its conciseness, its energy of expression and
the purity of its Latin :
t
Patri
Antonio de Sedella
Sacm.
longceyus quamvis occubueris
Ingens Tamen Nobis
Tux Desiderium
. Reliquisti.
which we attempted to translate as follows :
Sacred to
Father Antonio de Sedella.
Although Thou Hast Fallen Full of Years,
Yet Thou Hast Left Our Hearts
Filled with Mighty
Sorrow.
The executive officers of the State, the members
of the Legislature, the judges, the members of the
City Council, the municipal officers, the gentlemen
of the bar, the foreign consuls, and a vast multi-
tude of citizens of all denominations filled the
church to overflowing. Father Moni, the successor
— 58 —
of the deceased in Lis clerical functions and in
the affection of bis flock, officiated at the altar, sur-
rounded by the whole body of the Catholic clergy of
this and of the neighboring- j^arishes. The solemn
effect of the high mass on the crowd was enhanced
by the grief depicted on the visages of the priests
and the choristers, and every heart seemed to respond
to the mournfully touching strains of the music
poured forth from the galleries above.
When the mass was finished and the music
paused, Father Manhault ascended the pulpit. He
was eloquent without attempting to be so; for all
that he said went to the heart of his hearers; he
was the mere interpreter of every one's thoughts ;
he did not panegyrise, he had nothing to extenuate,
nothing to palliate ; he drew a faithful picture of an
original impressed on every mind ; he spoke of the
virtues of the departed, of his liumauity, of his in-
dulgences to others, his severity to himself, of his
universal good will towards men, and when he con-
cluded by entreating all present to comply with the
last request of the dying saint, '' that all his flock
should join in prayer that his soul might soon rest in
bliss," we are pursuaded that fervent aspirations to
that effect went forth to the Throne of Grace from
the whole assembled multitude.
The coffln containing the cori)se was borne off on
the shoulders of four young men surrounded by eight
pall bearers, friends of the deceased, and the i^roces-
sion moved from the church in the following order
— 59 —
The Legiou,
The Catholic Clergy,
The Corpse,
Physicians of the Deceased,
The Church Wardens,
The Governor and Secretary of State,
The President and Merahers of the Senate,
The Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives,
The Judges of the Supreme Court,
The Judges of the District, Criminal and Parish Courts,
The Judges of the City Court,
Foreign Consuls,
The Mayor and Recorder,
The Members of the City Council,
Clergy of Different Denominations,
Members of the Bar,
Citizens.
It proceeded down Conde street to Main street,
down Main to Royal, up Royal to St. Louis, thence
to Chartres street, and down Cliartres to the Cathe-
dral, where two discourses were pronounced in com-
memoration of the virtues of the deceased, one in the
Spanish, the other in the English language.
The time now arrived for depositing beneath the
sod the earthly envelope of the departed spirit.
Here ends our task. It is beyond our power to de-
scribe the closing scene, nor have we a language to
express the deep and solemn sensations experienced
by all around when the earth was thrown over what
had so lately been animated by as pure a soul as
ever dwelt in a human body.
These words remain the verdict of history as
regards Father Antoine, and time brought to his
glorious memory the last vindication. On the 29th
— 60 —
of November, 1885, the Saint Louis Cathedral was
adorned as on a feast day, and the centenary of the
appointment of Father Antoine de Sedella to the
Saint Louis Parish Church of Kew Orleans was pom-
pously celebrated in i)resence of many bishops and of
the dijilomatic corps. The Rev. T. Pla pronounced the
panegyric of the deceased, and recalled from the ages
the memory of "Pere Antoine," to whom he did not
fear to apply these words of the Psalmist: "The
memory of the just shall be in everlasting remem-
brance, and the words of evildoers shall not hurt
him."
PART II.
THE SAINT LOUIS
CATHEDRAL.
OHAPTEE I.
IN COMING DOWN A CENTURY.
The Saint Louis Cathedral, erected by Dou An-
dres Almonester y Eoxas, and since its very begin-
ning made famous by its first rector, Father Antoine,
did not pass through a century without feeling the
destructive touch of time, nor the improving hand of
man.
Towards 1814, under the direction of architect
Laborde, its side towers were crowned with low
spires and the top of its facade ornamented with four
gigantic firecones of granite. Ten years later the
architect Le Kiche erected a belfry in the center of
the facade, to match with the side towers.
Thus thoroughly completed, the Cathedral re-
mained nearly intact until 1850. A city guide, issued
in 1845, gives the following description of this edifice
after its completion: "The architecture of the Cathe-
dral is by no means pure, but is not wanting in effect
on this account. The lower story is of the rustic
order, flanked at each of the front angles by hexag-
onal towers and adorned with pilasters of plain ifia-
sonry and two clustered tuscan columns on either
side of the main entrance. The second story of the
front has the same general appearance as the lower
one, but is of the Eoman Doric order. On the apex
of its pediment rises the principal turret, built in
two parts ; a lower part, square, about twenty feet in
height, with circular apertures on each side, and the
— 64 —
upper part hexagonal, used as a belfry. This belfry
became the city watch tower at the request of the
Mayor, and each night a sentinel was stationed with-
in to give the alarm in case of fire."
CHAPTER II.
A "TE DEUM" OF VICTORY.
The most elaborate and grandiose ceremony ever
held in the Saint Louis Cathedral before its partial
reconstruction, in 1850, was a solemn Thanksgiving,
celebrated on the 23d of January, 1815, in honor of
the glorious victory of General Jackson over the
British forces of General Pakenham. We quote from
Gayarre :
"All the citizens, whatever their religious creed
was, joined their exertions to make that festival as
impressive as it was in their power. In front of the
Cathedral, in the middle of that square which is now
known as Jackson Square, and where the equestrian
statue of tbe hero commemorates his fame and the
gratitude of Louisiana, a triumphal arch was tempo-
rarily erected. It was supported by six columns.
On the right was a young woman with the attributes
of Justice, which she represented, and another, on
the left, personated the Goddess of Liberty. Under
the arch, two beautiful boys, looking as though they
were angels dropped from heaven on the pedestals on
— 66 —
which they stood, held, each in his tiny hand, a crown
of laurels. From the arch to the church, at pro])er
intervals, were ranged young ladies representing the
different States and Territories of the American
Union. They were all dressed in white, and covered
with transparent veils. A silver star glittered on
their foreheads. Each one held in her right hand a
flag on which was inscribed the name of the State
she represented, and in her left a basket of flowers
trimmed with blue ribbons. Behind each was a
shield appended to a lance stuck in the ground, and
inscribed with the name of a State or a Territory.
These shields were linked together with verdant fes-
toons, and formed a kind of lane from the triumphant
arch to the gray towers of the time honored Cathe-
dral. In the rear on both sides, and extending from
the entrance of the square, which faced the river to
the church, was a glittering avenue of bayonets
formed by the uniformed companies of Plauche's Bat-
talion, and back of them, in every direction, surged
and undulated like a sea of human beings the im-
mense multitude assembled to witness the pageantry
of the day.
'' The boom of artillery and a burst of military
music announced the approach of the hero. The air
was rent with acclamations, and the hands of beauty
waved handkerchiefs and flags from the adjacent
buildings, which were crowded with eager si)ectators.
As General Jackson passed under the triumphal arch
he was crowned by the two youthful genii, who ex-
pected him on their pedestals, and was congratulated
in an address delivered by the girl who personated
the State of Louisiana. Tlien, as he proceeded to the
— 67 —
church, the other States aiul Territories gracefully
bowed their heads to him, each waving" her flag, aud
strewing his jiath with flowers. At the door of the
Cathedral he met
Abbe Dubourg- with
all his clergy. That
venerable personage
addressed him in
these terms, so well
suited to the occa-
sion and to the sa-
cred character of
the ceremony :
^''General: Whilst
the State of Louisi-
ana, in the joyful
transports of her
gratitude, hails you
as her deliverer and
the asserter of her
menaced liberties ;
whilst grateful Ameiica, so lately Avrapped up in
anxious suspense on the fate of this im[)ortant city,
the emporium of the wealth of one-half of her terri-
tory, and the true bulwark of her independence, is now
re-echoing from shore to shore your splendid achieve-
ments, and preparing to inscribe your name on her im-
mortal rolls among those of her Washingtons ; whilst
history, poetry, and the monumental arts will vie in
consigning to the admiration of the latest posterity
a triumph perhaps unparalleled in their records ;
whilst thus raised by universal acclamation to the
very pinnacle of fame, and surrounded with ascend-
Phuto C. M. C. From an Old Painting.
Abbe Guillaujme V. Dubourg.
— 68 —
ing clouds of iucense, how easy it had been for you,
General, to forget the Prime Mover of your wonderful
success, and to assume to yourself a praise which
must essentially return to that exalted source whence
every sort of merit is derived ! But, better ac-
quainted with the nature of true glory, and justly
placing- the summit of your ambition in approving
yourself the worthy instrument of Heaven's merciful
designs, the first impulse of your religious heart was
to acknowledge the signal interposition of Providence;
your first step is a solemn display of your humble
sense of His favors.
" ' Still agitated at the rememberance of those
dreadful agonies from which we have been so mira-
culously rescued, it is our duty also to acknowledge
that the Almighty has truly had the principal hand
in our deliverance, and to follow you, General, in at-
tributing to His infinite goodness the homage of our
unfeigned gratitude. Let the infatuated votary of
a blind chance deride our credulous simplicity; let
the cold-hearted atheist look up for the explanation
of such important events to the mere concatenation
of human causes; to us the whole universe is loud in
proclaiming a Supreme Ruler, who, as he holds the
hearts of man in his hands, holds also the thread of
all contingent occurrences. "Whatever be His inter-
mediate agents," says an illustrious prelate, "still on
the secret orders of His all-ruling providence depend
the rise and prosperity, as well as the decline and
downfall of empires. From His lofty throne above
He moves every scene below, now curbing, now letting
loose the passions of men; now infusing His own
wisdom into the leaders of nations ; now confounding
— 69 —
tbeir boasted prudence, and spreading- upon their
councils a spirit of intoxication, and thus executing
his uncontrollable judgments on the sons of men ac-
cording to the dictates of His own unerring justice."
" 'To him. therefore, our most fervent thanks are
due for our late unexpected rescue, and it is Him vre
chiefly intend to praise, when considering you, Gen-
eral, as the man of his right hand, whom he has taken
pains to fit out for the important commission of our
defense. We extol that fecundity of genius by which,
in circumstances of the most discouraging distress,
you created unforeseen resources, raised as it were
from the ground hosts of intrepid warriors, and pro-
vided every vulnerable point with ample means of
defense. To Him we trace that instinctive sui^eriority
of your mind, which alone rallied around you univer-
sal confidence, impressed one irresistible movement to
all the jarring elements of which this political machine
is composed, aroused their slumbering spirits, and
diffused through every rank that noble ardor which
glowed in your own bosom. To Him, in fine, we ad-
dress our acknowledgments for that consummate pru-
dence which defeated all the combinations of a
sagacious enemy, entangled him in the very snares
which he had spread before us, and succeeded in
effecting his utter destruction, without hardly ex-
posing the lives of our citizens. Immortal thanks
be to His Supreme Majesty, for sending us such an
instrument of His bountiful designs ! A gift of that
value is the best token of the continuance of His
protection — the most solid encouragement to us to
sue for new favors. The first which it emboldens us
humbly to supplicate, as it is the nearer to our throb-
— 70 —
bing hearts, is tliat you may long enjoy, General, the
honors of your grateful country, of which you will
permit us to ])resent you a pledge in this wreath of
laurel, the prize of victory, the symbol of immortality,
The next is a speedy and honorable termination of
the bloody contest in which we are engaged. No
one has so efficaciously labored as you. General, for
the acceleration of that blissful i)eriod. May we
soon reap the sweetest fruit of your splendid and un-
interrupted victories ! '
"The General, liaviug received the wreath of
laurel from the apostolic hands of the speaker, made
this modest and felicitous reply:
" ' Reverend Sir, I receive with gratitude and
pleasure the symbolical crown which piety has pre-
pared. I receive it in the name of the brave men
who have so effectually seconded my exertions for the
preservation of their country. They well deserve the
laurels their country will bestow.
" ' For myself, to have been instrumental in the
deliverance of such a country, is the greatest blessing
that Heaven could confer. That it has been effected
with so little loss, that so few tears should cloud the
smiles of our triumph, and not a cypress leaf be in-
terwoven in tlie wreath which you present, is a source
of the most exquisite enjoyment.
" ' I thank you, Reverend Sir, most sincerely, for
the prayers which you offer up for my happiness.
May those your patriotism dictates for our beloved
country be first heard, and may mine for your indi-
vidual prosperity, as well as that of the congregation
committed to your care, be favorably received ! The
prosperity, the wealth, the happiness of this city will
— 11 —
then be commensurate with the courage and other
qualities of its inhabitants.' "
CHAPTER III.
THE SAINT LOUIS CATHEDRAL
OF OUR DAYS.
In 1850 tlie principal tower of the Cathedral
collapsed, and it was discovered that notwithstanding
the solidity with wliich the edifice had been originally
put up, the walls were becoming insecure. Large
cracks had made their appearance on the front and
sides, and in consequence, the upper portion was torn
down and a new design was suggested by Louis Pilie,
a city surveyor, and adopted by the wardens. On
the same occasion the Cathedral was enlarged by the
addition of the present sanctuary and vestries, and
brought up to its present size and appearance. The
interior of the sacred edifice was ornamented with
beautiful biblical scenes by artists whose names have
not been handed down to us, but whose marvellous
delicacy of execution evolved masterpieces that the
hand of time has effaced.
The Cathedral, newly repaired, enlarged and
adorned, was blessed on the 7tli of December, 1851,
by Archbishop Blanc, assisted by Bishop Chandre, of
Natchez, and Bishop Portier, of Mobile.
Some forty years afterwards, although the paint-
ings remained quite distinct, there were some whose
colors needed refreshing, while others had become
antiquated and required to be replaced by newer sub-
jects more in accordance with the taste and the ideas
of our time. The church building itself was in need
of rejiaration; the side galleries, portions of the floor-
ing, and here and there i)arts of the Avoodwork were
showing too plainly the marks of decay.
Archbishop Janssens and Father Mignot (*) were
pondering what to do when a thunderstorm, on a
morning of October, 1891, brought about a solution.
The lightning had struck the main tower of the
church, and after making a large hole, about three
feet in diameter, came down an iron rod, thence
leaped on to the grand organ, demolishing several
reeds, and after pushing the minute hand of the
clock over the choir railing, sought the earth through
a hole bored in the pavement.
The ladies of the congregation broached a plan
for raising the necessary money, not only to repair
the damage done by the lightning, but also to pay
for the extensive improvements which Father Mignot
desired so much to make. When funds sufficient to
begin the work of decoration and of repairs were
(*) Qnite iuiiocently the author was ou the poiut of neglecting
to mention the late Father Mignot, but the kindness and
charity of the beloved departed priest were so graciously
recalled to him that he hastened to insert the features of
this generous man, deploring only that his short sojourn
in New Orleans did not give him the opportunity to echo
in a more deserving place the vivid veneration in which
is held, throughout the French quarter, the memory of
"Good Father Mignot."
Very Rev. H. Mignot.
— 74 —
realized, Futlier Mig-not summoned Mr. Erasmus Hum-
breclit, an artist wlio liad made his reputation in
church decoration. A contract was drawn up and
signed, and for many days the interior of the Cathe-
dral was a maze of platforms and scaffolding's. Au
army of workmen were engaged in making the neces-
sary repairs, but Mr. lliimbrecht reserved for himself
the most difficult and delicate part of the improve-
ments. He retouched, repainted and altered some of
the paintings on the vault and above the lateral
chapels, and obliterated a few of tlie old pictures,
replacing- them with subjects of his own creation.
This artist entirely changed the coloring- of walls
and friezes, and colonades. For the too glaring- tones
which prevailed and which offended the artistic eye,
he substituted friezework and light colors of tender
hue, mellow gold, pale green and delicate blue, which
he so skillfully arranged and blended that the inte-
rior of the church reflects with soft radiance the
floods of light that pour through the many lateral
windows.
One of the striking effects of the artist's skill is
the altered appearance of the numerous colonades
which support the lateral galleries and the vaults.
These columns were round, and had an appearance
of solidity and massiveness, not in keeping with the
graceful, airy aspect of the rest of the building. By
most clever contrast of shading iind Avonderful juxta-
position of colors, the artist has given the columns
the apjjearance of being fluted, thus relieving them of
their solid, ponderous api)earance, and giving- them an
air of slenderness and grace.
Finally, a couple of years ago, in 1905, through
— 75 —
the solicitude of tbe present rector, Monsignore J. M.
Laval, the whole exterior of the building- was re-
cemented and the interior was adorned with three
rich chandeliers of brass and stations of the cross,
delicately painted in "terra cotta."
-^fO^-*-
CHAPTER IV.
FOR VISITORS' SAKE.
CosMOPOLrrAN Character of a Conghegation — The Swiss
Guard — A Glimpse of the Altars, Paintings and
Stained Glass Windows — The Abode of Illustri-
ous Dead.
There is no place in New Orleans that affords
better opportunity for studying the cosmopolitanism
of this city than the Saint Louis Cathedral. Within
the parish limits live the representatives of more than
ten nations. Americans, French, English, Irish,
Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese, Syrians, Slavonians
and even INLalays and Filipinos come to worship in
this church.
In the transactions of daily life, it is hard some-
times to distinguish them : traffic is the most import-
ant factor in the unity of a nation made up of differ-
ent races and languages; but in church every one
prefers to pray in his mother tongue, and nothing is
dearer to his heart than the religious ceremonies of
his mother country performed in a remote land.
Come in the early morning when the dim light of
— 76 —
day gives to tlie solitude of the eljuieli an air of inys-
ticisin and you will witness the humble and fervent
X)rayer of tlie sturdy sons of okl Christian countries,
like Ireland and Slavonia, that suffered and bled for
the defense of their faith.
