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Catholicism in New Orleans (in brief)When Iberville and Bienville entered the the Gulf of Mexico they brought with them the culture and religion of France, a culture of good food and wine and a catholic religion that permitted, and in some cases encouraged, culturally significant variations. This set the stage for New Orleans as one of the most important ports in the 18th and 19th century to become a cultural gumbo with European, African, Native American and Latin American influences. No where is this most evident than in the food (to which almost everyone will attest) and Catholicism as it is practiced here. Until recently, New Orleans could easily have been considered the most Catholic city in the South, and perhaps, in the United States. According to the Archdiocese of New Orleans, in 2002 there were 488,004 Catholics in the New Orleans Archdiocese which includes the following Parishes of Louisiana: Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, St. Tammany and Washington. As the history of the Archdiocese shows, the various cultures that have influenced the city make New Orleans Catholicism unique. New Orleans has Catholics of all types, ranging from Greek Orthodox and traditional Roman Catholic to folk Catholicism incorporating ancestor altars and spiritual work using the archangels and the saints. While the city changes annually with the increase in the number of Full-Gospel and other evangelical movements, New Orleans continues to be a predominantly Catholic city as far as the overall culture of the city is concerned. For example, many visitors to the city may not realize that our most famous and largest festival is flanked by two very important days on the Catholic calendar. Traditionally, the Mardi Gras season begins on January 6, King's Day. January 6 generally is recognized by most Christians as the day the Three Wise Men arrived to visit the baby Jesus and bring him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Also, the Mardi Gras season officially ends precisely at midnight on Fat Tuesday, heralding the beginning of Lent with Ash Wednesday. Even though these days the bars remain open well into the morning of Ash Wednesday, a major holy day of obligation for Catholics, the police still perform the annual ritual of clearing the streets of the French Quarter at midnight as was done so long ago when these French Quarter revelries began. For more information on Catholicism in New Orleans visit the Archdiocese of New Orleans web site. Or, to learn more about Catholicism in general, the saints, or to find Catholic Prayers visit Catholic Online. |
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