More Than a Mascot
In honor of All Saints Day, here is a look at both the revered and the reveled saints of NOLA.
New Orleans wears its Catholic identity with flair—from our football team's name to our culinary staple, "the trinity." While plenty of places have churches and streets named after saints, we take it up a notch here with parades aplenty named after them, as well as several real saints hailing right from our own backyard.
Local Saints and Saints-In-Progress
St. Katherine Drexel, because of her extensive missionary work with Native Americans and African Americans, was asked by the late Archbishop James H. Blenk to come to New Orleans in 1915 to assist with the education of Black youth. She founded Xavier University, named for St. Francis Xavier, the patron saint of missionary work, in 1925. She was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2000.
Another saint spent the last year of his life (1867) in New Orleans and was also named after St. Francis Xavier. Francis Xavier Seelos was a German Redemptorist who worked as a missionary throughout the East Coast. Towards the end of his life in 1866, he was assigned to New Orleans and became the pastor at St. Mary's Assumption Church. He died one year later from yellow fever. He, too, was canonized in 2000.
Henriette DeLille was the great-granddaughter of an emancipated slave and a free woman of color. In 1842, she founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family. DeLille died in November 1862, and her funeral was held at St. Augustine Church. In 1988, the Catholic Church began the process of considering her sainthood, and, in 2010, Pope Benedict XVI declared her Venerable, which is step two towards canonization.
Sister Thea Bowman was a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration from Mississippi who assisted in the founding of the Institute of Black Catholic Studies (IBCS) at Xavier University in New Orleans and served on its faculty until 1989. She died of breast cancer in 1990. Her cause for canonization was opened in 2018, gaining her an official designation as a Servant of God, the first of the four steps toward sainthood.
That same year, IBCS announced that they would become the hub for the advancement of sainthood for six African American Catholics, including Bowman and DeLille, known as the "Saintly Six." Each November, during Black Catholic History Month, the Office of Black Catholic Ministries of the Archdiocese of New Orleans holds the Black Saints Celebration, which includes updates on and prayers for both DeLille's and Bowman's canonization.
Born in Italy in 1850, Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini arrived in New Orleans in 1892 at the request of Father Giacomo Gambera, who sought help for local Italian Americans after the lynching of 11 of their own. She purchased a tenement in the French Quarter, and she and her sisters opened schools and orphanages, helping to diminish anti-Italian prejudice. One of their schools, Cabrini High, is still in operation.
Saintly Parades
Whether you're a true martyr or just a Mardi Gras reveler, you can't escape New Orleans' saints—past, present, or future. Here are some modern parades named for saints, though they don't necessarily follow in their footsteps.
St. Joseph's Parade: This parade organized by the Italian American St. Joseph's Society is held annually in the French Quarter on the Saturday closest to St. Joseph's Day (March 19). The Italian-American Marching Club was established in 1970, and 2025 will mark the 50th anniversary of the first St. Joseph's Day Parade.
La Société de Saint Anne: This parade has marched in every Mardi Gras since 1969. Henri Schindler named the parade after the street where most of his friends resided, although, notably, Saint Anne was the grandmother of Jesus. The colorful collective gathers in their elaborate costumes in the Bywater, led by the Storyville Stompers.
The Society of St. Cecilia: Established in 2007, they are open to "all who donate to the band," which makes sense since St. Cecilia is the patron saint of musicians. On Mardi Gras Day, they start at Markey Park in the Bywater and continue through the Quarter to the river.
Joan of Arc Parade: Since 2008, the Krewe de Jeanne d'Arc has walked through the French Quarter on Joan of Arc's birthday (January 6), aka Twelfth Night. This "Army of Artists" is known for their artistic throws, medieval costumes, and theatrical props. Saint Joan is the official patron saint of France, and locals consider her their unofficial patron saint.
St. Anthony's Ramblers: Founded in 2009, this social aid and pleasure club marches through the streets of the Faubourg Marigny and the French Quarter on Mardi Gras Day. St. Anthony is the patron saint of lost things. Perhaps, this is why this rambling troupe selected him as their moniker.
St. John Fools of Misrule: This krewe was formed in 2011 to announce the arrival of Carnival season in St. Tammany Parish. They conduct their bawdy procession each Twelfth Night in the St. John District of Covington, named for St. John the Baptist, a saintly opposite to the original Lords of Misrule.
St. Catherine's Hat Day Parade: Founded in 2012, but no longer active as of 2022, the St. Catherine's Hat Parade was a sidewalk stroll that meandered Uptown on or around St. Catherine of Alexandria's feast day (November 25). St. Catherine, once the patron saint of unmarried women, became linked to milliners in France through a tradition of St. Catherine's Day hat parades, leading to her patronage of their craft.
