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Coordinates: 29°57′29″N 90°03′50″W / 29.958, -90.0638

St. Louis Cathedral

View of façade across Jackson Square
Building
Town	New Orleans, Louisiana
Country	USA
Coordinates	29°57′29″N 90°03′50″W / 29.958, -90.0638
Construction
Started	1789
Completed	1850

Saint Louis Cathedral (French: Cathédrale Saint-Louis), also known as the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France, has the distinction of being the oldest continuously operating cathedral in the United States. First established in 1718, it is the cathedral Basilica in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. It is located on the Place John Paul II (French: Place Jean-Paul II), a promenaded section of Chartres Street (rue de Chartres) that stretches one block between St. Peter Street (rue Saint-Pierre) on the upriver boundary and St. Ann Street (rue Sainte-Anne) on the downriver boundary.

Overview

While not usually considered the largest or grandest of the city's Catholic churches, this historic Cathedral remains an important religious and social center, as well as the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans. Located next to Jackson Square, with its statue of Andrew Jackson on horseback, and facing the Mississippi River, the St. Louis Cathedral is one of New Orleans's most recognizable landmarks. It is often used as the backdrop for newscasts and political speeches featuring the city of New Orleans.

It is situated between the historic buildings of the Cabildo and the Presbytere.

It is one of the few Catholic churches in the United States that fronts a major public square, indicative of the Catholic roots of New Orleans.^{citation needed}

History

Three Roman Catholic churches have been on this spot since 1718, giving St. Louis Cathedral the distinction of being one of the oldest cathedrals in North America. The first church was a crude wooden structure in the early days of the colony. Construction of a larger brick and timber church began in 1725 and was completed in 1727. This church was destroyed, along with a large number of other buildings of the city, in the Great New Orleans Fire (1788) on Good Friday on 21 March, 1788. The cornerstone of a new church was laid in 1789 and the building was completed in 1794. In 1793 Saint Louis Church was elevated to cathedral rank. In 1819 a central tower with the clock and bell was added.

Enlarging the building to fit the needs of the growing congregation had been pondered since 1834, and J. N. B. de Pouilly was consulted to design plans for a new building. De Pouilly also designed St. Augustine Church in Tremé, the first in the city for free people of color. On March 12, 1849, a contract was made with John Patrick Kirwan to enlarge and restore the cathedral, using De Pouilly's plans. These specified that everything except the lateral walls and the lower portions of the existing towers on the front facade be demolished. During the reconstruction it was determined that the sidewalls would have to be demolished also. Then, during construction in 1850, the central tower collapsed. De Pouilly and Kirwan were replaced.¹ As a consequence of these events, very little of the Spanish Colonial structure survived and the present structure primarily dates to 1850. The bell from the 1819 tower was reused in the new building and remains there today.² During the renovation, St. Patrick's Church served as the pro-cathedral for the city.

On 25 April, 1909 a dynamite bomb was set off in the Cathedral, blowing out windows and damaging galleries, but doing less severe damage than might have been expected.

The Cathedral suffered damage in the New Orleans Hurricane of 1915. The following year a portion of the foundation collapsed, necessitating the building being closed while repairs were made, from Easter 1916 to Easter 1917, .

The cathedral was designated as a minor basilica by Pope Paul VI in 1964. Pope John Paul II visited the cathedral in September 1987.

Hurricane Katrina

While Hurricane Katrina did not affect the French Quarter as profoundly as other parts of New Orleans, the high winds managed to displace two large oak trees in St. Anthony's Garden behind the Cathedral. In the process, thirty feet of ornamental gate was dislodged, while the marble statue of Jesus Christ only lost a forefinger and a thumb. Because Hurricane Katrina was downgraded from a Category 5 to a Category 4 and made a last second turn to the north just before striking the Louisiana coast, locals have already declared that the statue of Jesus sacrificed his two fingers while flicking the storm away from the city and saving it from total destruction.

The Cathedral experienced its most profound loss when a small hole was torn in the roof due to Hurricane Katrina's winds. The hole allowed water to enter the building, pouring into the Holtkamp pipe organ. The organ was severely damaged and was sent back to Holtkamp shortly after the storm to be rebuilt. An electronic substitute was used until June 2008, at which time the organ was reinstalled in the Cathedral. The organ, which was originally installed during the Cathedral's extensive renovation in 2004, was donated by longtime choir master and organist Dr. Elise Cambon.

Gallery

St. Louis Cathedral

Cathedral, with The Cabildo visible to the left and The Presbytere visible to the right.

The Jesus Christ statue damaged in the hurricane

Facade of cathedral during sundown.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Saint Louis Cathedral, New Orleans

• Saint Louis Cathedral website
• Churches, from History of New Orleans by John Kendall

Wikipedia content modification information:

• This page was last modified on 17 December 2008, at 02:34.

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