Often unnoticed by the generality as they stand
in the rear of tlie church, but exciting a peculiar in-
terest among' keen observers, are the old women that
gather around the confessionals. They are mostly
Syrians or Sicilians, and wear the costume of their
native country. They pray, raising their arms u]>-
wards in the attitude of the antique statues called
"Orantes." Some of them spend hours in jtrayer,
kneeling thus on the pavement, then they make the
tour of the chiucli and come back to the same i)lace,
to mutter the same ])rayer.
Nothing, perhai)s, could give a better idea of this
cosmopolitanism so characteristic of the " Old Carre"
than a visit to the parochial school conducted by the
Ladies of the Sacred Heart, on Saint Ann Street.
Among the one hundred and fifty children that at-
tend this school not less than ten nations are repre-
sented.
Within the last decade the congregation of the
Saint Louis Cathedral changed its character. Up to
this time this church was still considered one of the
most aristocratic. Tlie elite of the old Creole fam-
ilies still resided within its limits, and on certain
feasts there were gatherings in the Saint Louis Cathe-
dral that could not be witnessed elsewhere. Nothing
to be compared with such distinguished attendance
could be seen in our days except on sj)ecial occasions
when the Archbishop officiates solemnly at the altar.
— 78 —
Then the church resumes its air of ancient grandeur,
and amidst the throngs of people that fill the nave
and the galleries to tlieir utmost capacity, it does not
take long to distinguish the last descendants of those
who once formed the unique element of the congre-
gation. Nothing is more to be regretted than this
gradual exodus of the old Creole families from the
French section of the city.
Tlie ancient Creoles of Kew Orleans were noted
the world over for the gallantry and urbanity of the
men, the exquisite grace and artistic taste of the
women, their elegant and cultured homes, which
made the Cathedral Parish a marked center of refine-
ment and education. The removal of so many of
these old families to new and more progressive sec-
tions of the city marks the i)assing away of a typical
epoch of Kew Orleans life, and the Saint Louis Ca-
thedral cannot too deeply deplore its abandonment in
this day by those whose forefathers it sheltered when
chivalry and romance bloomed in Louisiana.
There is a man who seems to sum up in himself
the antiquity and cosmopolitanism of the Saint Louis
Cathedral ; a man who knows everybody and is known
by all; a man who for more than twenty years has
been as much an integral part of the Cathedral as are
its walls and i)illars.
Neither time nor the inclemencj^ of the weather
have caused him to neglect his daily duty; the old
Cathedral seems to have imparted to him something
of its immutability.
This man, humble and meek, is, or rather, will
Photo B. de Villentroy.
The Swiss Guard in Full Regalia.
mark the end of an epoch. He is the Swiss guard,
and very likely will be the last of the long series of
the Swiss guards who, from the time of the very
foundation of the church, i)receded the religious pro-
cessions, presenting a unique picture, with their
cocked hats and red coats gorgeously ornamented
with gold stripes.
Do not think him either haughty or surly, he is
merely a man of duty, a man who does not stop to
parley the orders he is giv^en. Make any inquiries
about the Cathedral and he will never be at a loss to
answer, but do not ask him how it happened to him
to don a military costume of the middle ages and
handle a halberd. He was born for it; here ends his
whole psychology.
The Saint Louis Cathedral is an historical land-
mark, but possesses none of these artistic characters
or treasures that makes some European churches so
famous all over the world. Although one hundred and
fifteen years have elapsed since its erection, not an
improvement made nor a donation received could
appeal to the interest of a thorough connaisseur.
This church, however, is appropriately furnished
and tastefully decorated. When the visitors cross
its threshold and walk doAvn the aisle to the choir
railing, they find themselves in front of the high
altar. It is a splendid piece of work imported from
Belgiuui. The heavy table of white marble is sup-
ported by four caryatid angels and the frieze that
adorns the upper part of the altar on which are
placed the candlesticks has the slightness and deli-
- 81 —
cacy of embroidery. The tabernacle holds the mid-
dle of a rich canopy that is crowned by three statues
personifying- Faith, Hope and Charity. The statues
on either side of the main altar are those of Saint
Peter and Saint Paul.
The side altar erected near the pulpit is dedi-
cated to St. Francis of Assisium, whose picture is seen
above, hung on the wall. The canopy of the altar
supports a group representing the Apparition of Our
Lord to the Blessed Marguerite Marie Alacoque which
occurred in Paray le Monial (France) in the second
part of the 17th century. Often people designate
this altar after the Sacred Heart.
The other side altar is dedicated to the Virgin
Mary under the title of Immaculate Concei^tion.
The rocks and panoramic view that cover the back
ground of the chapel represent the famous shrine of
Lourdes. There is seen a reproduction of one of the
eighteen apparitions of the Virgin to a young girl
named Bernadette Soubirous. It occurred in 1858,
and since the place has gained a world wide fame.
Pilgrims by hundreds of thousands visit it yearly
and cures take place that give plain evidence of their
supernatural character. The shrine of Lourdes is
situated along a torrent and surrounded by high
mountains that make of this spot one of the most
picturesque in France.
Daylight illuminates the interior of the Cathe-
dral through a double row of stained glass windows
pierced on each side wall. Here is the list of the
pictures that adorn the lower windows : commencing
— 82 —
at the front door of tbe church and going down the
aisle towards the altar of Our Lady of Lourdes are
representations of
Saint Dominic, born in Spain in 1170, died in
1221 ; he founded the Order of the Preaching Friars
at Toulouse in 1215. His historians say that preced-
ing his birth, his mother, whilst she was with child,
dreamed that she brought forth a whelp which car-
ried in its mouth a burning torch, with which it set
the whole world in fire.
Saint Charles Borromeo was born in 1538, and
died in 1584. He became archbishop of Milan and
is known as a great reformer of the ecclesiastical
discipline.
Saint Catherine died a martyr to the faith by
the order of the Emperor Maximinus, in the fourth
century.
Our Lady of the Holy Rosary is a representation
of the Virgin as patroness of a religious association
established in 1481 by Sixtus IV to ward ofP by the
recitation of the Eosary the evils that threatened
Christendom at the hands of the Turks.
Saint Vincent de Paul, a French priest who
founded the Priests of the Mission known as the
Lazarist Fathers and the Congregation of the
Daughters of Charity known as Sisters of Saint
Vincent de Paul — 157G-1C60.
Saint Ann (over the side porch), mother of the
Virgin Mary.
On the opposite are the following pictures be-
ginning with the nearest to the main entrance:
Saint Peter, the Prince of the Apostles and the
Photo B. de V^illentroy.
Altar of Our Lady of Lourdes.
— 81 —
first bishoj) of Eome where he suffered crucifixion in
the year 05 A. ]).
Saint Patriclc, the Apostle of Irehmd, lived in
the fifth centniy.
The Holy Family, the Infant Jesus, the Virgin
Mary his mother and Saint Joseph, his foster father.
The Sacred Heart of Jesits. a picture of our Lord
as He appeared to the Blessed Marguerite Marie
Alacoque, a nun of the Order of the Visitation, 1647-
1690.
Saint Francis of Assislum, founder of the Friars
Minors, known as Franciscans, 1208.
Saint Louis, 1226-1270. A king of France, led
the eighth crusade in Holy Land. This Cathedral
is named after hirn, and the diocese of New Orleans
is idaced under his patronage.
The interior of the Saint Louis Cathedral is de-
corated with symbolical and historic pictures of
• great interest.
The principal pictures are : The very large-sized
tableau, painted on the wall just above the main
altar, representing Saint Louis, announcing the
Crusade. There are many figures in this immense
grouping, all of heroic size.
The next tableau that challenges admiration is
painted on the vault exactly over the centre of the
main aisle, and is entitled " Saint Peter receiving the
Shepherd's Staff from Our Lord."
At stated distance from that beautiful picture
are painted, in medallion, the four evangelists. Saint
John, Saint Mark, Saint Luke and Saint Matthew.
Photo C. M. C.
Shiunk of Ouu Lapy of Louudes.
— 86 —
Between each of the twelve side arches there is the
portrait of oue of the apostles.
Over the choir there is a very spirited represen-
tation of the archangel ^lichael, and at the other
extremity, near the sanctuary, is " the Holy Family."
The vault of the sanctuary has a picture repre-
senting ''The Sacrifice of the Divine Lamb."
Symbolical flgures of the old and the new testa-
ments are distributed, artistically in the arched vault.
The spaces over the lateral chapels are also very
beautifully decorated. Over the altar of the Sacred
Heart and of Saint Francis of Assisi (right aisle)
there is a pathetic picture representing " The Agony
of Our Lord." Christ is shown, kneeling in the
Garden of Olives. His eyes are suffused with tears ;
the sweat of agony is ui)on his suffering face. In
front of Him stands an angel bearing- a cross, while
directly over Christ, and enclosed within a golden
halo, there effulges the " chalice of bitterness "
which the Son of God has to drain to the very last
drop.
Over the altar of ISTotre Dame de Lourdes (Our
Lady of Lourdes) the "Annunciation " is depicted
with true artistic effect and coloring. The Virgin
Mary and the Angel Gabriel are painted in most
natural pose and attitude. This picture, known to
all scholars, is most beautifully executed, and tlie
angel's lips seem about to formulate the respectful
salutation: "Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus te-
cum, benedicta tu in mulieribus, etc."
The work which has called forth the greatest
admiration, is the allegorical tableau, just above tlje
organ. This beautiful painting represents Saint
Photo E. Claudel.
Interior of the Cathedral.
Cecilia, the patron saint of music. She seems to be
floating- on a canopy of clouds, around and above her
are a number of angelic figures, as it were the fleecy
throne upon which Saint Cecilia sits. Below the
l)ainting there is a large scroll, ornamental, bearing
in French an inscription which, translated, means :
" Sing the praises of the Lord on reed and on string
instruments."
The Saint Louis Cathedral, a temple of the Living
God is at the same time the abode of illustrious dead.
Under the flagstones of its sanctuary rest grand
signors of the Old Regime and many of the prelates
that occupied the glorious See of New Orleans.
On the epistle side, under the Chapel of the
Sacred Heart was buried l^on Andres Almonester y
Roxas, founder of the Cathedral and the famous
Father Antonio de Sedella, its first rector.
On the other side, under the Altar of Our Lady
of Lourdes, rest three illustrious Chevaliers. Their
tomb is marked by a large marble flag stone that
bears their coat of arms and the following inscription :
— 89 —
t
ICI REPOSENT
Francois Philippe de Map.igny de Mandeville,
Chevalier de I'Ordre Boyal et MUitaire de Saint Louis tt Major de
Place a la Nouvelle-Orleans, ne a Bayeiix en Normaudie, mort
dans cette ville le lev Novemhre 17:28.
Antoine Philippe de Makigny de Maxdeville,
Chevalier de VOrdre Boyal et MUitaire de Saint Louis et Capitaine
d'Infanterie au service de France, ne a la Mobile le 28 Fevrier
1122, mort a la Nouvelle-Orleans le 6 Novemhre 1779.
Pierre Philippe de Marigny de Mandeville,
Chevalier de VOrdre Royal et MUitaire de Saint Louis, Capitaine
d'' Infanterie sous le Gouvernement Espagnol, ne dans cette ville
le 13 Juin 1757, et mort le 11 Mai 1800.
The same inscription is translated in English as
follows :
HERE REST
FRANgois Philippe de Mauigny de Mandeville,
A Knight of the Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis, and Port
Commandant at New Orleans, horn at Bayeux, in Normandy,
died in this city November 1, 17~S.
Antoine Philippe de Marigny de Mandeville,
A Knight of the Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis, and Cap-
tain of Infantry in the service of France, horn at Mobile Feb-
ruary 28, 1772, died at New Orleans November 6, 1779.
Pierre Philippe de Marigny de Mandeville,
A Knight of the Royal and Military Order of Saint Louid, Captain
of Infantry under the Spanish Government, born in this city
on June 13, 1757, and died on the 11th of May, 1800.
— 90 —
Others very likely have been buried side by side
with these illustrious dead, but their names are
unknown. Henry C. Castellanos says " that during
the repairs of the Cathedral in 1850 the masons were
compelled to disinter the remains of the dead buried
at the foot of the Altar of Saint Francis, whence
they were carried in wheelbarrows to the cart destined
to convey them to the cemetery. Among- these relics
were the bones of Pere Antoiue now resting in the
Priest's tomb in the Old Saint Louis Cemetery.
Under that new part of the Cathedral added in
1850 and covered now by the sanctuary and the
sacristies, eight mortuary rooms were constructed,
two at the foot of the high altar and two in each
sacristy. Under the sanctuary, on the epistle side,
was laid to rest the body of the sainted Archbishop
Janssens, who died in 1897. The tomb was opened
in May, 1908, and the casket found in perfect state
of preservation.
On the gospel side of the sanctuary was buried
the late Archbishop Chapelle, who died a victim of
the yellow fever, the 9th of August, 1905. The same
vault was previously occupied by the remains of
Bishop Blanc, who died in 1860.
The tombs built under the sacristy near the
Altar of Saint Francis have never been used. In the
crypt under the floor of the second sacristy, two
vaults out of six are closed. One contains the remains
of Father Duquesnay, who died in 1858. In the other
vault has been lately buried Eight Reverend Gustave
Eouxel, Auxiliary bishop of Kew Orleans. He died
in March, 1908, and is the last of the prelates in-
terred in the Saint Louis Cathedral.
CHAPTER V.
THE SAINT LOUIS CATHEDRAL ARCHIVES.
How THK Rkcords Wkre Handed Down— Oldest Entries
— Terrible Stories in a Few Lines— Side Lights on
Civil and Religious Lifk of Old.
^N^otbing seems to impress the visitor more than
a peep at the old registers that sleep on the shelves
of the Cathedral Archives. The covers darkened and
mangled, the pages yellow and crumbling, the ink
faded by time, tell more eloquently than words of
the years that have glided away by scores, since the
first entry was written in the musty records.
The Saint Louis Cathedral, and the Ursuline
Convent, hide their age under a new coat of cement ;
the decaying tombs of the Old Saiut Louis Cemetery
sink slowly into the soft soil amidst tall herbs and
dense shrubbery; the venerable registers of the
Cathedral Archives alone bear openly the fateful
touch of time. They are like remains freshly removed
from the common tomb of the past generation. One
cannot look upon them without thinking of those,
who for two centuries trod the soil upon which we
live, and who have long since passed away, leaving
only a name slowly but surely fading with the years.
These i)recious records for a long time had their
liome in a small and dark room, situated on the
ground floor of the St. Louis Cathedral Presbytery,
in which the light i)enetrated through an iron barred
window set quite low, and allowing the passerby to
— 92 —
catcli a glimpse of its interior furnished with a couple
of chairs, a table and rows ni)on rows of shelves filled
with volumes bearing the venerable stamp of age.
A custodian takes care of these archives. ''In
fact," wrote James Augustin, '• there always lias been
a quiet, mild mannered, unobtrusive, polite and
obliging middle-aged gentleman in charge of these
precious records. There have been changes of
individuals, but not of manners, and when one of the
venerable guardians goes to his eternal rest another
takes his i)lace, and placidly assumes the duties of
the office."
The names of three kee])ers of these archives
are still particularly remembered ; they are Messrs.
Dubuc, Geo. De Jaham and Henry Ducatel. Mr.
Dubuc was custodian so loug ago that no one can
exactly remember the time when he took possession
of his charge. Geo. De Jaluim, his successor, came
on duty when the present generation was receiving
baptism at the hands of Rev. Father Mignot ; he
remained in office until his death in 1893. Henry
Ducatel, who was offered the ])]ace left vacant by
Mr. De Jaham, had been baptized by the famous
"Pere Antoine." Henry Ducatel spent ten years of
his youth at Paris in the College of Louis le Grand;
then he returned to his country and engaged in busi-
ness. He served through the Civil War as captain of
artillery in the Gardes d'Orleans.
After Mr. Ducatel's death the position held
for a while by a young man, was then given by Father
Mignot to Mr. J. C. Kenaud, the present incumbent.
The Saiut Louis Cathedral Archives number at
present 131 registers of different sizes and bindings.
Photo C. M. C.
The Cathedral Archives and Their Custodian.
— 94 —
Seventy are consecrated to tlie white people, of
which forty are records of baptisms, twenty of mar-
riages and ten of burials.
Forty-one registers are devoted to the colored
people, of w^hich thirty record baptisms and tive
marriages. The books containing the burials of the
colored people have not yet been properly classified,
and lie amidst a heap of yellow and dusty papers re-
lating to the administration of the Trustees of the
Cathedral.
Though very numerous, the collection is not
complete; some of the registers are missing and
pages of others for various motives have been
shrewdly torn off, but these constitute exceptions,
and if we consider the lapse of time and the inev-
itable havoc it plfiys with everything, it must be
acknowledged that the unity of the Cathedral archives
has been wonderfully preserved, and the interest that
arises from a close perusal of them is altogether
unique and vividly interesting.
One of the oldest registers of the Archives of
the Saint Louis Cathedral is in Paris among the
colonial pa|)ers of the French ISTavy. I could not
learn how it found its way there. A copy of it was
ordered for the Historical Society of Louisiana by
Professor Alcee Fortier, and can be found in the Tu-
lane University Library. It opens with these words:
•' Register of those who died at the Old Fort of Biloxi
during the adinistration of IMr. Danion, from the 8th
of August, 1720, to the 4th of Setempber, 1722."
Then follow these different extracts :
— 95 -
1. Extract from the registers of the Rev. Father
DeViaudec, Capuchin and Missionary from theChapi-
toulas to the Pointe Coupee.
2. Extract from the baptism registers of the
Parish of Able Descas from May, 1723, to May, 1724.
3. Baptisms, marriages and burials held in the
Chapel of the Fort of Chartres, Diocese of Quebec.
This precious register ends with the entries of
burials for Kew Orleans from 1720 to 1734, but with
many intermissions. Most of these ceremonies were
performed by Fathers Eaphael, Matthias de Sedan,
Pierre, Philippe and Hyacinthe. Some of these en-
tries are most eloquent in their brevity and make us
think of the hardships and dangers of the early
colonists of Louisiana. Here is one of them :
"In the year 1723, there was massacred, by the
savages on the coast of Florida, a man named Cesar
Soulard, whose fate we have heard from reliable wit-
nesses." Here indeed the dreadful story of this mas-
sacre is told in a few lines.
