New Orleans (Louisiana): Our Lady of Prompt Succor

Our Lady of Prompt Succor is the patroness of the city of New Orleans and of the state of Louisiana. The church dedicated to her is a national shrine of the United States.

Her feast day is on January 8.

History ... [1]

The French Ursuline Sisters arrived in New Orleans in 1727, where they started the oldest girls' school in the United States. During a period of crisis after a large group of nuns left New Orleans for Cuba in 1803, Mother Saint-André Madier, one of the seven sisters who remained, appealed to her cousin who was also an Ursuline in France and whom the Reign of Terror had forced to leave her monastery. Her name was Mother Saint-Michel Gensoul, a remarkable woman who, during her exile in Montpellier, southern France, opened a boarding school for girls. Her bishop, Mgr Fournier, refused her request to leave, saying that only the pope, then held prisoner by Napoleon, could give his authorization. One day, while praying in front of a statue of the Virgin, Mother Saint-André Madier was inspired to say: "O Most Blessed Virgin Mary, if you obtain a quick and positive response to my letter, I promise to bring you honor in New Orleans under the title of Our Lady of Prompt Help (or Succor).

The answer was both quick and positive (the letter left Montpellier on March 19, 1809, and the reply was received on April 28, 1809). Surprised by this result, Bishop Fournier had the statue commissioned by Mother Saint-Michel solemnly blessed.

Since then, devotion to Our Lady of Prompt Succor has spread in New Orleans and Louisiana, throughout the United States and beyond.

Among all the graces obtained through the intercession of Our Lady of Prompt Succor is protection from the great fires that regularly threatened the city, including the Ursuline convent. The superior had ordered everyone to evacuate the building. Before leaving, one of the sisters placed a small statue of Mary with her Son on a window facing the approaching fire, with this prayer: "Our Lady, unless you hasten to save us we are lost!” Then she followed the others to safety. In a few minutes, the wind turned, and in a short time, the fire lost momentum, leaving the rest of the city unscathed.

The other famous intervention of Our Lady of Prompt Succor happened during the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815. On the night of January 7th, General Andrew Jackson and his small, untrained and poorly armed troops faced the mighty British army, ready to attack the city before dawn. Many citizens joined the Ursuline Sisters for a prayer vigil in their chapel, to implore Our Lady of Prompt Succor. During the night, the Superior, Mother Marie Olivier de Vezin promised the Virgin that if Jackson and his men were victorious, a thanksgiving Mass would be sung each year. As day was breaking, Father DuBourg began saying mass for that intention. At Communion time, a messenger rushed into the chapel, announcing that Jackson and his men had won the battle. The Mass ended with the cheerful singing of the Te Deum.

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Photos on: New Orleans churches

Official website: Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor

Address of the Convent and Chapel: 1100 Chartres Street, New Orleans, LA 70116.

Phone: (504)529-3040.

[1] Excerpt from: Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor