Ursuline sisters new orleans

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Almost 300 years ago, in 1727, the Ursuline nuns arrived in New Orleans at the invitation of Governor Bienville. While awaiting the completion of their convent in 1734, the Ursuline nuns established a school and an orphanage. The Ursuline Order provided crucial social services as New Orleans developed into the administrative center for the colony of Louisiana, educating girls and managing the hospital. One of the nuns wrote that they cared for sick soldiers a few months after moving into their convent in July of 1734.

In 1787, Spanish philanthropist Don Andres Almonester y Roxas, who also built the Cabildo and St. Louis Cathedral, constructed a new brick chapel for the Ursuline nuns, at his own expense. This chapel facing Ursulines Street was dedicated on March 19, 1787. The chapel had been named “Our Lady of Victory,” but at Don Almonester’s request the new chapel was called “Our Lady of Consolation.”

In December 1810, a large wooden statue of Mary and the child Jesus

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Old Ursuline Convent, New Orleans

United States historic place

Ursuline Convent (French: Couvent des Ursulines) was a series of historic Ursulineconvents in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. In 1727, at the request of Governor Étienne Perier, nuns from the Ursuline Convent of Rouen (Normandy) went to New Orleans to found a convent, run a hospital, and take care of educating young girls.

First building

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The first building for the Ursuline nuns in New Orleans was designed by Ignace François Broutin in 1727 when the nuns arrived in New Orleans, at the request of Governor Étienne Perier. Michael Zeringue (Johann Michael Zehringer), the King's mästare Carpenter from Franconia, Bavaria and progenitor of all "Zeringue" families in Louisiana was the builder. Planning, collecting material, and construction took years. Existing drawings show the building in 1733, although it was not officially finished until the following year.

Colombage (half-timbered) or briquet

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Phantoms of the Ursuline Convent

Historical Background of the Ursuline Convent

The Ursuline Convent, located at 1114 Chartres Street in the heart of the French Quarter, is a cornerstone of New Orleans’ historical narrative. The convent was established in 1727 by the Sisters of Ursula, a Catholic religious order founded in Italy in the 16th century. These nuns were invited by Bienville, the founder of New Orleans, to aid in the spiritual and social development of the fledgling colony.

Upon their arrival, the Ursuline nuns faced immense challenges. New Orleans was a raw and undeveloped settlement, plagued by disease, extreme weather, and the constant threat of attack by Native American tribes and foreign powers. Despite these hardships, the nuns quickly set to work, establishing the first school for girls in the United States and the first orphanage. They also founded the city’s first hospital, providing much-needed care to the sick and impoverished.

The original con