Saint Mary’s Assumption church IS LEAKING BADLY AND NEEDS YOUR HELP. The resulting moisture pockets created by these leaks has caused interior plaster to free-fall from the sixty foot high ceilings, endangering the wellbeing of our parishioners and visitors. Extensive damage to the external walls of the building, caused by free-growing root systems between brick and mortar and within stone crevices, high above the sixty foot walls, has also been identified as a critical condition which must be corrected to ensure the preservation of this historic building. This extensive root growth has seven other companions, beehives which will have to be relocated by bee management experts. PLEASE HELP US RESTORE THIS HISTORIC BUILDING THROUGH YOUR DONATIONS. For almost one hundred and eighty years, the Redemptorist Fathers and Brothers have ministered the faithful in the Irish Channel neighborhood of the Lower Garden in New Orleans by building and providing pastoral services to three catholic churches, two orphanages, three convents of religious sisters, and five schools under the name of St. Alphonsus Parish. These three churches, built across from each other (St. Alphonsus, serving the Irish community; Ben Secour, serving the French community and St. Mary’s serving the German community), were at the center of a triumvirate of catholic faith, historically designated as “ecclesiastical square”. Today, due to population changes, weather, lack of resources, etc., only St. Mary’s, stands to continue to serve the spiritual and physical needs of this community though Masses and the administration of Sacraments. Saint Mary’s Assumption church is a place of pilgrimage for many who come to visit the Blessed Shrine of Francis Xavier Seelos, seeking his intercession for healing. St, Mary’s has been, and always will be, a welcoming community which recognizes the importance and value of all people, regardless of their background, their ethnicity or their stature in life. The Church, built in 1858-1860 by German immigrants, today serves all ethnic communities after the closures of Bon Secour and St. Alphonsus. The churches High Altar, one of the finest expressions of 19th Century German Sacred Art in America with multiple and unique hand-carved statues is considered the finests across the United States. At the center of the church, up high, is an extraordinary GREAT WINDOW, considered the largest stained glass window of any Roman Catholic church in New Orleans. Six tall stained glass windows adorn the sides of its nave, standing gallantly as parishioners walk by. Most importantly, the art and architecture of this church, built by German immigrants in testimony to their faith and as a proud statement that they were here to stay, reveal the unbridled spirit of a people who came here, with roots, and planted them deeply in New Orleans–help us keep their memory be, forever, a part of the fabric of this city. Saint Mary’s Assumption Church was recognized as a NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK in 1996, after twenty-two years of placement in the NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES.
For mailing donations: Parish Office, 2030 Constance Street, New Orleans, LA 70130 (504-522-6748), For additional information call: Peggy Wilson (504-232-8209); Father Allan Weinert (314-610-1679) or Parish Office