St. Louis Cathedral
The first church on this site in the French Quarter was built in the 1720s, soon after New Orleans was founded, and dedicated to Saint Louis, the crusader king of France. After it burned in the Great Fire of 1788, a new church was built with the gift of a Spanish nobleman, Don Andrés Almonester y Roxas. It became a cathedral in 1793. In 1849–1850 it was largely rebuilt and enlarged, which gave it the form it has today, with three slate spires above a white façade.
It is the oldest cathedral in continuous use in the United States. It faces Jackson Square and the Mississippi, and it has become one of the most photographed buildings in America, the very image of New Orleans.
Inside, the painted ceiling and murals show the life of Saint Louis. Pope Paul VI made it a minor basilica in 1964, and Pope Saint John Paul II visited in 1987. Its Sunday Masses and Christmas Eve Mass draw visitors from around the world.
- Built
- 1789–1794; rebuilt 1849–1850
- Style
- Spanish Colonial and French Neoclassical
- Where
- New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
- Map
- Find it on OpenStreetMap