The register of the Saint Louis Cathedral
Archiv^es that contains the oldest entries is not the
original, but a copy written by Father Antoine
himself to replace the original registry, which AA^as
already " in a very bad condition," as Pere Antoine
testifies. This precious copy opens under this heading :
" First register of marriages of the Saint Louis
Parish Church."
Then follows:
" First register of marriages of the Saint Louis
Parish of New Orleans, containing 376 acts of mar-
riages of white persons, 11 marriages of negroes,
and three acts of abjuration of heresy. Said register
begins the first day of the month of July of the year
1720 and ends the fourth day of the month of De-
cember of the year 1730,"
The first entry is as follows : " Marriages of the
Province of Louisiana.
" No. 1. The year 1720 and the first of July, a
publication of the names having been made at the
parochial mass on the 16th of June, and dispensation
for the two others having been granted, no impediment
having been found between Peter Sinton, a native
of Chatelleraux, son of Mr. Adrien Sinton and
Fran^oise Ressay, his father and mother, and Nicole
Daucune, native of Chalons in Champagne, daughter
of Philip Daucune and Dame Caffet, her father and
mother, I, undersigned, missionary and acting pastor
in New Orleans, have received their mutual consent
and given the nuptial blessing ordered by the Holy
Church, in i^reseuce of John Gero and Saint George,
who have signed with me.
"Father F. Prothais Boyer,
"Missionary, Recolet.
" Sainton.
" Nicole Daucune."
The first act of abjuration of heresy is as follows:
" In the year 1726, on the 11th of Januarj^, John
Betzman of the Parish des Allemands, has made
in my hands abjuration of the Calvinist heresy in
which he was born and reared, in presence of two
Germans, who, having said that they did not know
— 97 —
how to sign their names, have made their ordinary
mark. In testimony of which I sign :
" F. Raphakl,
"Capuchin Priest aud Vicar General.
In fact, the oldest original register of the Saint
Louis Cathedral Archives is but the third of the col-
lection — the first being at Paris and the second only
a copy of the original.
This precious record, begun on the 1st of Jan-
uary, 1731, and finished on the 27th of December, 1733,
opens with these words :
"The present register containing ninety-two
sheets, this one not included, has been paraphed by
us, Fran§ois Fleuviau, King Counsellor and Attorney
General of the Superior Council of the Province of
Louisiana, to be used by the rector of New Orleans
to record successively and without interruption the
baptisms, marriages and burials which will be per-
formed in the said parish according to the decree of
1667.
" New Orleans, this 30th December, 1730.
" F. Fleuviau."
The first entry of baptism reads as follows : "In
the year 1731, the 1st of January, at a quarter past
twelve o'clock at night, Catherine de P^rier was born,
legitimate child of Perier Cenier, Chevalier of the
Military Order of Saint Louis, Captain of Frigate
and Commander General of the Province of Louisiana,
aud Dame Catherine Le Chibelier, her father and
mother; and was baptized in the same hour. The
godfather was Mr. Guillaume Nicolas Lange, who has
— 98 —
signed these presents on the day and year above
mentioned.
" Perier,
" F. Raphael,
" Priest Capuchin, Vicar General.
" Lange."
Tlie first record of marriage contained in the
same register reads as follows:
"In the year 1731, the 10th of January, after
having published three times at the sermon of the
parochial mass the j)romise of marriage between
John Nauere, son of Bernard Nauere and of Jeanne
Larode, his father and mother, native of Saint
Nicholas of the City of Plaisance in the bishop-
ric of Tarbes in Gascogne, widower of Louise Bri-
don, deceased in this parish, — and Th^rese Maisonet,
daughter of Antoine Maisonet and of Madeleine
Malbe, her father and mother, native of the parish
of Saint Nicholas des Champs, Archbishopric of
Paris, widow of Louis Mirant, deceased at Natchez,
having not found any impediment to the said marriage,
I, Capuchin Priest, Missionary Apostolic at New Or-
leans, have received their mutual consent and given
the nuptial blessing according to the rites of the
Church in the presence of the undersigned witnesses,
to-wit: Nicholas Dominique Eousseau, Pierre Mar-
tineau, Jean Daniel, who have signed with me.
" Jean Nau^ke,
" Th6uese Maisonet,
" Jean Daniel Rousseau,
" Pierue Martinet,
" F. Raphael,
" Capuchin Priest, Vicar General."
— 99 —
The third sectiou of the same old register contains
the burial records, sind the first entry reads as follows:
" In the 3'ear 1731 on the 11th of Jauuary, I, un-
dersigned Capuchin Priest, Apostolic Missionary at
Kew Orleans, have buried in the cemetery of this
parish with the ordinary ceremonies of the Church,
the corpse of the deceased, Etienne Duchesne, a cap-
tain of the port, who died on the 10th of January,
having received the sacraments of the church. In
testimony of which I sign.
" Father Pierre,
" Priest C.ipuchiu, Apostolic Missiouarj'."
The slaves were often baptized by groups of ten,
fifteen and even twenty.
Then, for the sake of brevity, the priest used to
write in three columns. In the first were the names
of the newly baptized, in the second the names of
their masters and in the third the names of the god-
fathers and godmothers. Thus on page 37 occurs :
"In the year 1733 and the 4th of March, I ad-
ministered the baptism of the catechumens with the
ordinary ceremony of the Church to the adult negroes
and negresses hereafter named:
2^^ames of the
Their
Godfathers and
Baptized.
Masters.
Godmothers.
Michel
Mr. Dupout
H. Marquier
Etienue
Lempileur
E. Janot
FraiiQois
Alexandre
Larche
John Baptist
Eoy
Marquis
Charles
Desiatte
C. Marquet
. Dominique
Nicholas
Buuel Jonior
Etc.
Etc.
Etc.
— 100 -
" In witness thereof 1 sig^ned, this day and
month as above.
" Raphael,
"Vicar General, Rector.
On one of the last pages of the same register
there is pasted a very interesting document which
alludes to the terrible massacre by the Katchez
Indians of the white settlers, at " Terre Blanche," in
December, 1729.
This act is written in form of an affidavit and is
signed by Guebo and Cantrelle. These were the names
of the two only survivors of the massacre. Guebo
and Cantrelle, after escaping from the horrible fate
of their unfortunate fellow settlers, made their way
to New Orleans, reaching the city after a very long
and tedious journey. They had saved from the fury of
the Indians a child of four months, a boy, whom
they managed to bring alive to New Orleans, the litte
waif's life having been preserved by the providential
offer of a friendly squaw, who suckled the infant
during the whole of the perilous journey.
Some time after the men had reached the city,
they were interviewed by the ecclesiastical authorities
for the ijurpose of ascertaining if the child had been
baptized. Guebo and Cantrelle answered affirma-
tively, but a formal declaration was exacted, drafted
in French by Guebo, signed by him and Cantrelle, and
placed among the records of the Church.
The orthography of this old document is primitive,
and as an historical curiosity deserves to be copied
literally. It reads as follows :
—.101 —
" Nous sousnignes hahittans rechappes du massacre
des Natchez ; certiffions a tous, quHl appartiendra, quHl
aeste Baptise and. Lieu Le Jils de monsieur des Noyers,
aide major des trouppes des Natchez et directeur de la
concession de la terre Blanche, et de Madame Angelique
Charisson, les pere et mdre, Nez le 9 aout 1729 et Bap-
tise le 10 dud. mois par le Reverend Pere Philibert capu-
cin; et que les Parrin et marreine estoient Monsieur Des
Ursins de la loire, concessionnaire aud. Lieu, et Madlle
Des Noyers ; Et que led. Enfant fut nomme Antoine
Laurent des Noyers.
" En foy de quoy Nous avons donnele present pour
Certificat attend u que tous les Papier s Et toiis les Effets
de tout le monde ont pery dans led. massacre, a la Nou-
velle Orleans ce 10 fevrier 1733.
''GUEBO, CANTRELLE.''
Freely translated, this affidavit menns:
" That we, the undersigned colonists, escaped from
the massacre by the Natchez Tribe, certify that the son
of Mr. Des Noyers, aide- Major of troops at Natchez and
director of the concession {or reservation) of the " Terre
Blanche ;''^ and of Mme. Angelique Charison, his father
and mother, was born on the dth day of August, 1729, and
was christened on the lOth day of that month by the Rev.
Father Philibert, Capuchin ; and that the godfather and
godmother icere Mr. Des Ursins de la Loire and
Madame Des Noyers ; and that said child 2cas named
Antoine Laurent Des Noyers. In faith whereof we have
given these presents as a certificate, because all the
papers and effects of all the people at Natchez were lost
in the massacre.
^'■New Orleans, \Oth February, 1733."
— 102 —
Still more interesting- than the baptisms or mor-
tuarj'- registers is the book containing the minutes of
tlie meetings held by the Church Wardens.
These reports run from November, 1738, to
March, 1833. Among other subjects of minor im-
portance they relate the famous suit of the Wardens
against Abbe Walsh and the long discussion raised
by the City Council about the ownership of the
cemetery.
The monthly reports of the expenses of the
Church are of a peculiar interest, as they give an idea
of the importance of the Saint Louis Cathedral, at
this time the only parish church of the city. There
is for instance the report of January, 1825 :
jYawics of the Persons of fhe Clergy of the Saint Louis Church
of New Orleans and of the Employees of the Said
Church, fVifh Their Bespective Salary :
Per Mouth
The Rev. Father Antoiiie de Sedella, rector $70 00
Mr. I'Abbe Moui, curate and sacrist 55 00
Mr. I'Abbe Michaud. curate 50 00
Mr. I'Abbe Borgiia (iu France or Europe) 50 00
Mr. I'Abbe Gallagher, assistant to the clergy 30 00
Mr. Rutin Fernandez, first chorister 35 00
Mr. M. Landuu, chorister and music master 30 00
Mr. Jean Ximeues, chorister 25 00
Mr. Castro Gonzales, sub-deacon and chorister 20 00
Mr. Christoval Rodriguez, sacristan 26 50
Ant. Munoz, altar boy 20 00
Aut. Catoir, altar boy 10 00
Jacques Astin, altar boy 10 00
Philosfene Portail, altar boy 10 00
Jean Mazerat, altar boy 10 00
Pierre Maspero, altar boy 10 00
Mr. l'Abb6 Portier, teacher of the school of thirty boys. 100 GO
Mr. Quimper, teacher of the school of twenty little girls. 52 00
— 103 —
Mr. J. B. Labatnt, treasurer of the corporatiou,
five per ceut of commission
Mr. Aut. Criizat, collector of the corporation,
five per cent of commission
Mr. E. Ronx, grave digger
Mr. Lonis Laporte, organist 30 00
A negro who blows the organ 3 00
Per Year
Mr. C. Bonk, lute maker 100 00
Hyacintbe Castor, secretary to the wardens 200 00
Per Month
Lucien Vignaud, clock maker 15 00
Jean Castro, beadle and janitor 20 00
Mme. Widow Fernandez, laundress 11 00
Other records of the book enlighten us upon the
conditions of the city at this time.
For instance, this letter concerning a night watch-
man to be posted on the roof of the church, whose
duty it would be to ring the alarm bell in case of fire.
" To the Administrators of the Saint Louis Church
of New Orleans :
" Several attempts having been made to burn
down the city, a committee of citizens called on me
and begged me to take the necessary measures to pre-
vent any further attempt. Among the means which
seemed to them the most convenient is the appoint-
ment of a watchman during the night on the platform
of the church. He will be charged to ring the bells
at the first sight of a fire, and to light a beacon to
indicate its direction.
"If you accede to this request I will have a wicket
pierced in the wall of the church tower the nearest
to the City Hall.
" Trudeau,
" Recorder and Acting Mayor.
— 104 —
The Wardens favored the idea and thenceforth
a watchman stood on the platform of the church and
kept a sharp lookout on any glare that could ma-
terialize into a lire.
The above quotations are but a few of the many
pages of the book that prove interesting. Details
trifling in themselves are of considerable importance
when we look upon them as facts illustrative of the
life and manners of the old colonial days in Louisiana.
It is chiefly in this respect that a close perusal
of the archives of the Saint Louis Cathedral is of the
highest importance to those who wish to get or give,
not a romantic, but a true, real and vivid picture of
the past.
These registers constitute a precious mine of
information, and too much care cannot be taken to
protect and preserve them against the ravages of time
or the depredations of men.
The present incumbent of the rectorship of the
Cathedral, Right Rev. J. M. Laval, understood fully
this necessity, and under his care the records of old,
which were slumbering openly on dusty shelves, have
been classified and locked up in a large and secure
safe.
Every morning the faithful custodian turns the
heavy doors on their hinges and the light of day
throws a lively touch of color on those venerable
registers that speak of birth and marringe and death
as if they were the only data of human life.
PART III.
AROUND
THE CATHEDRAL.
CHAPTER I.
THE OLD SAINr LOUIS CEMirPERY.
SuccESSiVK Locations of the Eaklikst Cemetery ov New
Ori.eaxs — Inscriptions of Historical Interest —
Lessons on Life Learned from the Dead.
The old Saint Louis Cemetery is the natural out-
growth of the Saint Louis Cathedral and stands with
it among- the oldest and most interesting landmarks
of the historical city of New Orleans.
There is nothing gorgeous in its inclosure, no
carefully tended lawns, no level stretches of green,
no pebbled alleys or flowers in perennial blossoms.
Everywhere Time has left its wasting mark and
whoever saunters within its superannuated walls
falls a victim to the mystic silence which begets the
memories of the past.
Many writers and commentators have endeavored
to trace the history of the Saint Louis Cemetery
back to its origin, but lack of documentary evidence
has given rise to various opinions as to its date of
foundation, original location and dimensions.
Dr. Erasmus Fenner, in his " Southern Medical
Reports," published in 1850, seems to advocate the
most plausible theory on this subject. "In the
earliest days of the city," says the Doctor, "the
cemetery was situated in the rear of the Cathedral,
near the ' Place d'Armes.' But the number of build-
ings, increasing with the population, gradually gained
— 108 —
more aiul more ground, and the cemetery was moved
to another location mncli further in the rear of the
city. Even now, it is again inclosed within the walls
of this ever-g-rowing- town, and the time is not distant
Avhen the dead shall have to give place to the living."
This hypothesis on the Urst location of the old
Saint Louis Cemetery is confirmed and supplemented
by a document Avhich determines, if not the exact loca-
tion, at least the successive removals of the cemetery.
This document dates back to 1820, and is based
upon a discussion between the ecclesiastic and civil
authorities.
At this time the Trustees of the Cathedral were
ordered by the City Council to remove the Catholic
Cemetery, because it was situated too near the resi-
dential section and might prove a menace to public
health. The Trustees then sought another location,
but no suitable one could be found, and the matter
dragged until 1823, when the order was renewed in
more severe terms, judging- from the answer of these
worthy Wardens.
Being accused of bad will and the intention to
evade the laws enacted for the i)ublic walfare, they
presented their defense in three long* pages tilled
with assurance and cutting irony. The following is
an extract from the whole, written in the i»onipous
style characteristic of those days :
"The Corporation of the Trustees Administrators
of the property of the Saint Louis Catholic Church,
being fully convinced that the first authority in the
State cannot be inspired by other principles than
those that concern public walfare, welcomes the com-
ing of the time when it can clear itself of the unjust
— 109 —
imputation made against it by a few individuals, and
submits to the Legislature the reasons of fact and
law which prevented it from complying with the city
ordinances relating hereto."
The petitioners cite the rights of the church on
the matter and conclude as follows :
" By said documents, we find the Superior Council
under the French Government, the Cabildo under
the Spanish domination, and consequently the City
Council which has succeeded them, have been obliged
and are to provide a cemetery for the burial of the
Catholics. The ground originally set aside for this
purpose was given up for another tract of land
between Saint Peter and Toulouse streets. The
Church made use of it up to 1788, when the Cabildo
ordered the removal of this cemetery to its present
location. And we read in an act dated November 14th,
1800, that the said Cabildo has set apart this place
out of the lands belonging to the city and promised
to have it fenced and filled out of its own funds, be-
cause, having deprived the Church of its cemetery, it
was its duty to fully indemnify it.
'' This brief exposition of the most essential facts
shows that the accusation made against the Trustees
in not removing the cemetery really falls upon the
City Council.
" To this powerful array of facts we will add as
concisely as possible the law on the subject: ' There
is a principle acknowledged by all the civilized
nations of the earth, which is the basis of all civil
contracts and the foundation of our Constitution,
viz: That no one can be deprived of his property
without a full compensation. This universally re-
— 110 —
spected principle becomes still more binding' when
applied to a discussion involving the ownership
of public property destined to the most sacred use.'
"Being- convinced that the Legislature will adopt
some measure for the removal of the cemetery from
its present location, the Trustees cannot recommend
with sufficient force that the law passed for that
purpose impose on the City Council the obligation of
resi)ecting the place where rest the ashes of our rela-
tives, friends and fellow-citizens by preserving it
forever as a cemetery. Scandalous would it be if
some day would witness the sale of that sacred
ground which even the most barbarous nations hold
in great veneration."
The following gentlemen, Trustees of the Saint
Louis Cathedral, signed the petition: G. B. Labatut,
L. Cavalier, K. Cauve, Marin Argote, Simon Cucullu,
P. Eousseau, F. Duplessis, X Girod, C. L. Blache,
H. Landreaux and J. B. Wiltz.
The historical problem, therefore, concerning the
original foundation and site of the Old Saint Louis
Cemetery, resolves itself thus:
The ground for the Catholic Cemetery was first
given by the French Government to the Saint Louis
Parochial Church when New Orleans Avas founded in
1718, and the gift was confirmed "de jure et facto"
by the Spanish Cabildo.
The cemetery was originally situated in the rear
of the chnrch as w^as the common custom in those
days. But in 1743, the city, having grown consider-
ably, the cemetery was removed and transferred near
the city's ramparts, between Saint Peter and Tou-
louse streets. Finally, in 1788, and for the same
— Ill -
reason, the Spanish Cabildo had it removed a little
further, to its present location.
