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Fat Tuesday
Fat Tuesday is the day before Lent, with the cathedral beside Jackson Square
Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, is the day before Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent in the Western Christian tradition. The Cathedral-Basilica of Saint Louis, King of France, is the seat of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. It stands on Place John Paul II, next to Jackson Square, between the Cabildo and the Presbytère.
Three churches
Three churches have stood here since 1718, and the second burned on Good Friday
Three Catholic churches have stood on the site since 1718, when the city was founded. The first was a crude wooden structure. Along with numerous other buildings, the second church was destroyed in the Great New Orleans Fire on Good Friday, March 21, 1788. The cornerstone of the new church was laid in 1789, and in 1793 it was elevated to cathedral rank.
The bell
A bell named Victoire was added in 1819 for the victory of 1815
In 1819 a central tower designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe was added, with a clock and a bell. The bell was embossed with the name Victoire in commemoration of the Battle of New Orleans victory in 1815. It was reused in the rebuilt church and is still there today.
The rebuild
In 1850 the central tower collapsed, and little of the Spanish church survived
In 1849 the diocese contracted John Patrick Kirwan to enlarge and restore the cathedral using plans by De Pouilly. They specified that everything be demolished except the lateral walls and the lower portions of the towers on the front facade, and then the sidewalls had to come down too. During construction in 1850 the central tower collapsed, and De Pouilly and Kirwan were replaced. The present structure dates primarily to 1850.
A language
In 1910 the cathedral's register switched from French to English
A church census in 1906 reported services in both English and French. In 1910 the language of the sacramental register switched from French to English. By the early 1920s it was reported that 95% of the parishioners understood English, although it is not clear when French-language services were last routinely held.
Day 1, morning
It comes after Jackson Square. Then French Market.
More stories from this trip idea
The words are a retelling of the Wikipedia article St. Louis Cathedral (New Orleans) and the Wikipedia article Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. They are checked against those articles, and a fact that is not in them is left out.