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St. Augustine Parish to close
Treme church holds rich history of New Orleans
Friday, February 10, 2006
By Bruce Nolan
Staff writer (The Times-Picayune)
St.Augustine Parish and its rich New Orleans history become victims of Hurricane Katrina
Called to manage a floodscape of devastated church parishes and hollowed-out neighborhoods, the Archdiocese of New Orleans Thursday said it could no longer afford to subsidize a treasure that counts as one of Hurricane Katrina's walking wounded: St. Augustine Parish, the cradle of black Catholicism in New Orleans.
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But historic St. Augustine Parish will cease to exist in mid-March. Whatever future the community builds for itself, it will do so under another name and under a new pastor.
Founded in 1841 on a former plantation at the edge of the French Quarter, St. Augustine's roots are African, French, Haitian and Spanish. Its story provides a window into the rich cultural ancestry of old New Orleans.
The city's Creole families worshipped there, along with Haitians and free black people. Short pews arranged along the walls of the church welcomed slaves, an unusual piece of hospitality, according to parish histories.
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