According- to a certain tradition, the "Old Saint
Louis Cemetery" originally extended as far as Earn-
part street, the pyramidal monument which now
stands at its entrance being then about in the middle
of the site. Later, the burial ground was encroached
upon and the tombs on the border were leveled and
covered by Basin street. This is confirmed by a
map preserved in the City Museum, as also by
recent excavations made in the middle of Basin
street, which brought to light quantities of human
bones. Therefore, it is beyond doubt that the
Catholic Cemetery, which was transferred in 1788 to
the other side of the city's ramparts, now known
as Eampart street, originally extended to these
ramparts and included the adjoining ground now
covered by Basin street.
Later on, a similar encroachment happened on
the other side of the cemetery, as it is substantiated
by the following inscription:
Here Lie
The Remains of Skvehal of the Family of
Robert Layton,
of This City,
The Whole Being Removed to This Place on December 10th, 1838,
in Consequence of the Opening of TrSme Street
by the City Juthorities.
As the Old - Saint Louis Cemetery is still open
to burials, it follows that after many discussions and
appeals, the Trustees of the Saint Louis Cathedral
— 112-
finally had the best of the question brought up by
the City Council in 1820, and also in 1823, asking for
a removal of the cemetery to a further location.
Since that time the question has often been agitated,
but it now involves more cemeteries than this, the
mother of burying grounds in New Orleans, for the
city has extended miles and miles beyond the ancient
boundaries, and cemetery after cemetery has been
encroached upon and surrounded by the homes of the
living. Public opinion is respected by law, the
common sentiment being that the graves of the loved
and lost must not be disturbed.
In the Old Saint Louis Cemetery, it is true, the
dead lie so close together that there is almost no room
for the erection of another tomb ; but the cemetery
opens its vaults to those who are the direct heirs of
the soil, and the oldest families of the "vieux carre"
still bring hither their dead to place beside the re-
mains of their ancestors.
The Old Saint Louis Cemetery deserves more
than a passing notice. No other spot in New Orleans
so recalls the past with all its history, chivalry, sen-
timent and romance. It is one hnndred and twenty
years since it has been ojien to burials; during that
time funeral processions have daily crossed its thresh-
old, conveying thither the dead of all ages and of
all countries.
Walk along the tortuous alleys, read the old in-
scriptions buried beneath the tall weeds, and you will
find there the whole history of the city since the pur-
chase of Louisiana by the United States. The writer
— 114 —
Las searched tbe wliole ceuietei y and found tlint tlie
oldest e[)itapb extant does not go back fnrtber tlinii
1800. It is traced on a small wrougbt iron cross and
reads as follows:
Nanettk F. De Bailly,
Died the 24th of September, 1800.
Aged 45 Tears.
Tbougb tbe Saint Louis Cemetery contains tombs
of wealtby families, none but tbe monument of tbe
"New Orleans Italian Benevolent Society" has an
artistic value. Tbe different pieces of tbis mausoleum
were imported from Italy, wbere tbey were carved.
Tbree life size statues in marble representing Faith,
Italy and Motberbood adorn tbe monument. It is
not perhaps the grandest nor the richest mausoleum
in tbe city, but it seems to be tbe one which embodies
the purest forms of funeral architecture.
The Saint Louis Cemetery appeals poorly to the
artistic sense, but it is a spot of absorbing interest to
those who know and love the past. Within its an-
cient precincts rest the remains of those wbo were
the makers of tbe city's history; tbe sturdy emi-
grants wbo came from tbe Old World to give to
their ambition a larger tield; men wbo figured promi-
nently in the early history of tbe State, otliers wbo
Avorked and achieved nothing. There they lie all side
by side, some whose names are still remembered,
others, for tbe most part, buried forever in oblivion.
New Orleans is " i)ar excellence" a cosmo[)olitan
city, and this fact cannot be better illustrated than
by reading some of the inscriptions chosen at random
from among tbe tombs in tbe Old Saint Louis Ceme-
Photo C. M. C.
Gayaure and de Bor^e's Tomb.
— 116 —
tery. Almost <ill tlie nations, even remote Chiiiii, are
represented among' the foreigners who rest there be-
side the ehildren of the hmd. Some of the resident
foreigners have even formed national societies and
own a common tomb; snch as "La Societe Fran^aisede
Bienfaisance," " Societad Portugaesa de Uencii
cencia,'' the " Compiiniade V'olnntarios Catalancs/'
aud others of minor imi)ortance.
In the rear of the cemetery, in the same simple,
old-fashioned, oven-shai)ed tomb, rest two men who
left an undying name in the annals of our city: the
one, Etienne de Bore, the i)lanter who first succeeded
in granulating sugai'; the otlier, his grandson, Charles
Gayarre, thefamons historian of Louisiana.
In the same section of the old graveyard rises a
tomb in the form of a fort. It is sacred —
To lUK Mkmoiiy of
CLAIUCK DUUAr.DK CLAI15(»KNK,
The Toniujest DaiKjhter of Mart'iti Diuulde of Attakapaa,
and Wife of JVUUain C. Claibunie, Goccnior
of the Territori/ of Orleans,
Died on the ,29th of November, 1S09,
in the 21st Year of Her Age.
In the tomb next to the latter, on the left side,
lies buried —
Myka Cr.AliK Gainks.
Daughter of
Dnniel Clark atid Ziiline Carriere,
Died January 9th, 1SS5,
Aged 78 Years.
Rest in Peace.
Erected by Her Loving Godchild,
Mijra Clark Caints Materat.
— 118 —
Daniel Clark was the Americau Consul in Xew
Orleans during the Spanish regime, and was claimed
by IMyra Clark Gaines ns her hiwful father; a claim
out of which grew the litigation of Myra Clark
Gaiues, which became famous throughout the country,
jVIrs. Gaines spent her life proving her rights, and
after fifty years it was finally decided in her favor
by the United States Supreme Court.
The city of Xew Orleans had to pay the claims,
wbicli amounted to thousands of dollars and involved
some of the most valuable city property. Slie is
buried beside her father, Daniel Clark, whose grave
had fallen into utter decay. Myra Chirk Gaines
Mazerat, a prominent lady who resides in New Oileans
and who was liberally remeuibered by iAIrs. Gaines in
her will, restored the ruined grave and built above it
a monument.
Further back in the rear of the cemetery in an
enclosed corner, amid weeds of tremendous iR'ight,
rest the renuiins of several brave soldiers Avho fought
and laid down their lives for their country in the war
with England.
The following are some of the epitaphs that are
still visible:
Ix Memoky ok
Benedict Francis Pkadelles,
Born in Bai/eux, in the French Flanders,
August 31st, 1755.
He Served During the American Iverohition as an
Officer in the French Army.
December 23rd, 1S14.
Photo C. M. C.
A Forlorn Alley.
— 12U —
Erkctf.d to the Mkmohy of
William Parmfee,
A Xative of New Iivglatid,
Who Was Killed w the Defense of the City of Xetv Orleans,
in the Battle IVith the British Army,
Decemher 23rd, 1814.
Sacrki) to the Memory of
William P. Camby,
^lidshiinuan of the U. S. Xary, Born (Norfolk),
August 10th, 1796,
Who Fell in That Inequal Conquest
Bdirceii the ZL S. Gunhoat Squadron and the British Flotilla,
on Lale Boryne, Xear Xcu' Orleans,
December 14, IS 14.
Wliat a lesson it is to look upon these abandoned
tombs, and liow pitifnl after all is linuian greatness.
There sleep heroes who bravely ga\e their lives for
the defense of their own City and St;ite, and yet there
are none today to show them tiie simjilc tribnte of
gratitnde and respect b}' even so small a thing- as
keei)iHg- their graves in good order.
Not far from those who died on the battlefield in
defense of JN'ew Orleans, lies buried a youth who fell
under the "dueling oaks," a victim of honor, one of
the too many who at this time sought vengeance at
the ])oint of a foil, or mistook their right with their
skill of marksman.
Here Also Rests the Body of
MiCAjAii Grfex Lewis,
Brother of Eliza Claihorue and Brivate Secretary
to Governor Claihorue,
Who Fell in a Duel on February 14th, 1S05,
In the SOth of His Age.
— 121 —
With the dead made self -illustrious by their
deeds, are the dead illustrious by reasou of their birth,
for some inscriptious bear names and titles among
the oldest of the European nobility, notabl}^ the
following:
To Her Sox,
Albert Montecuccoli Laderchi, *
Born March 30th, 1S29, Died Amjust, 1853,
His Mother Praying for the Repose of His Soul.
Chalmette, Coiiiitess MontecuccoJi Laderchi,
Born Princess Cettingen WaUenstein.
Ci GlT
Demoiselle Anne Barbe Dominique,
Nee a Madrid Van 1771,
Decedee le 22 JuiUet 1808,
Fille Legitime de Fen Jean Bodolphe, Baron de Brouner,
Lieutenant Colonel des Armees de S. M. C,
et de Dame Camille Carpona de Sjyinola.
Illustrious neither by birth nor by deeds, but full
of promise for a successful life, was the obscure
young man who lies beneath the following touching
inscription :
122
Sacked to thk Mkmoky ok
KlCHAliD,
0>ihj Son of liichdid and Liicretia Law,
Who ('anic to This ('onnlnj 2sovember, ISIS,
Under the Flattering Jnspices of a Generous and
Dis i n terested Pa tron.
The Sanguine Ardor of a Yoiithfnl Imagination
Led Him to Look Forward to the Time
When hji Diligenee and Frngalitg
Ererg Savrijice Would. Be liepaid
Bg His Returning With a Competency
To His Parents and Sisters.
It Pleased the Ahnightg God, Disposer of Our Destinies,
To Convince Us of the Incertaintg
of All Earthly Happiness.
He Fell a Victim of the Yellow Fever
September 16th, 1S09,
Aged Twenty-three Years and Ten Months.
"A Father^ 8 Hope, a Mother'' s Joy."
Is not this cemetery a world in itself ! From
all i)arts of the earth the dead are here : they
belong to all the degrees of society, made equal iii
death ! All await in the majestic silence of the
tomb the great awakening.
The " Old Saint Louis Cemetery " is something
more than an historical landmark. Through the
si)ectacle of death it speaks of life, and nowhere may
we recall with a deeper sense of their significance
the immortal lines of the poet :
" Life is real, Life is earnest,
Aud the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust retnrueth,
Was not spoken of the soul."
CHAPTER II.
Sr. ANTHONY MORTUARY CHAPEL.
Thk OiUGix OF A Shiune — LAST Yeahs ok a Soi.dieu Pjjiest
— St. Anthony Chapei, Bkcomes an Italian Parish
ClIUUCH.
At tlie corner of Noitli Kainpart nnd Conti
streets stands the old jVrortuary Chajiel of New Or-
leans, known in onr days as the Chnrch of Saint
Anthony of Padiui. liampart street marked the
ancient limits of the city laid ont by Bienville, the
street having been so named because of the strong"
redonbt which ran along- it in colonial days.
As the city si)read beyond its primitive limits,
the moat which ran throngh the centre of the
nentral ground, or present car track, was filled in ;
beautiful shade trees were planted along the way on
either side; the outlying section of the ancient city
gradually became a resident portion.
This rapid growth of old New Orleans, which a
few years before had caused the City Council to
Older the removal of the Old Saint Louis Cemetery to
a further location, operated in 1811> as a powerful
argument with the authorities to nrge upon the
Trustees of the Saint Louis Cathedral the erection
of a mortuary chapel, whence the dead would be
directly conveyed from their abode, and thence to
the adjoining cemetery, thus avoiding, as the Mayor
explained, "those funeral processions which are but
— 124 -
too ai)t to scatter tliiougliout the city tlie fatal lui-
asma of fever."
It is, therefore, to tlie City Ooniicil that the old
Mortuary Chapel owed its origin. The negotiations
began in June, 1819. In consequence of a motion i)ut
before the City Council, and ado])ted, the i\Tayor
wrote to tlie Trustees of the Saint Louis Cathedral,
offering them pait of the lots boidt'iing on the paro-
chial cemetery. " This land," the IMayor said, " would
be sold to the Trustees at a moderate price, if they,
in their well-known devotcdness to the public welfare,
would have a mortuary chapel erected there."
The i)roposal of the City Council was accepted,
and Mr. Caisergues, Piesident of the Trustees, was
charged to reach an agreement with the IMayor on
the subject. Unfortunately, the Cathedral was very
much in need of money at this time, tlie parish fund
having been drained by the election of a newsteei)le,
the ])urchase of a town clock and an organ. So this
project, like many others, f<'ll through for lack of
means.
The cpiestion. however, was not forgotten, and in
Sei)tember, 1824, the City Council renewed the ])ro-
l)osition, recalling the negotiations opened a few
years before, and the willingness of the Trustees at
that time to comply with the request. The treasury
of the Cathedral being now in a better condition, the
Trustees ai)pointed a committee to meet the ^fayor
and carry out the desires of the City Council.
December 29, 1825, the negotiations were com-
pleted. The lots offered by the city were bought by
the Saint Louis Cathedral at a cost of $425 each. The
deed of sale, ]»ropeily made out and signed, was de-
u
a
s ^
O 00
1- -I— I
O
— 126 —
posited in the arcliives of Felix de Arums, a Xotaiy
Public.
Once ill complete and undisputed possession of
the grounds, the Trustees of the Saint Louis Catlie-
dral at once proceeded to carry out the idea of erect-
ing- the Mortuary Chapel, and in September, 1826,
issued a call for competitive bids. The bid made by
Messrs. Guillot «& Gurlie was given the preference.
According to their plans the building was to be 40
French feet in width, 80 feet in length, and 24 feet
in height. The total cost of the chapel, with the
guardian's house and the wall of inclosure, was to
amount to 114,000, payable in installments according
to the contract. While the building was in course of
erection, however, several alterations in the way of
improvements were i incorporated in the original i)lan,
and the total cost of the buildings thus raised to
about 117,000.
The work was prosecuted Avith great rapiditj^,
and on Wednesday, October 14, 1820, at half-past four
o'clock in the afternoon, the corner stone of the chapel
was laid by llev. Antonio de Sedella, the famous and
beloved Pere Antoijie who i)layed such a part in the
early history of New Orleans. Pere Antoine was
assisted by his clergy; the Trustees of the Saint Louis
Cathedral, the Mayor, the City Council and the Re-
corder of the city were also present at the ceremony.
Within a few months, quaint and beautiful, and in
keeping with the ancient Spanish style of architec-
ture which prevailed in New Orleans, the Mortuary
Chapel arose. Even before its completion, a custo-
dian, whose name was Louis Vallegas, was appointed
and given a salary of $21 a month. At the same time
— 127 —
the City Council hastened to brin<i- into execution the
sanitary lueasnres it desired to inaugurate, and issued
the following- decree, September 29, 1827:
" The Trustees of the Saint Louis Parish Church,
having- informed the City Council that the Mortuary
Chapel erected near the Saint Louis Cemetery is now-
completed, the. City Council hereby resolves :
" That from the first of November, it is forbidden
to take to, or to expose a corpse in the Saint Louis
Parish Church, under the penalty of $50, to be levied
for the benefit of the Corporation, ag-ainst any one
-who shall have taken to or exposed a corpse in the
aforesaid church. Any priest who shall perform a
funeral ceremony in the same church shall be liable
to the same fine. Henceforth the dead shall be con-
veyed to the Mortuarj^ Chapel, where tlie funeral
rites shall be performed.
(Signed) " D. Prieur,
" Recorder.
"Approved September 26, 1827.
" ROFFIGNAC,
" Mayor."
December 27, 1827, after the mass, and in pres-
ence of the civil authorities, Pere Antoine blessed the
new sanctuary.
As the Saint Louis Cathedral was the only
Catholic church in the city, and the Old Saint Louis
Cemetery the only Catholic cemetery, funerals came
in large numbers every day, and soon the custodian
was unable to call the priests of the Cathedral to
pei'form the rites. Father Tomero, who appears to
have been a missionary priest, being aware of this
— 128 —
state of affairs, offered himself as chaplain of the
Mortuary Chapel, and was accepted at a salary of
$30 a month. The ai)pointuient of a resident chaplain
forms the actual starting- point of the Church of
Saint Anthony of Padua.
It continued to be used as a mortuary chapel
until about 1860.
During forty years and more, from the time that
Pere Antoine first chanted there the " De Prof undis,"
and the " Eequiescat in Pace," its portals were daily
open to funeral processions, and its walls re-echoed
the unchanging and solemn liturgy of the Church
over her dead, " Eternal rest give unto them, oh,
Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them."
How many hundreds of this old Franco-Spanish
city have spent within the venerable walls of the old
chapel their last hour at the light of day, God alone
can tell.
In 1853, just after the terrible epidemic of yellow
fever, the City of Kew Orleans had far outgrown the
purpose for which the Ancient Mortuary Chapel was
founded. All over the city, from Carrollton to the
Barracks, were scattered churches. Catholic and Pro-
testant. To these churches the dead had been borne
in one of the most fatal visitations of yellow fever
that Xew Orleans had ever known. It seemed to
everyone the height of absurdity to apply to the
Saint Louis Cathedral Parish alone, the sanitary
regulation of 1827, regarding the burial of the dead.
The city had outgrown the regulation, and the old
Mortuary Chapel had outlived the original i)uri)oses
for which it had been founded. The same law that
applied to other churches in permitting fnneral ser-
— 129
vices to be held within their portals, now applied
to the Saint Louis Cathedral, and the use of the
old chapel for mortuary purposes was gradually dis-
continued.
Some ten years afterwards was attached to the
Saint Louis Cathedral as assistant the great soldier
priest of the Confeder-
acy, Rev. Father Tur-
gis. His famous record
in the great struggle
between the States is
not only a matter of
Southern, but of na-
tional history. When
the struggle ended the
hearts of the old sol-
diers followed their
friend and father, and
evening after evening
his room in the Old St.
Louis Presbytery was
thronged with his com-
rades of the Old Or-
leans Guard and Pointe Couple Artillery. Finally the
survivors of these two historic commands thought
that Father Turgis ought to have a church for him-
self, and so they petitioned the sainted Archbishop
Odin to give him a parish. Having no other church
to offer the warrior priest, Archbishop Odin gave him
the old Mortuary Chapel on North Rampart street,
and there, day after day, the faithful old priest said
Photo C. M. C. From a Crayon in
Memorial Hall.
Father Turgis.
— 130 —
mass with members of liis old guard Ivneeliiig around.
