LAST -- Surviving African-American Catholic Parish Outside of New Orleans, Reserve LA - Last of its Kind on Waymarking.com

Blasterz are Catholic, but we had no idea that it was official Roman Catholic doctrine in the South to have separate churches and parishes for white Catholics and black Catholics, and that if black Catholics attended a white church or worshipped in a white parish, they could not fully participate in church life.

Blasterz bet that Jesus was shaking his head.

The historic marker reads as follows:

"FIRST OUR LADY OF GRACE CATHOLIC CHURCH SANCTUARY

Formerly, Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, this sanctuary represents an important historical phenomenon in the history of the Catholic Church in southern Louisiana, the formation of separate churches for black parishioners. Prior to its founding, black Catholics in the area worshiped at St. Peter's Church where they were segregated from white parishioners in worship and parish social life. With the support of the Josephites, Sisters of the Holy Family and Sisters of the Blessed Sacraments, Our Lady of Grace parish was dedicated on June 13, 1937 as a place of worship where black Catholics in the Reserve area could now participate fully in their church. According to the Archdiocese of New Orleans, Our Lady of Grace Parish is the only historically black Catholic parish to survive outside the city limits. In 1991 a new church sanctuary was built and following the advice of Rev. Robert Sullivan, the Archdiocese donated the original sanctuary to Riverlands Christian Center Church, who moved it to its present location. The moved saved the church from demolition and preserve it as a symbol of American history representing a people of prayer, struggle and pride."

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Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   01/01/2015 Benchmark Blasterz visited it