Thursday, August 9, 2012

Those Places Thursday- St. Maurice Church, New Orleans

My Aunt gave me a most precious gift the other day, a copy of my grandmother's baptismal certificate. There was not much information listed that I did not already know except for the names of her godparents. The most important thing to me was finding out which church she was baptized in. I know she had told me many times during my childhood, but now many years later I could not remember which church it was. There are several Catholic Churches in the New Orleans area, so now I am saved the time and effort of searching for the correct one. Now on my next visit I will be sure to stop by and visit a moment. Just as we used to when we were visiting with her.

 New Orleans Churches
HISTORY OF SAINT MAURICE PARISH
The Catholic community of St. Maurice was founded Nov. 7, 1852. Father Charles Mangin, who was an assistant priest at the Ursuline Convent, celebrated a Mass at Faubourg LaCourie near the military installation which is now Jackson Barracks. The mass was celebrated in the home of a parishioner who had allowed his home to be used as a chapel.
The present St. Maurice Church was completed in 1857 and solemnly blessed on Dec. 13, 1852. The property, consisting of five lots bounded by Royal, St. Maurice, Tricou and Chartres streets, had been purchased in 1852 for the church . Even though the parish was located in New Orleans, it served the residents of upper St. Bernard and is still considered an important part of the St. Bernard community.




2 comments:

  1. A friend just bought the property from the archdiocese and asked me to live in the rectory and oversee the conversion of the block into new apartments and community space. I'm researching my new home. I love hearing annectdotes like yours. a great reminder of how much I want to make sure the block goes back to being an anchoring agora for the community. I'd love to put an art and farmers market in the sanctuary so there could be rain or shine events in what was and will be a community center. Reading your blog is a good boost reminding me it really is an imp0ortant space

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  2. Thanks for letting me know. That would be such a nice place for a market!Good luck with the project. Can't wait to see the results.

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