The walls of that little church and presbytery could
unfold the most beautiful tale of brotherly love could
they speak, for the small pension allowed Father Tur-
gis by the boys in gray was all distributed in alms
to the old and helpless Confederates, who used to
style him their Guardian Angel. About the quaint
old confessional were grouped every Saturday night
the old soldiers who had followed him so faithfully
during the bloody war. Around the Communion table
they would gather, and the few survivors who are still
among ns love to relate how evening after evening
found not less than tifteen or twenty of the old
soldiers gathered in his room in the ])resb3^tery just
back of the chapel. They represented every creed ;
they loved him and delighted to recount with him
the days that had so bitterly tried their hearts and.
souls.
Father Turgis died in the little back room of
the old presbytery of Saint Anthony's Church.
Almost his last words were : " I have seen death so
often that I do not fear it now." His remains were
exposed in the old chapel .and here was chanted above
them the Solemn Requiem Mass. No funeral in New
Orleans, except that of Jefferson Davis, the Presi-
dent of the Confederacy, ever attracted such a crowd
to the city. From all parts of the State the Confed-
erate veterans came to the old chapel. The streets
were thronged for blocks around. Hundreds of men
and women followed the funeral on foot. All the
survivors of the Army of Northern Virginia and of
the Army of Tennessee followed the remains to their
last resting place in the New Saint Louis Cemetery,
— 131 —
where a beautiful inonument lias been raised to Father
Turgis' memory by the Army of Tennessee.
Immigration from Italy began to pour into New
Orleans. It soon became apparent to the Archbishop,
Most Rev. Napoleon Joseph Perch6, that more special
provision had to be made for the religious guidance
of these emigrants. For some years there had stood
in Esplanade street, near the Levee, a frame building
whicli was called the Chapel of the Resurrection. It
was devoted exclusively to the use of Italian emi-
grants, and Rev, Father Cajoue was in charge. In
the early '70s he had as assistant in his work Rev.
Father Manoritta, than whom no Italian worker be-
came better known in New Orleans.
In January, 1875, Archbishop Perche decided to
convert the old Mortuary Chapel into a parish for
the Italians, and lie named Rev. Father Manoritta as
rector. The ancient edifice, which had from its founda-
tion served as an annex to the Saint Louis Cathedral,
was now entirely severed from connection with itj
and became a distinct parish church for Italians
under the name of Saint Anthony of Padua's Church.
The following is the first record found among the
l)arisli archives : " This day, January 25, 1875, I
have bajitized the first person ever baptized in tliis
church of Saint Antiiony of Padua. Signed, Father
Manoritta, formerly (Uiaplain of the Chapel of the
Resurrection." The church continued in charge of
Father Manoritta until November 5, 1902, when he
resigned the rectorship to spend his last days in his
native Italy. The last baptism recorded by Father
— 132 —
Manoritta is dated November 2, 1902. On Xovember
5, 1902, His Grace, the lameuted Arclibislioj) Chapelle,
placed the Church of Saint Anthony of Padua in
charge temporarily of the late Eev. Father Widman,
S. J., who continued to administer its affairs for
eleven months until October 1, 1903, when Arch-
bishop Chapelle confined the care of the Italian
people to the Spanish Dominican Fathers, aud placed
Saint Anthony's Church in their charge. The rector
of the church is Very Eev. Thos. Lorente, O. P. He
is one of the famous Philippine Friars, having been
professor in the University of Saint Thomas, at
Manila. He served as Secretary to Most Eev. P. L.
Chapelle, while the latter was Apostolic delegate in
the Philippine Islands, immediately after the close
of the late war with Spain. Through the zeal
of the Dominican Fathers the little congregation,
scattered all over the city, has grown considerably.
Many of the old customs of the churches of Italy
still maintain here and the feasts are celebrated with
elaborate ceremonies.
Once it was feared that the ancient landmark
would be given over to the i^ickaxe aud hammer of
demolishers, aud that travelers would be seen hur-
rying onward in the busy rush of commerce and
pleasure, to the spot where once men went for medi-
tation aud prayer. But such a fate seems to have
been conjured, and the ironclad monster engines
that once menaced not only the existence of Saint
Anthony's Chapel, but of the Old Saint Louis Ceme-
tery beyond, now roll on between both, bringing in
close touch the restless activity of the living and the
eternal stillness of the dead.
CHAPTEE III.
THE OLD URSULINE CONVENT (ARCHBISHOPRIC).
Pioneers of Female Education in America — Memorable
Journey of the Uhsuline Nuns — A Triumphal Pag-
eant — A Mute Witness of the Past.
Tbe first TIrsuline Convent ranks with the Cathe-
dral and the Old Saint Louis Cemetery among the
most interesting landmarks of New Orleans.
The devouring tooth of time has eaten into the
blue gray stucco which once covered its massive
walls, but not a vestige of its old aspect has departed,
and although battered and decayed, the old convent
is still one of the largest and strongest buildings of
the "Old Carre."
It is even more than an old mansion ; it is a relic
of the past, a household of souvenirs, a living witness
of the wonderful story of the Ursulines that reads
like a romance in our day.
Let the visitor stop at the porch and recall the
seemingly endless journey of the pious voyagers
from Hennebou ; then religious awe and deeper
respect will escort him throughout, where lived and
died those Avhose purity of life has been equaled only
by the firmness and devotion they showed in uphold-
ing this higher standard of womanhood of which the
daughters of Louisiana give so noble a living ex-
ample.
Just a few years after having transferred the
Capitol of Louisiana from Mobile to New Orleans,
— 134 —
Governor Bienville thought to secure some teachers
to educate the girls of tlie colony. A boys' school
had been already opened by a Capuchin monk, Father
C^cil, who taught his pupils in a house adjacent to
his monastery, near the parish church.
At first Bienville turned to his native country,
Canada, to enroll some " Soeurs Grises," but his
project proved impracticable.
He then consulted Father Beaubois, Superior of
the Jesuits, who offered to apply to the Ursuliues of
Eouen. After much deliberation a treaty was con-
cluded, September 13, 1726, by which these pious
ladies engaged to supply teachers and nurses for
'New Orleans.
A lady bearing the somewhat singular name of
Tranchepain, was appointed superioress. She was a
convert from Calvinism, and had taken the veil
among the Ursuliues in 1699. All the nuns chosen
for the Louisiana mission assembled in the monastery
of Hennebon, in Brittany, to acknowledge as their
superioress JMarie. Tranchepain of Saint Augustine,
January 1, 1727. On the 27th of January, 1727, the
nuns looked their last on Paris, whence they jour-
neyed to Lorient, delayed by execrable roads and bad
weather, but bright and cheerful under all contrari-
eties. On February 22 they bade adieu to their country
"for the glory of God and the salvation of poor
savages." They sailed on the " Giroude " with the
Jesuit Fathers Tartarin and Doutreleau and " Frere
Crucy," who, with Madeleine Hachard, a novice,
being the youngest of the party, considered it " their
duty to amuse the rest."
— 135 —
The voyage had its chroniclers, and every inci-
dent is vividly described in the letters and diaries of
Mother Tranchepain and Sister Hachard, These nuns
wrote with ease and elegance, and one cannot read
their narratives without interest. It would take too
long to give details of this seven months' journey
from Paris to IS^ew Orleans over the stormy Atlantic,
among the West Indian Isles, on the Caribbean Sea
and the Gulf of Mexico, and up the Mississippi.
Besides, no words can describe, in these days of rapid
travel with Pullman boudoirs and ocean palaces, the
sufferings of those '' who went down to the sea in
ships," a hundred and eighty-one years ago. Now
they were threatened with a watery grave, again
with starvation and thirst; once the ship barely
escaped hostile corsairs ; later they encountered
savages of so peculiarly ferocious a type that they
murdered by slow tortures all the whites whom they
captured and made every victim drink his own blood.
The scenery and the trials of the last days of
this journey were a befitting climax to the voyage.
Probably no scene on earth was so bleak and dreary
as was the entrance from the Gulf to the Mississippi,
nearly two hundred years ago. An interminable
waste of waters, a vast morass impassable for man
or beast, shoals and bars, low strips of coast covered
with poplars, prairies of reeds, a wilderness of cane
brakes, the mouths of the river strewn with drift
wood and half choked with wrecks — these greeted
the voyagers.
As they ascended the river, forests that seemed
co-eval with the creation itself opened before their
eyes ; here and there were seen a solitary hut for
— 136 —
pilots, stretches of green savanna, gaunt trunks of
trees stuck fast in the sand, gigantic cypress shrouded
in funeral moss, half surmerged in the yellow waves.
Gloom and magnificence everywhere miugled ; fishes
disportiugthemselvesruffledtheoldgoldsurface of the
melancholic river; blue cranes, like flying skeletons,
hovered about the little flotilla; swarthy, half nude
natives in pirogues and chaloupes glided among the
wondrous waves, shimmering in the mystic charm of
the summer sunlight. " l!^everlesss, the trials and
fatigues of our five months' voyage," writes Sister
Hachard, " are not to be comi)ared Avith what we
had to endure in our fifteen days' journey from the
Gulf to New Orleans, a distance of thirty leagues."
On August 7th, 1727, the nuns reached the city
of which our chronicler gives the rather flattering
description : " It is very handsome, well built and regu-
gularly laid out. The streets are wide and straight;
the houses wainscoted and latticed, the roofs sup-
ported by whitewashed pillars and covered with
shingles, that is, thin boards cut to resemble slates,
and imitating them to perfection. * * * The colon-
ists sing that their town is as beautiful as Paris. But I
find a difference. 'J^he songs may persuade those
who have never seen the capital of France. But I
haA'e seen it, and they fail to persuade me." To tell
the truth, the country, save for a small space around
the church, was thickly wooded to the water's edge,
and tlie trees were of prodigious height. The squares
and streets laid out by engineer La Tour were
still mostly on paper. Since the hurricane of 172^3
had swept away the cabins of the first settlers, it is
true, colonists were slowly rebuilding the town on
— 138 —
a scale of comfort and splendor which suri)rised
and delighted the nuns. A crayon sketch carefully
preserved in the present convent, gives a lively repre-
sentation of the "Landing of the Ursulines." The
nuns are in i)rocessi()n, wearing the ample garb of
their Order. Sister Hachard's tine, strong lineaments
are partially concealed by the flowing white veil of a
novice. Father Beaubois presents them to the Capu-
chins of the parish church, and points out the Indians
and negroes, their future charges. A negress holding'
a solemn ebony baby, regards the group with awe
and wonderment. A beautiful squaw, decked with
beads and shells, surrounded by plump papooses,
half reclining with natural grace on a log, and a
very large Congo negro has stopped his work and
betaken himself to the top of a wood pile to gaze
leisurely on the scene. Claude Massy, an Ursuline
postulant, carries a cat which she tenderly caresses,
and another, " Sister Anne," is searching a basket
for something ; both wear the high peaked Normandy
cap. Franciscans heavily bearded, and Jesuits in
large cloaks, appear in the distance. Immense trees,
which have long since disappeared, overshadow the
whole group. The picture is a most interesting and
valuable relic, probably the only one in existence
which shows all together the first schoolmasters and
schoolmistresses of New Orleans and of Louisiana.
Governor Perier, his wife and all the people wel-
comed the nuns as risen from the dead, for they had
been given up as lost.
As the building intended for them was not com-
pleted, Bienville's country house, the best in the
colony, was offered to them provisionally. It was
— 139 —
a two-story edifice with a flat roof used as a bel-
videre or gallery, situated on Bienville street, be-
tween Royal and Chartres streets. Six doors gave
ingress and egress to the apartments on the ground
floor. Large and numerous windows, with sashes
covered with fine linen, let in as much light as glass.
From the roof the nuns might gaze on a scene of
weird and solemn splendor. Swamps and clumps of
palmetto and tangled vines ; the surrounding wilder-
ness with groups of spreading live oaks (chenieres)
cut up by glassy bayous, was the home of reptiles,
wild beasts, vultures, herons and many wondrous
specimens of the fauna of Louisiaua.
The Sisters at once began to teach the children
and extend their cares to the sick, the Indians and the
colored folk. Sister Hachard praises the docility of
the children, " who can be molded as one pleases."
She says that it is easy to instruct the negroes once
they have learnt French, but "impossible to baptize
the Indians without trembling, on account of their
natural propensity to evil, particularly the squaws,
who, under an air of modesty, hide the passions of
beasts."
The hospital of the Sisters usually had from
thirty to forty patients, mostly soldiers. Everything
was so w^ell arranged that the officials said it was
useless for them to continue their visits, as there was
noth.ing for them to do. At first the iufirmarian nun
watched the nurses, but ere long she took sole charge.
The sick could not say enough in praise of their
"mothers," who would gratify their tastes when it
could be done without prejudice to their health.
" We bless God for the success of this Christian
— 140 —
work," writes Sister Hachartl. ''The spirit of our
holy institute shows itself in the good our Sisters do
for souls while attending to the wants of the body."
The community which thus auspiciously began
the work of education in Louisiana consisted of eight
professed members, one novice and two candidates.
Bienville's country house, which had been turned into a
convent, soon became too small for the number of ever
increasing pupils. Unfortunately the convent, which
was in course of construction at the other extremity
of the town, did not show any encouraging signs of
progress. The Indian Company had promised to have
it ready in six months, but the construction dragged
along considerably and the six months lengthened
out to seven years. The gentlemen who had be-
gun this work with a relative diligence, had grown
weary, and neither tears nor solicitations could pre-
vail on them to supply the; material and finish the
work.
Tradition asserts that the nuns quitted Bienville's
villa to live for a time on the plantation they had re-
ceived from the Indian Company for their support.
Nun street, a short street flanked with cotton presses
and opening on the levees, is cemmonly designed as
the site of this country house, and Eeligious street,
Notre Dame street, Annunciation street and Teresa
street seemed to have formed a kind of network over
what is supposed to have been the Ursuline plan-
tation.
At last the convent, promised by the Indian
Comjiany and under construction since seven years,
— 141 —
was completed. The nuns, who had been at a time dis-
heartened by so long an expectance, again became
hopeful and made their removal to the new monastery
the occasion of one of the most elegant pageants ever
seen in this city. On Saturday, the 13th of July,
1734, just as the nuns resolved to postpone their, de-
parture indefinitely on account of a rain which had
lasted three days, the sun bursted out suddenly from
the cloudy heavens, and in his brilliant light and
tropical heat the waters soon subsided. The nuns
took the sudden clearing of the sky as a good omen,
and at 5. p. m. all their bells rang out to announce
their intended departure. Bienville, whose third
term (1733-1743) had recently begun, soon ai^peared
in the convent chapel, where the nuns knelt for the
last time. Fathers Beaubois and Petit, and Br-other
Parisel, Jesuits ; Fathers Philip and Pierre, Capu-
chins, and the most distinguished people of the
place surrounded the brilliantly lighted altar, and
the troops, half Frencli and half Swiss, drew up on
either side of the old Bienville mansion, which had
served as a convent for the past seven years. This
venerable house, that saw the beginning of the Ur-
sulines in Louisiana, and in which died the brave and
gentle superioress. Mother Augustine Tranchepain, on
November 11, 1733, was destroyed in the dreadful
contlagration of Good Friday, 1788.
After the benediction, given by Father Philip,
assisted by Fathers Beaubois and Petit, all left the
chapel in procession, tlie citizens opening the march.
Then came the children of the orphanage and the
day school pupils, followed by forty of the principal
ladies of the city, bearing torches; next twenty
— 142 —
young girls, robed and veiled in the purest white, and
twelve others, representing- Saint Ursula and her
11,000 companions. The boarders, orphans and day
pupils carried wax tapers. The young lady who
personated Saint Ursula wore a costly robe and a regal
mantle of tissue of silver. Her crown glittered with
pearls and diamonds, and a veil of the richest lace fell
about her in graceful folds. She bore in her hajid
a heart pierced with arrows, made with wondrous
skill. Fair children arrayed as angels surrounded
her, and all waved palm branches, emblematic of the
glorious victory won by the heroic virgin martyrs,
whom they had the honor to represent.
At the end of the procession came the nuns with
lighted caudles, and the clergy carrying a rich
canopy, under which the INIost Blessed Sacrament
was borne in triumph. Bienville and his staff, the
Intendant of the province, Mr. Salmon, and the whole
population formed their escort. The soldiers moved
in single file on either side, about four feet from the
procession. Hymns were sung by all, the accom-
paniment of fifes and drums making pleasing har-
mony ; Brother Parisel, in surplice, acted as master of
ceremonies, and perfect order and decorum gave to
the display the last touch that crowns a thorough
success.
This moving panorama of light, color and beauty
halted between the Saint Louis Parish Church
and the "Place d'Armes," and defiled gracefully
down the aisles of the church, the troops kneeling
and presenting arms to do honor to the Blessed
Sacrament. The nuns knelt within the sanctuary,
and Father Philip placed the "Veiled Saviour" on
— 143 —
the iiltar, Avliile soldiei-s, robed ns acolytes, were
swinging censeis, from which arose delicate perfumes.
The congregation remained prostrate till Father
Petit, the orator of the occasion, ascended the pulpit.
In a sermon, described as most eloquent by the nun
whose facile pen has embalmed these precious details,
he set forth the necessity and advantages of giving
young- persons a solid Christian education. In glow-
ing words he congratulated the nuns on their labor
to this great end, so conducive to the glory of God
and the welfare of the colony. At the close of this
touching address, the soldiers sang hymns, and
Fatlier Phili]) gave the Benediction,
When the procession wound out of the church,
the torches and tapers were not superfluous; the
sun Avas setting, but the afterglow remained for a
while, burnishing- the lofty trees and turning the
mighty river into colors of molten gold. All drew
up before the "Place d'Armes" and the bells of the
new monastery rang out their merriest peals as the
procession moved slowly in the deepening twilight.
" Thus did we enter our new abode," writes
Madeline Hachard, "amid the chiming of bells, the
music of fifes and drums, and the singing of praise
and thanksgiving to our Heavenly Father, whose
loving Providence has lavished on us so many fa-
vors."
