A New Place to Evangelize in the French Quarter

For 300 years a Catholic Church has been the center of the French Quarter neighborhood of New Orleans. Not long after the church was established as the Church of St. Louis the Ursuline Sisters arrived in to the city in 1727 and built what is now known as the Old Ursuline Convent. 

Today as the City of New Orleans celebrates its Tricentennial, there is a new place for the local Catholic Church to evangelize in the French Quarter. The French Quarter Museum Association is a network of seven unique cultural and historical museums, and in the case of the church, the oldest active cathedral in the United States, that tell diverse stories from all corners of New Orleans’ oldest neighborhood. Their mission is to make museum-going an integral part of the French Quarter experience. By working together to create shared experiences throughout the French Quarter, the hope is to provide engaging and enriching cultural experiences for locals and visitors. 

"It is a wonderful opportunity for the Catholic Cultural Heritage Center to be a member of the French Quarter Museum Association," said Dr. Emilie Gagnet Leumas, Director of the archdiocesan Office of Archives and Records and curator of the Old Ursuline Convent Museum. "We are pleased to share our city's Catholic history along side other museums in the French Quarter."

The members of the FQMA are

• Beauregard-Keyes House and Garden Museum
• Hermann-Grima + Gallier Historic Houses
• The Historic New Orleans Collection
• Louisiana State Museums
• The New Orleans Jazz Museum
• New Orleans Pharmacy Museum
• Catholic Cultural Center, which includes St. Louis Cathedral, St. Anthony's Garden, and the Old Ursuline Convent Museum.

The Historic New Orleans Collection is hosting the French Quarter Museums Association Visitor Center, which offers passersby information about all the participating museums in the Vieux Carré. The visitor center, located at 533 Royal Street, is open to the public Tuesday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m.– 4:30 p.m., through the end of the tricentennial year, and admission is free.