And now let our imagination follow the nuns in
their convent. Those who know the old monastery,
our present Archbishopric, will be interested to know
that the ground floor had a small chapel, two parlors,
a room for the Mother Superioress, refectories for the
Sisters and the boarders, community rooms, kitchen,
— 144 —
scullery and pantry. On the next floor were the dor-
mitories, infirmary, sacristy, linen room, wardrobe.
The orphans occupied part of the upper story; the
rest was used as an instruction room for colored
women. At the same time the Indian Company
erected a separate building- for the sick, to which the
patients were removed on the 20tli of August, 1734.
This addition was behind the convent, and faced
Arsenal street, which changed its name to Hospital
street. This convent sheltered the Ursulines for
ninety years. In 1821, the nuns built a siiacious
monastery, three miles below the city. To this they
removed, without ceremony of any kind, during the
vacation of 1821. At tirst three nuns and a novice
took up their abode in it on July 2Gth. Two weeks
later several other Sisters and the boarders followed
the superioress and others remained in the city till
the closing' of the day-school in September.
The early dwellers in the new home had uuiny
privations to endure; having no cooking apparatus,
their meals were sent from the old house. Once their
caterer did not come till evening, nor was his arrival
a source of comfort, as he i)resented only empty
dishes, his cart having upset on the way. Even at
this time, depredations by Indians in the suburbs of
the city were not unknown, and the nuns were so
much afraid that they could not sleep. Finally, one
of the bravest. Sister Marie Olivier, offered to keep
watch while the others slept. But neither Indians
nor other robbers made their ajipearance in her hours
of patrol.
— 146 —
The old convent in Chartres street, which was
abandoned by the Ui sulines, saw various uses. In 1831
the Louisiana State House having been destroyed
by fire, the Legishiture rented the ancient edifice
from the nuns, and held several sessions within its
walls. Shortly after the lease expired the Ursulines
presented it to the Archbishop of New Orleans as
a place of residence.
It was so used until 1899, when a number of the
Catholic clergy and laity purchased the old Slocomb
residence in Esplanade avenue, and presented it to
the late Archbishop Chapelle as a residence for the
Archbishops of New Orleans. The historic old site
in Chartres street is still known, however, as " the
Archbishopric," and is used for the transaction of
all the official business of the Archdiocese.
Though several times repaired, the venerable
building has lost nothing of its antique aspect; all of
its interesting features have been carefully preserved,
and nothing of them has been sacrificed to the restless
taste for modern comfort. Entering through the
l)orter's lodge, in the door of which is the usual
convent grating or ''guichet," as it is called, a small
garden is reached, and a good view is had of the
venerable building, which was i)lanned after the
Tuscan composite style. Crossing the garden, the
visitor enters by an old-fashioned porch a large
vestibule, from which diverge several passages lead-
ing to the courtyard, the adjacent Saint Mary's
Church, and to various parts of the building. The
interior remains almost in its original state, with a
curious old staircase, heavy doors, and cypress floors,
the latter so worn that the ill-fashioned, old hand-
— 147 —
made iinils protrude. The walls are several feet
thick, and the Ijeaiiis and rafters, which the saw
never touched, seetn ns strou<i' as when they left the
forest. In the dining room, which has natural
l^anels of natural cypress, .are several paintings,
mostly pictures of the late prelates of the diocese.
On the second Hoor are the offices of the Arch-
bishop, the library, the guest-rooms and the apart-
ments of the Chancellor and other attendants of the
Archiepiscopal household. The interior gallery opens
on a square of green lawn, at the end of which has
been erected a shrine to the Virgin. On the third
floor of the building may still be seen the quaint
little cells of the nuns, and the old-fashioned desk of
the community room, at which the superioress sat and
presided, when the nuns met for instruction and
prayer. The entire building is covered with a heavy
peaked roof.
Just at the corner of Hospital and Chartres
streets, where a grocery now stands, was the ancient
burial ground of the convent. When in 1824 the
nuns rensoved to their new quarters, near the Bar-
racks, the remains of the deceased members were
disinterred and reburied in the cemetery attached to
the present convent. But the bodies of the colored
servants, who were interred in front of the convent,
were never disturbed.
Saint jNIary's Church, which flanks the old mon-
astery on its left, has been built in the early part of
the last century, as an adjunct to the Archbishopric.
The church is in charge of the Chancellor, who acts
as rector.
The three-story brick building which stands at
— 148 -
the riglit of tlie old convent was built under the
administration of Archbishop Perclie. It served as
a diocesan seminary for over a decade. Ic is now
closed, and its solitude and deserted ness harmonize,
somewhat, with the sacred atmosphere of the old
monastery, filled with the memories of the past.
And now, kind reader, that you have followed
the gentle nuns- from the country home of Bienville
to their convent on Chartres street, and from Chartres
street to their present location, at the lower end of the
city; now that you have gone through the old monas-
tery, noticing the ravages of time and changes made
by men, let us pass through it a last time with the
interest which arises from the knowledge of the past.
Imagination Will people these old walls in a moment.
There is the upper story, once used as an instruc-
tion room for the colored. Dusky girls and women
came thither in crowds for instruction, advice and
consolation. Thither, too, came the Indian women,
with a world of sorrow in their large, dark eyes.
Let us descend and look through the various apart-
ments which were once occui)ied by the nuns and
their pupils. We gaze on the clumsy gate with its
small "grille" and quaint iron knocker, and think of
those who passed through these faded portals. The
early Capuchins and Jesuits, old "Father" Bienville,
the honest Perier and his pious wife, and the first
Ursulines of Louisiana. See how they crowd up from
the past, not shadowy creatures from the twilight
regions of romance, but beings, real and human, and
working wMth heart and soul for future g^enerations.
The "Grand Marquis" De Vaudreuil in gilted
casque and heron plume, the pensive " Filles a la
— 150 —
cassette," the weeping Acadiaus, the chivalrous de-
scendants of MacCarthy More, the scholarly Ulloa,
the [»rincely O'Reilly, the dashing Galvez, the h)rdly
O'Farrell, the intellectual Bishop Penalver, the
future King of France, Prince Louis Philippe, and
his two brothers; Andrew Jackson, lean and hag-
gard from midnight vigils, but illumined and glori-
fied by his eagle eye; how they all come to memory
in this hallowed spot, so full of religious and historic
associations. What a sacred threshold indeed this is !
Humble missionaries, chivalrous knights, stately
dames crossed it daily. It saw painted and feathered
Indians, stern squaws, negroes from the kraals of
Africa, all came hither to be consoled or learn the
secrets of a better land from those who had re-
nounced the pleasures of the world for their sake.
The nuns have gone long since, never to return
again; long since the young daughters of Creole
lineage have ceased to fill these walls with life and
merriment ; on the nearby " Place d' Armes " the
white banner of France was succeeded by the broad
standard of Spain, which, in turn, was furled to give
place to the glorious stars and stripes of young
America. Still stands the old Ursuline Convent,
by far the oldest building in New Orleans and all
Louisiana, as well as the most venerably historic.
It was truly the cradle of religion and education
in Louisiana. INIay these walls, which enclose so
many souvenirs of our past, and whose perennial ex-
istence seems to defy the destructive hand of time,
be i)reserved and remain a monument of Catholic
work as long as the sun throws over them the magic
splendor of its rays.
CENTENNIAL
GLORIES.
A CENTURY OF EPISCOPACY.
TLe Saint Louis Cathedral enjoyed tliesaiue priv-
ilege as the illustrious man who lives long enough
to witness the lasting glory with which time crowns
his immortal deeds.
Twice in the last twenty years has the Old Ca-
thedral known triumphant days ; twice in its honor
flags and banners were unfurled, cannons boomed,
and i)eople by thousands crowded its spacious aisles to
listen to orations whose echo sounded the poem of
a victorious past.
On tiie 25th of April the Catholic See of New
Orleans reached its hundredth year. The day dawned
bright and beautiful, ideal in coloring and rich with
the golden sunshine of the tropical spring time. The
Old Cathedral, robed in its glory and amidst the
ringing of bells and the booming of artillery, called
the people to celebrate this great anniversary. From
the Gulf of Mexico to far off Canada, from the Atlan-
tic to the Pacific Ocean, the chimes of the Centennial
Jubilee sounded, and ISTew Orleans witnessed a civil
and religious demonstration such as had rarely been
seen in any city of the Union.
The erection of the Episcopal See of New Orleans
in 1793 marked an event in the history of Louisiana ;
the celebration of its hundredth anniversary in 1893
chronicled a no less important page in the civil and
religious records, for it witnessed a union of hearts
and hands between clergy nnd laity, Church and
State. Protestants and Catholics alike felt pride, be-
— 154 —
cause of the glory of the ancient days, the importance
and standing of the See of ISTew Orleans, and the
immense influence for good the Catholic Church has
proven in building up the civilization and intellectual
thought in Louisiana.
For months the most elaborate i)reparations had
been in progress for this centennial celebration. Un-
der the auspices of Archbishop Janssens, the work
took definite shape, meeting with immediate and em-
phatic approval not only from the vast body of
Catholics in Louisiana, but also from distinguished
government officials of our own and foreign coun-
tries.
Cardinal Gibbons, the beloved j)relate who stands
at the head of the Catholic hierarchy in America,
Archbishop Ryan, the venerable and beloved pastor
who enjoys the reputation of being the most re-
nowned pulpit orator of the country. Archbishop El-
der, so long and intimately associated with Mgr.
Janssens in the field of Christian works, Very Rev.
Canon Burchesi, who came as a delegate from the
Archbishop of Montreal; these and twenty other dis-
tinguished bishops who were holding sway in what
was formerly the See of New Orleans, gathered
within the hospitable shades of the Old Cathedral,
and when the centenary dawned New Orleans held
within its walls the most notable dignitaries that had
ever assembled since the foundation of the See.
The celebration proper began with the setting sun
on Monday evening, when the Louisiana Battery
Field Artillery fired a salute of fifty guns in honor of
the occasion. The next morning a similar salute an-
nounced to the people of New Orleans that the long
Courtesy of M;ss M. L. Pcints.
His Grace Most Rev. F. Janssens.
— 156 —
looked for day liad arrived and the jireat celebration
had begun. Fhigs and banners streamed in tlie
breeze. Tlie notes of martial music filled the air;
the Old French Quarter seemed to have ^yakened to
a new life and vigor, and from every direction tlie
people poured down the narrow streets leading to the
Old Cathedral to show their interest and pride in the
great centennial. Every element of the community
was represented in that heterogenous, cosmoi)olitan
throng : rich and poor, high and low, white and col-
ored, devout and curious, all pressed eagerly for-
ward, packing the streets.
The Cathedral within and Avithout told the story
of the mile stone it had reached in its glorious history.
The entire facade presented a i)atriotic display of the
flags of all nations, hung in beautiful array from the
Cathedral arch doorway clear across the streets on
either side of the historic Pontalha buildings. And
thus decked in patriotic and religious garb, the an-
cient Cathedral awaited the coming of the distin-
guished pageant. From the Archbishopric, the Old
Ursuline Convent, moved a cortege as none has be-
fore issued from its gray walls. It was like the
picture of the olden crusades dropped in thelaj) of the
Nineteenth Century; acolytes and priests in cassock
and surplice; bishops in royal i>uri)le, with miters
and golden croziers ; archbishops in ermine and flow-
ing robes of silk and gold, and the brilliant red of the
cardinal i)rince, all made up a scene grand, imposing
and forever memorable in its character and historic
features.
As the majestic ])ageant ai)proaclied the great
Cathedral, the doors flew open and mid the solemn
- 107 -
husli of the audience, the organ pealed forth with
orchestral accompaniment and the great ecclesiastical
parade entered the church to the swelling' strains of
the grand march from " Le Prophete".
The solemn pontifical mass was offered by Arch-
bishop Janssens himself with a brilliant retinue of
assistants and in presence of tlie Cardinal, sixteen
bishops and two archbishops.
After the Gospel, Father Hage, the eloquent and
talented Dominican, delivered a French oration so ad-
mirable and appropriate to this glorious festivity that
we cannot help giving' it "in extenso" as the most
befitting- conclusion of this chapter.
Your rOmineuce, Messeigneurs, My Brethreu — God has placed
iu the life of a people, as iu the life of each individual, marked
mile-stoues, solemn monuments, which offer to the thought-
ful mind food for meditation— the past, with all its strnggles.
its failures and its victories — the present, with its regrets and
thanksgivings— the future, with its hopes and fears. That hour
has sounded iu the religious life of Louisiana. A century of ex-
istence ; a century of the establishment and extension of this
church! For all Catholics and Louisianians here is a subject
worthy not only of the most profound retleotions, but also of
deepest joy and pardonable pride. And as Catholics and Louis-
ianians, rejoicing in the ancient glory and grauileur of this
church, you desire to mark the last moments of this centennial
liy a magnificent demonstration of faith and piety, by trium-
phant acclammations and songs of thanksgiving.
Yes I the hour which marks the close of a century is indeed
a solemn one, and it is in honor of this hour that the Old
Cathedral seems to grow young again with the grace and beauty
of its first years. Her stateliness and grandeur dazzle our eyes,
yet in this new garb we do not know which to most admire, tlie
richness or the simplicity. Like tlie bride of which the Apo-
calypse speaks, she is robed in beauty and grace to celebrate
worthily the memories of the bridegroom that God has given
her. In honor of this hour a pious procession of priests and
158
laity have tiaversed the streets of this great city, amid the
cheers of the joy of the people, and under the powerful shield
of that great safeguard of your nation — freedom and liberty.
In hue, it is to celebrate this hour that we have all assembled iu
this temple, and I see aronud me, iu the government which
they represent, the magistrates who honor and the militia who
defend it; those whom tlie country counts as most illustrious.
It is always beautiful
to see the State respond
to the call of the Church,
as it is always beautiful
to see the Church stretch
out its hand to the State,
that each may fulfill its
destiny.
But it is towards you,
Messeigneurs, I tnru,
who above all direct the
hearts of this assembly.
Guardians of the divine
troops, surrounding
chieftains of twenty
bishoprics, who, thottgh
a number are now de-
tached from this metro-
jiulis. have nevertheless
come to bring to your
Mother the felicitations
of her children, to bless
the bond ■which unites
you to her and to tell her that she is one, holy and indestructible.
Your Eminence, this festival today must recall to you the
most beautiful and glorious memories. Only four years ago
the see of the inmiortal Bishop Carroll shone with a new
brightness. The first Catholic centenary of the United States
attracted the attention of the entire world, and one might say
on that day the church militant of America ai)peared trium-
phant. Your Eminence ])resided at that fete, and ottered to
God our common acts of thanksgiving.
Aud now, my brethren, it seems to me that to be faithful
to my mission, I must consider with yon this passing century
Photo B. de V'illentroy.
Vkhy Rkv. H. Hage.
— 159 —
ami tlie road to it traversed. It will be at the same time a
recital and a proof; a recital of your combats and triumphs,
your sufferings and joys, and a proof of the mercy of God, the
blessings of religion and the vitality of the Church and the
faith aTul piety of Louisiana. Two memorable dates present
themselves for our reflection and divide this discourse into two
parts— 1793-1893.
The raillery and skepticism of the eighteenth century was
Bearing its decline. An agitation, amounting almost to a revolt,
tormen'ted the minds of men, and the day was not far distant
when the impious doctrines of a furious populace plunged
France into one of the most bloody catastrophes history has
ever chronicled. '93 had come, and with it a train of persecu-
tions, victims and deaths !
Strange coincidence, or rather happy disposition of divine
wisdom, that offered a remedy for the great evils on the other
side of the world, by sending the first bishop to this particular
corner. The ideas of the mother country penetrated easily
into a colony which could not forget its French origin. In
Louisiana, then, was needed a guardian, an overseer, a bishop,
and he was found in the person of Monseigneur Luis de Pen-
alver y Cardenas. And thns the church extending her vigorous
branches, sent in all directions the most hardy explorers, carry-
ing with them the light of faith and the blessings of civiliza-
tion. Quebec at the north, Baltimore on the east, and New
Orleans on the south! These three names tell at once how the
Church took definite possession of the American soil.
Founded in 1718, New Orleans had already completed sixty
years of its existence when it was marked out as the See of a new
bishop. Several religious communities had been established;
the Capuchins and the Jesuits preached the Gospel to the people,
while the Ursuline Nuns, who arrived in 1727, so intimately
blended their lives with your own, that to recount their history
is to recount the history of this city. What a picture it pre-
sents, this infant colony of France— struggling valiantly for its
rights and defense, yet gradually learning to love and appre-
ciate the Spanish domination, to which it, at length, submitted
faithfully, while Awaiting for Louisiana to pass again into the
hands of France. This happened, but scarcely had the echo
gone forth, when Louisiana was transferreil to the United States
and shortly after aduiitted into the Uniou. Then began for
— 160 —
her au era of prosperity-, because it was au era of full aud entire
liberty.
Such was the happy portion of the Church in the United
States ; the privilege of developing under the guidance of its
poutifs and priests without having their actions shackled by the
hatred of persecution or the tyranny which destroys. Rejoicing
in this liberty aud independence, she went bravely on, keeping
her doctrines intact and her morals pure, attracting towards
herself loyal aud siucere hearts aud walking ever under the
guidance of the light of Christ, who governs it, aud in obe-
dience to the Sovereign Ponfitf. More than eighty-six bishops,
8000 priests and 6,000,000 of children, form the forces of this
pacific army of the church of America, and in face of this grand
battalion, of which the ranks iucrease daily, I bow my head be-
fore their standard, upon which we nmy write these two words :
"God and Liberty!"
Nevertheless this liberty was one day menaced in the his-
tory of Louisiana. It was on the 8th of January, 1815. That
date recalls the most glorious combat that you ever sustained ;
the day on which you maintained your independence. Tbe
English had ascended your beautiful river and stole upon you
to take you by surprise, with bayonets in tbeir hands and con-
quest in their hearts. We see the sight of the advancing hosts
renewing the intrepidity of the ancient braves, and the faith of
valiant Christians, as in the middle ages. And while the battle
was raging in Chalmette, uear here, in the chapel of the Ursu-
line Nuns the prayers rose heavenward. This battle of the
power of prayer against the power of the sword has not been
without example. In the heroic days of the thirteenth century
a battle raged under the same conditions of the inferiority of
host against host; there, too, at Muret, in its courage aud in its
prayer, and Chalmette, like Muret, will tell to all generations
what man may accomplish when God places in his hands bis
wisdom and all powerful guidance. Three thousand Americans
repulsing 14,000 British, saving a city from the horrors of
conquest and pillage, and retiring with ranks crowned with
glory and hearts beating proudly and without reproach, left to
their country the blessings of liberty and to God the honor of
the victory. That same day the doors of tbe Old Cathedral
opened before the most generous of these brave spirits -tbe sec-
ond bishop of New Orleans, Mgr. Dubourg, received the con-
- 161 —
queror, who advanced with holy euthusiasm to the middle of
the sanctuary and offered his grateful thanks and homage to
the God of battles. That day General Jackson grew greater
and more illustrious in the eyes of men, because, in the midst of
his victory, he was humble before God, and when the stranger
visits your city he leaves this church and looks upon the statue
which faces it, and, drawing near, he is filled with thoughts
which recall the only two forces in the world, the courage of
the great and the prayers of the weak.
And now shall I bring to your minds other trials which have
weighed heavily upon your shoulders ; the scourges which
decimated in a few hours your population, the inundations
which ravaged your country and caused the most terrible dis-
tress ? Shall I speak to you of that last civil war, of which the
painful eft'ects are still sadly echoing today ? You know all this
and you understand how the Church of Louisiana had her part
in the sorrows and tears. But it is written that virtue finds its
perfection in weakness, that trials beget patience, and patience
salvation, and despite all the obstacles of men and things, be-
hold this church of a century in age, appears before your A'isiou
happy in her past progress and confident in her success in the
future. Yes, progress, for we have every reason to rejoice at the
flourishing and extensive verifications of the record in this
year of grace 1893. And above all, my brethren, God has pre-
served in your hearts the precious gift of faith. Nay, more. He
has enriched this treasure and made it bear fruit, for His honor
and glory and for your happiness.
It is a recognized and acknowledged faith among the ancient
residents of Louisiana that faith and piety are stronger today
than ever. The spirit of Voltaire and Rousseau, whose deadly
poison was in filtered into the minds of the preceding generaticm,
have disappeared and given place not only to the actual and
complete practice of religious duties, but also to the deepest
respect and love for all that is holy and sacred. If there exists
among some Inkewarmness and forgetfulness, there are among
all sincerity and a desire to do better. Yes, among all ! for in
the depths of your soul you guard the convictions which give
a steady and luminous faith, which augment and prompt the
most generous charities, and which constitute for you this day
the most glorious title of children of the faith. I go a step
further, and I find that this church of Louisiana enjoys the in^
— 162 —
estimable privilege of being honored and loved by hearts which
were not of its fold, hearts in which it found confidence in its
wisdom and help in its needs. Thanks for all these means
which Divine Providence placed at its disposal, enabling it to
develop and extend in all directions, bringing to the ignorant
and uncivilized in the wildest regions the name and knowledge
of the Most High, illuminating their minds with the light of
faith and their hearts with the fire of divine love. In the first
centuries of the Church, in proportion as its missionaries pene-
trated into the bosom of infidel countries and converted the
inhabitants to the religion of Christ, the authorities of Rome
placed above these bishops to guide and direct, and the creation
of an episcopal see was the most powerful proof of the progress
and conquests of the church. In our day this proof has lost
none of its ancient force.
Let us glance around at the first territory that was con-
fided to the jurisdiction of the first bishop of New Orleans. It
not only com]>rised all Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and
Florida but also the immense district extending west from
the great Mississippi river to the Rocky Mountains. Today,
twenty-five bishops hold sway in this region, twenty-five great
cathedrals rise majestically heavenward as branches of that
church, old yet ever new, radiant with hope, filled with the
strength of its early years, and growing each day under divine
guidance, as the hope and consolation and victory of its people.
And here, also, in New Orleans, my brethren, what signs of
progress do we not see 1 What has become of the little village
of 300 souls that was founded by Bienville? What a splendid
subject could have been reserved for my discourse if it had not
been given me to speak of the material development of your
city.
Is it not evident on all sides, even from a human point of
view, that you owe to God the great proportion of your present
glory and prosperity ? But there is another subject to which
I wish to draw your attention. I have already spoken to you
of the condition of the parishes, and of the religious community
which Mgr. de Penalver found established on his arrival in this
city.
Cast a glance, now, at this entire diocese, and admire with
me the flourishing conditions of these visible signs of a Christian
country. Parishes have multiplied ; more than a hundred and
— 163 -
teu throw opeu each Snuday the doors of their temples for the
worship of the faithful, and subserve the spiritual necessities
of three huudred thousand Catholics. Religious orders of men
and women are all represented in your diocese ; the Sons of Saint
Benedict, the disciples of Saint Alphonsus, the Lazarisis and
Marists and Fathers of the Holj' Cross, Ursulines and Carmelites,
Dominicans and Benedictines, Marianites of the Holy Cross,
the Family of the Immaculate Conception, Ladies of the Sacred
Heart and Sisteis of Saint Joseph, iu fine, all these good con-
gregations and many others, administer to every need of the
people, and find an answer for every sorrow, a remedy for every
surtering, a consolation and hope in every trial. And what an-
swer does Louisiana give to the maguiticent work of Catholic
education — 86 parochial schools and 15 colleges accommodate
each day more than 12,000 children, and give them not only a
thorough knowledge of profane science, but also the higher and
more inii)ortant science of divine truth.
Look around at the grand orphanages of this State ; their
magnificent institutions that pick up the poor, parentless chil-
dren and rear them in love and tenderness with the care and
solicitude of a true Christian mother ; those Catholic asylums,
where tutelary walls offer them a home and protection under
the shadow of the cross until they are strong enough to fight
their own battles in the great raCe of life. And that home, built
for the poor and aged and infirmed, that home for the weary
soul left in second childhood homeless and alone, with eyes
turned lovingly towards the tomb ; that home whose doors are
opeu to shelter and protect them, and which ceases not its ten-
der watchful care till brightening the darkening evening of
life, till the weary eyes are shut to its sorrows and opeu to the
brightness of the day. The words of the Saviour are verified to
the letter: "You have always the poor amongst yon." These
words are understood iu New Oi'leans, and a holy emulation ani-
mates religious and laity to present to the all-pervading sor-
rows and miseries of life the strong and powerful phalanx of
charity. And to what do we owe these handsome results ? That
remains for me to tell you.
To whom, did I say? To yourselves, my brethren. Yes, I
am happy to have learned and happy to have the privilege of
saying that among you there live ancient Creole families whose
virtuous examples and deep respect for Christian traditions have
— 164 —
successfully seconded the Church iu all its efforts for the ad-
vancement of faith and morals and education. Descended from
French or Spanish ancestors, they have preserved those ideas
of ri<;ht and justice, chivalrous sentiments and ardent faith,
and holy spirit of piety which are indelible characteristics of
their two mothers, the countries separated by the Pyrenees.
And with you we owe a debt of gratitude to those zealous
and indefatigable priests and missionnaries who explored this
country in every direction, grasping souls from the darkness of
error and ignorance and sin. What trials and labors they un-
derwent to redeem the soil of souls, more ungrateful and rebel-
lious than the soil of daily toil for existence, traversed by the
feet of man. They were received and lived in the midst of
poverty, and many will recall that one of these heroic men,
named Pere Antoine, lived near this Cathedral in a miserable
cabin, from which he directed the hearts of the people in
the love and fear of God, and the light radiated from that
lowly hut still shines in Louisiana to-day ; all of which proves
that the people understood the voice of self-abrogation and
loved and honored those who practiced it. And about these
priests and laity of the Church of Louisiana I see, like a speak-
ing picture, the new bishops and archbishops which it pleases
God to place above them as pastors.
In this great church of New Orleans, among the principal
who occupied its episcopal chair were Mgr. Penalver, whose
love and charity towards the poor was proverbial ; Mgr. Dii-
bourg, that man of great merit and letters, whose eloquence
and wisdom was tempered by the sweetness of the Gospel light ;
Mgr. Odin, that sainted archbishop and man of duty, who
united the delicacy of the true gentleman with the simplicitj' of
the early apostles, and whose long episcopate was marked by
the most numerous benefactions; Mgr. Perch^, who was the
personification of kindness, and who could never close either his
purse or his heart to those who appealed to him ; Mgr. Leray,
whose prudent and wise administration makes him remembered
as a wise and worthy prelate, who exemplified in every phase
of his brilliant career the bishops of the early Gospel ; and lastly
rises the picture of the reigning archbishop of New Orleans,
and at once you would call me incapable and ungrateful, my
brethren, if I did not present to him, in your behalf, the senti-
ments of esteem, affection and filial veneration which you would
— 165 —
offer bim on this beautiful day. Yes, Monseignenr! As pontiff
and fatber, tbis festival sbonld fill your heart with joy. Your
children, bishops, priests and faithful, have all gathered about
you to tell you this diocese of Louisiana constitutes only one
soul in God and for God. Your works stand around in every
village and hamlet to testify to the wisdom of your government,
and the vigorous growth of your apostle. Like Mary singing
her canticle of praise, you also may intone the canticle of
thanksgiving.
MUTANTUR IMPERL\, ECCLESIA DUUAT."
Ten years after its centennial the Old Saint Louis
Cathedral assumed again a patriotic garb to witness
the centenary of the Purchase of Louisiana from
France by the United States, The same notable dis-
play of flags was made on the facade of the venerable
building ; the same bright draperies floated across
its arched aisles. There was, however, a marked dif-
ference between these two grandiose festivities ; the
first marked the celebration of a day which stood for
the immutability of the Church, the latter marked an
anniversary which showed the mutability of the
nations. One spoke of God, the other of man, and
the significance of the festival was illustrated by the
following inscription on a beautiful shield whicli was
hung above the main entrance of the Church : "Mu-
tantur Imperia, Ecclesia Durat;" "Empires or gov-
ernments change, but the Church lasts."
Such a gathering as the one that assembled
in the Cathedral on this memorable day had seldom
before been seen within its dim gray walls. It was
— 166 —
not only the rich setting- of ])riests nnd acolytes in
cassocks and surplices, bishops in mantel leta with
miters and j;ilted croziers, the Arclibishop in cappa
magna, but also the navy and diplomatic; corps of
the three illustrious nations under whose domination
Louisiana had snccessively passed: France, Spain
and the United States.
The chief feature of tlie entire ceremony, the
one that left the deepest impression and aroused the
greatest admiration, was the magniticent oration that
Father de la Moriniere delivered after the Gosi)el at
the High iMass. Himself a Lonisianian and a child
of the City of the I'urchase, Father de La Moriniere
could enter into the theme ,as few could ; his dis-
course, showing the work of the C3hurch in the up-
building and christianizing of the children of the
primeval forests and the zeal of the |)ions mission-
aries who dotted the land of the Purchase with the
emblem of Christianity from the Gulf to the Great
Lakes, together with his prayer of thanksgiving,
was one of the most stirring sermons ever heard in
the Old Cathedral. Father de la Moriniere spoke as
follows :
It is singularly appropriate, aud in strilviug and toucliin.i;-
liai-niouy with the traditions aud early chronicles of Louisiana
that the Catholic i hnrch should claim a rijiht royal share in this
day's rejoicings, shed the lialo of her sacred presence npou this
gathering of noble men aud noble wonien, aud consecrate by
the splendor of her ceremonies and the magnificence of her
ritiial our loyal endeavors to celebrate, as it deserves, the one
hundredth anniversary of our transferred allegiance from the
tricolor of France to the Stars aud Stripes of the United States
of America. For none but the wilfully blind or unaccountably
ignorant can fail to catch glimpses of her authority, mark her
activity aud trace her iutineuce on our coast already in the
Photo Teunisson.
J^ Memorabuc Pkockssiox.
— 168 —
dawn of those ceuturies of colonization which preceded the con-
summation which we now commemorate.
It was her palladium raised in hope and confidence over the
head of the daring explorer that made unflinching his resolve,
unyielding his nerve, stout his heart, strong his arm and un-
wavering his step in his irksome march and perilous enterprise.
It was her ministering care that smoothed his path and softened
his hardships. It was her voice crying onward and forward
that urged him on when faltering nature whispered halt and
rest. It was the light of that divine faith which she flashed
along his dismal way which scattered the shadows conjured up
so often by despondency and dispair. It was the lofty and
supernatural aim that she held before his eager gaze that trans-
formed his mission into an apostolate. It Avas her hands clasped
in supplicating prayer that crowned his efforts seemingly un-
available and ultimate and unlooked-for success. It was her
selfless devotion which oft shielded him from harm, encom-
passed him by night and day, through flood and field, the
trackless waste and stormy sea, like a mother's unspoken bene-
diction. It was the welcomed consciousness that she would be
at his side, within his reach, in the person of her minister
ready to strengthen him if he grew faint, to cheer him if he
drooped, to shrive him if he fell and to open Heaven to him
if he died, which gave to many a youth born and bred in luxury,
basking in the sunshine of comfort and the smiles of fortune,
courage to leave home and native land, sever the strongest ties
of blood and friendship, forego the laughter of mirth and the
gay revels of ancestral halls, in order to brave the baneful
efl:'ect8 of unwholesome climes, plow the broad bosom of the
ocean and, in frail bark canoes, the uufriendly surface of
inland lakes; plod over the Indian trail through summer's
blistering rays and winter's ice-laden blasts; in a word, to dare
the deeds and achieve the feats which have rendered famous,
in the bead-roll of the world's heroes, the names of not a few
among the early pioneers of our cherished Louisiana.
But aliis and alack! The jaundiced eye of prejudice has
not failed to look askance at the motives which prompted the
monarchies of Spain and France to spread the fold of their flag
over portions of far-off lands and dispatch armed bands to
tread the great arteries of our continent. A popular writer did
not scrujtle to speak of the wild and predatory nature of those
— 169 —
expeditious which addetl large possessions to the impoverished
exchequers of the distant and greedy rulers, and of the heroic
explorers themselves as an unbridled and unprincipled horde,
delighting in roving incursions and extravagant exploits, and
in whose eyes no gain was so glorious as the cavalgada of spoils
and captives driven in triumph from a plundered province,
while religion herself was
branded as lending her aid
to satisfy these ravaging pro-
pensities. We are asked to
believe that it was the spirit
of Spanish chilvalry, which,
bred np to daring adventure
and heroic achievements,
and ill-brooking the tranquil
and regular pursuits of com-
mon life, panted for new
fields of romantic emprise,
that sent the Castilian cav-
alier to the caravel of the dis-
coverer, and not this longing
to do yeoman's service in the
cause of God and the propa-
gation of the faith. On the
other hand, an unsuspected
author has boldly declared
that it would not be giving a fair view of the great object pro-
posed by the Spanish sovereigns in their schemes of discovery to
omit one which was paramount to all the rest. And what is
that ? The spreading of Christianity and the conversion and
civilization of a simple people. This statement of Prescotr, in a
well-known work, is substantiated by facts than which, as we
are aware, nothing is more stubborn. In a letter indited as
far back as 1521, Ponce de Leon, of Florida fame, informs his
august patron and master that he returns to that island if it be
God's will to settle it, " that the name of Christ may be praised
there and Your Majesty served with the fruit that land pro-
duce." In no other vein is couched the King's patent to Lucas
Vasquez de Ayllon in 1,523, two years after: "Our primal
intent in the discovery of new lauds is that the natives thereof
be brought to the truth of our holy Catholic faith, become
Photo C. M. C.
Rev. E. de la Mohinikre.
— 170 —
Christians and be saved ; and this is the chief motive you are
to hold ill this affair, and to this end it is proper that religious
persons shonld acconipaiiy yon." It is the chief condition of the
King's grant to Hernando de Soto in 1538, " that he slioiild carry
and bear with him the religions and priests who shall be ap-
pointed by us for the instruction of the natives of that province
in onr holy Catholic faith."
Small wonder, then, that side by side with tlint noble
knight and trne Christian whose mortal remains rest in peace
within that oaken trnnk scooped out by his companions, and by
them sunk many fathoms deep in the bed of the Mississippi;
small wonder that side by side with Hernando De Soto, on the
unknown and hitherto unexplored soil of Lonisiana, stand
the minister of Christ and tlie anointed representative of the
Chnrch. The hood and the cowl and the robe of brown or gray
mingle their sombre hne with the refulgent brightness that
shoots and glances from the bnrnished armors and polished
weapons of the sons of Spain. Throngh the long vistas of
slender pines and stately oaks the cross is held aloft above the
sweeping pageantry of iron heels and gnilded spnrs. The
pennant of Castile is seen fluttering low before the emblem of
salvation. A trumpet signal, and the plnmed crested warriors
give willing knee to the adorable host of the ciicharistic
sacritice offered by the otbciating priest at an improvised altar,
reared beneath the swaying bonghs of that vast sylvan solitude.
And if we pass the Spanish hidalgo to the French chevalier,
everywhere the scene is the same. From the Gulf of Mexico
to the lakes of Canada and the headwaters of the St. Lawrence,*
religion and chivalry, gowned priest and belted knight, march-
ing hand in hand to the conquest, civilization and evangeliza-
tion of new worlds. The merry ringing, for a whole day, of
the Qnebec. in 1675, the soulful chanting of the " Te Denm" by
the bishop, the clergy and entire population because the Jesuit
Marquette had discovered the mouth of the giant river which
fertilizes these shores, besides telling us how our European
fathers deemed it their tirst duty to give thanks to the divine
Arbiter of human destiny for whatever success attended their
perilous efforts in the toils and hardships of exploration, voice
in language more impressive and more grandly elo([nent than
human speech the most gifted can ever hope to command, the
deep concern of the Catholic Church in every befalling of the
Right Rkv. Mgr. J. M. Laval.
— 172 —
nasceut colony, nnfl ilie close iiiterweavinij of their coniiTion
interests. In tones no less, nay still more striking, is the same
truth proclaimed by the exultant strains of that mighty chorus
of praise to the Most High, which, on the night of January,
1682, leaped to the starlit sky from the throats of noble and
plebeian, priest and soldier, shook the leafy walls of nature's
temple, and started the slumbering echoes of a Louisiana wilder-
ness when ]>'obert Cavelier de la Salle, in the name of the most
puissant, most invincible and victorious Prince, Louis the Great.
King of France, unfurled the white banner to the breeze, and
nailed to the column he had planted the royal escutcheon. You
cannot sunnuon in fancy the towering tigure of Iberville, the
fearless Commauderof the Pelican ; of Bienville, his distinguished
and valorous brother, to whom our city of New Orleans owes its
existence; of Sauvolle, the most accomplished of that noble
trio of brothers, without resting your mind's eye upon the
saintly tigures of those priests of Jesus Christ, Moutigny and
Davion, and others of their cloth, who shared the varied for-
tunes of those matchless leaders, and furnished by their labors,
in behalf of the untutored savage of the wilds, materials for
the most thrilling narrative.
"I tell you this morning, with all the eamiestness I may
|»ossess, that you might as well try to shear the sun of his beams,
to strip the moon other silver mantle, to pluck by the roots you
Rocky Mountains, to check the How or drain the basin of the
Mississippi Kiver, as to sever the tie which binds the Catholic
Church to Louisiana from the very moment when the settler's
axe cleared her tangled forests, and the navigator's sail opened
to the trafdc of the world her countless watercourses. 1 tell you
that if we, whose infancy was cradled on her soil, Avhose youth
was reared and nurtured in her schools, whose maturer years
rii)eued in the day of her Statehood, amid the marvels of her
development, if we should ever, may God forbid, foiget the
honor and the fidelity and the obedience we owe to the Catholic
Church, the very stones of our streets, the vary sands of our
shores, the very blades of grass on our remaining i)r.nries would
find tongues to reproach us with our recreancy and ingratitude,
while the bones of our fathers that molder in our cemeteries
beneath the shadow of the cross would rattle with indignation
in their graves at the conduct of their traitor sous. Aye,
traitors! Fonremember, Louisianians of the twentieth century.
— 173 —
reiiieniber that the blood of your sires and the blood of tlio
Catholic Church may be said to have mingled their rnddy streams
when in the eighteenth century the French missionaries and
their flock were by the slaughtering hands of the Natcliez tribes
made to till a common grave.
But, although the wise Governor of all things has hidden
the future from the ken of our feeble understanding, and our
clearest conceptiousof what may happen are involved in doubt,
yet, judging of things to come by their predecessors, it may not
be rash to prophesy that the calamitous day will never be
on record against us. For, from the gleamings of history, I
seem to witness the glad and enthusiastic welcome given in
1699 to their first resident chaj>lain by the first French settle-
ment in Louisiana at that little post built by Iberville at
Biloxi. Uncontrollable emotion convulsed the frames of strong
men and bathed with tears of joy and gratefulness the cheeks
of frail women when they realized that there now was in their
midst one who would soothe their sorrows, share their trials, a
priest who would pardon their sins, baptize their children, join
them in Christian wedlock, anoint them in the last illness with
the sacred oils, and whisper the blessings of the Church over
their freshly dug graves.
And when, in 1718, at the command of that peerless organ-
izer, Bienville, whoso searching glance had marked the glorious
possibilities and foreseen the future greatness of our emporium,
fifty gigantic sous of the forest were laid low to make room for
the foundation of New Orleans, what is it that led to the pro-
jected city the dwellers of the Mississippi Valley ? The facilities
for import and export, doubtless, which the plan afforded, but
chiefly, I believe, the eager wish of their Catholic hearts to
build their rough homesteads within the shadow of those sanc-
tuaries which they knew must, at no distant period, dot
that strii> of promised land. They were not doomed to disap-
pointment. The wooden crosses erected in the fields and public
thoroughfares and roads soon yielded space for the construction
of churches and chapels, and the year 1723 saw on the street
named Chartres, after the ducal sou of the French regent, and
within stone's throw of the fronting " Place d'Armes," a wooden
cross which, soon swept away by the breath of the hurricane,
was replaced in 1725 by' a more elaborate structure, from whose
ashes the munificent boxinty of that philanthropic prince, Don
— 174 —
Andres Aliiioiiester y Koxns, made to .sprinii;', in 17^3. that lioa.st
and pride of onr city, tiiar, faithful depository of onr tradition,
that majestic witness of all the nieniorable events of onr liistory.
that venerable theatre of the most glowinj-- scene in our civil
and relii^ions annals, the Saint Lonis Cathedral, within whose
storied walls we are now assembled, nuder the leadership of the
most distinj^nished prelate Avho has ever j^raced its archiepis-
copal throne, to invoke the divine blessinj;- upon onr Sonthland.
But iu 1725 the Cathedral bells, now "nestling in their lofty
steeples," had not snnjj the i)ieans of victory to the Christian
colonists. Thronoh winds and Hoods, ])estilence and famine, tire
and conutless cahimitons visitations, the Chnrch was striving
to get a snrer footing and plant her standard more tirnily in the
rising city of Hienvilie. She Avas bnsy recruiting her ranks from
foreign semiuaries to cope with the increasing needs of a grow-
ing population. She husbanded jealously all her resources,
multiplied her endeavors to reach by her ministrations the
humblest of Christ's flock, and especially the waifs and strays
of life that were wandering far from her protecting arms. 'I'lie
education of young girls was sorely neglecte<l. The mother
country was appealed to, and across the billowy main she
reached out her helping hand to her imploring children. Con-
formably to a contract with the West India Company, eight
valiant Ursuliue Nuns, whose number was soon to increase to
nineteen, lauded at New OiTeans on the 6th of August, 1727, to
begin the work of education and charity which has been con-
tinued under five dift'erent national flags iu its existence of
more than a century and a half, and has trained in their
academies those accom])lished daughters of the South, whose
Christian graces are an honor to their country as well as to
their skillful and devoted teachers. A rare sight and a wA-
comed cue mnst that processiou have been which escorted the
daughters of Saint llrsulato their newly finished convent, on
Ursuliue street, which is the oldest building in the city and
the ohlest conventual structure within the limits of our Re-
public.
A Capuchin father, with two Jesuits as his assistants,
bearing the blessed sacrament under a canopy; the veiled nuns,
in choir mantles, following; the Governor and his start" imme-
diately after; then the citizens, preceding the military force
of the colony, whose drums and instruments blended their
Photo B. Moore.
His Excellknce Most Rev. Louis P. Chapellk.
— 176 —
sounds with the leligious chants as they moved along. A rare
and soul-lifting sight, that to which, however, I would not
have called your attention were it not for the treasured lesson
which it teaches : The profound and public homage paid by
the civil power to the Church and her ministers and to the
members of our Catholic sisterhood. Neither would I allude to
the sous of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Avho, together with the sons
of Saint Francis, ministered to the spiritual wants of the
infant city, were it not to say, with laudable pride, that
their work in your midst today for the training of the young
and the service of the altar is instinct, with the same un-
Belfish, self-sacrificing and patriotic love for Louisiana as that
which quickened the pulses and fired the souls of their pioneer
brothers in 1762. At that period the tread of events was about
to turn and aft'airs were fast speeding to a crisis. For reasons
detailed by historians the mother-milk could no longer in suf-
ficient draughts reach the lips of the nursling, and Louis XV
was advised to give it into hands better able to provide it with
the necessary nourishment. Under seeming cover of affection
and friendship for his '' Cousin of Spain," but in reality under
pressure of circumstances, he ceded " to him and his successors
all the-couutry known under the name of Louisiana," and thus
the much-enduring population, which had overcome so many
perils under the flag of France, was coldly delivered over to the
yoke of foreign masters.
It is not hard to imagine the conflicting emotions aroused
in the breasts of our forefathers by the unexpected news which
reached New Orleans in 1764. They loved their Fieuch descent
and dependency. They were proud of their language, and
attached to their laws, manners, customs, habits and govern-
ment. The treaty of Fontainebleau had been secret. Neither
had their wishes been consulted nor their consent solicited, so
they chafed under a sense of wrong sure to break out into re-
prisals at which, while we deplore them, we can in no way
marvel. I glide over that touching incident in which on bended
knees the aged and feeble Bienville, like a father suing for the
life of his child, vainly pleaded with France not to strip herself
by one stroke of the pen of those boundless possessions which
she had acquired at the cost of so much heroic blood and so much
treasure, and which extended in one proud, uninterrupted line
from the mouth of the St. Lawrence to that of the Missis8ii)pi.
— 177 —
I glide over that dark episode, the insurrectiou of 1768, which
closed with the public execution of the chief abettors, to bid
you view iu spirit the sceue enacted ou this very square, wheu,
amid the pealiug of bells and the roaring of cannon from the
Spanish fleet, and the discharge of guns by the laud troops, and
the waving of banners, and the beating of drums, and the
clanging of trumpets, General O'Reilly took possession of this
colony in the name of his Catholic Majesty, and the flag of
France sank from the head of the mast where it waved, and
was replaced by that of Spain. When on that day both Gov-
ernors and their retinues were received by the clergy in this
Cathedral, then the Chinch of Saint Louis, where a solemn "Te
Deum" was sung, be pleased to observe that it was again the
Church who poured oil over the troubled waters by pleatling to
the new administration the loyal submission of her children ; a
submission which ripened to ardent love and devotion during
the thirty-three years in which the flag of Spain floated over
our city and country.
Rat of those colonial days, whose memory shall only vanish
from our midst wheu the last of those relics and monuments
which breathe their spirit and speak of their quaint and ro-
mantic grandeur shall have been leveled with the dnst by the
unsparing hand of time; to those days the gratitude of our
ancestors bade a tender, if not a wholly regretful, farewell
when, iu 1803, Louisiana found herself no longer a portion of
the Spanish monarchj', nor yet of the French Republic, 'to
which she was receded for a brief span, but part and parcel of
the iireat American Republic.
Mine is not the task on this Centennial Day to say how the
])nrcliaseof the Louisiana Territory is, next to the Declaration of
Independence and the formation of the Constitution which
niailo US a uation, the greatest event in American history ; how,
nearly doubling the area of the United States by adding ter-
ritoiy equal to the combined area of Great Britain, Germany,
France, Spain, Portugal and Italy, for the sum of $15,000,000,
which the Tit.in Bonaparte deemed a fair price, it was the
greatest real estate speculation which the world has ever seen ;
how it was the" most noteworthy political move, averting prob-
able fierce and long conflicts, waste of life, destruction of prop-
erty and retardation of progress, I leave those facts to the
statesman, the fin.incier and the diplomat. Mine is not even
— 178-
the task to unfold the giant .strides made in the conrse of a
century by the intellectual civilization of which the b:ir, the
medical profession, the literary and scieutitic circles, nay every
class, every interest, every fireside, gives unquestionable tokens.
I turn to thoughts more in accord with my theme. I trace the
luminous finger of God iu the progress of his Church in Louis-
iana tlirough these hundred years which divide us from the
cousunimatiou of that great purchase. To you. Catholics, I say,
look around you, aud while you marvel at the contrast between
now and then; while you marvel at the growth and develop-
ment of your religion in the city of New Orleans, let your hearts
brim over with gratefulness. Let your lips hymn fo.'th a song
of ])raise " For the things which the right hand of the Almighty
hadth done in Siou."
Count your numbers aud be glad that from a mere handful
it has swollen to 37-5 000 in this Archdiocese. The roll of the
Catholic clergy Avhich counted twenty-six in town and country,
boasts of more than 220 faithful shepherds tending the flock of
Jesus Christ in those 199 churches sprung from the soil under
the magic wand of charity and zeal. Twe:ity-two thousand and
four hundred and sixty-three is the number of young people
under Catholic care. Five colleges and academies for boys and
seventeen for young ladies, train your sons aud daughters iu the
higher grades of study. Orphan asylums aud hospitals and
homes for the aged poor shelter the weak and the sick and the
destitute. A hundred years ! Aud how the little grain of mus-
tard seed has sprouted up and branched forth into the sheltering,
Avidcspreadiug tree! A hundred years! If from their seats on
high, Heaven's dwellers are, as we believe, permitted a view of
human concerns, the sight of those devout worshipers, men,
women and children, who throng our altar rail on Sundays and
festivals, must fill the blessed soul of the Bishop Penalver with
far more different feelings than those which prompted these
words to Bishop Carroll: "Not more than a quarter of the
population of the town ever hear mass. A hundred years and
the Catholic Church, that great creation of God's power stands
iu this laud in the pride of place. She energized through ten
thousand instruments of power and influence. She wears her
honors thick upon her venerable brows, enthronged among ns in
a See which, in this llepixblic, is second only to that of Balti-
more."
— 179 —
Aud here, a vision of teu mitred beads passes before me.
Tbeir glance sweeps in ghiduess tbrougb tbis vast assembbige.
Representatives of France and Spain, and of America, Peiialver,
Dubonrg, Rosati, Neckere, Blanc, Odin, Percbe, Leray, Jausseus,
welcome you to tbis Catbedral, f com wbose bell-towers rang ont
the first joyous peals tbat, on tbe twentieth day of December,
1803, welcomed tbe American flag waving within sight of its
portals in its fronting 8(|Uiire. Catholics of New Orleans, yonr
departed Fathers in God salute yon, while with uplifted finger
I bey point in pride to their pontific successor, and bid you
mingle your voices in a concert of praise to our Lord Jt-siis Christ
Avho has vonclisafed to bestow a priceless gift upon the Church
of New Orleans in the person of bis Excellency Most Reverend
Archbishop Chapelle. Your P^xcellency, your learning and
prudence, equalle<l only by your piety and zeal, have achieved
a success foreseen by our lamented Holy Father, Leon XIII,
when he chose you, among all your empurpled peers, for one of
the most difficult missions in the records of ecclesiastical diplo-
macy. The fame which your Excellency has won on these
foreign fields of apostolic delegation, beside shedding on tbe
history of tbis archdiocese a lustre which will forever emblazon
its pages, it is to your devoted children an earnest that in your
saintly aud skilful hands the banner of Christ is marching to
fresh victories and fresh conquests in the opening day of this
new century of the Louisiana Purchase. Yet, while giving
thanks, we cannot wholly forget that tbe snn of our prosperity
was not unclouded by the shadows of disaster. The Ruler of the
Universe, who in the language of tbe Psalmist, " Exalteth the
Nations," is sometimes pleased, for reasons known only to His
inscrutable providence, to test them in crucible trials. Louis-
iana proved no exce[)tion to that rule. Tbe rods of affliction
which threatened to scourge the shoulders of our forefathers
were stayed in their fall by the appointed arm of that great
soldier, Jackson, who on the memorable twenty-third day of
January, 1815. crowned in this very temple with a laurel wreath
from tbe hands of Abb6 Dubourg, offered public homage to the
God of armies for the vi(!tory which had perched upon bis
standard, and had freed New Orleans from British invasion.
But there was no appointed arm to drive back tbe rushing tide
of that other war which raged aud roared during four long
years of alternate joy aud grief, hopes and fears, reverses and
— 180 —
successes, exultation aud dispair; during four long years wliicli
like a deep red trail of our best Sontheru blood, Stretched from
Sumter to Appomattox. Yet:
O Gracious God! not gaiuless is the loss!
A glorious sunbeam glides thy sternest frown.
For the curtain has fallen long ago on those mournful scenes
of carnage, and thy hand has beautified aud comforted and
healed, until there is nothing left of those calamitous days but
graves and garlands, and monuments, and veterans, aud pre-
cious memories. And we still give thanks. For we have been
built into a sturdier race by the example and the memory of
those of our fathers and brothers who were the bravest men
that ever girt sword or shouldered musket; the most knightly
warriors that cannon-sigual or trumpet-flourished ever sum-
moned to bloody fields ; men whose spirits never faltered, whose
hearts never quailed, whose courage never wavered ; whose
resolve never failed through four bitter years of recurring
failure ; aud whose self-sacrifice, self-denial and indomitable
ardor have no parallel in the annals of any nation.
We still give thanks, for in brotherly love we now clasp
each other's hands above the dark chasm of an unfortunate
past. We owe legal allegiance to a united country. The same
flag sweeps in mighty over our heads, and we do common
homage to its folds which conomand respect for the American
name on sea and land.
In a moment, the voice of pontiff, priests and people will
rise to the throne of grace in humble acknowledgment of favors
received, and in fervent pleading for new blessings. When the
strains of that solemn " Te Deum " shall have died along the
vaults of this Cathedral, ou the very spot where it floated high
for the first time, one hundred years ago, you will again raise
that flag. Let its voice be heard. Let it be heard beyond the
limits of this city, beyond the limits of this territory. Let it
be wafted to where the nation sits in council to tell this one,
indivisible, imperishable Republic that among all the stars that
gem its diadem of States none shines more brightly, none more
steadily, none more faithfully, none more loyally than that of
Louisiana, purchased by Thomas Jefferson from Napoleon Bona-
parte, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and
three.
- 181 -
One hundred and fifteen years have elapsed since
the Saint Louis Cathedral was solemnly dedicated
by Don Patricio Walsh, Foreign Vicar for the Bishop
of Havana, — and still she stands in our midst, majes-
tically towering the very heart of this City. The
visitor looking- upon her is at once impressed with
her age and dignity, and seeks to wrest from her the
history of bygone days. She is the ancestor of all
the churches of the entire Louisiana Purchase. Un-
der her beneficent shadow four and five generations
have grown to manhood.
A few feet from her portico, the soldiers both
of France and Spain unfurled their standards, and
General Jackson crossed her threshold with the lau-
rels of victory still fresh on his brow.
Her vaulted arches from time to time re-echoed
the solemn strains of the " Te Deum," and the plain-
tive tones of the " Miserere."
From her pulpit, men gifted with soul stirring
eloquence attracted the elite of a society that knew
better days.
Beneath the cold flagstones of her sanctuary re-
pose many a grand sire of the past generations.
The majestic Old Cathedral remains a mute wit-
ness of the departed glory of men and events. She
is the immortal landmark among the many brilliant
but short-lived monuments that recall the history of
Louisiana, and her centennial existence impresses far
more than words those who know how sweet it is to
weave into their lives the golden threads of the past.
The End.
NOV 6 l^OB
IN AND AROUND
THE Old
Haiid-WroiKjht Solid Silver Plate Donated to J. B. Labattit
by Fiif/ht Rev. FeiiaJver y Cardenas, First Bishop
of New Orleans — 7793-lSOI.
LfcFe '09