Sacred monstrance back home in Archdiocese of New Orleans

Former Fair Grounds owner Louie Roussel III and his wife Sally defrayed the $62,000 cost to retrieve an ornate, 19th-century monstrance from Sotheby’s in New York before it hit the auction block in November.

The monstrance, which is pure silver and gold-plated, once belonged to St. Alphonsus Parish and was used for benediction and adoration at St. Mary’s Assumption Church, said Archbishop Gregory Aymond, before it was sold in the 1990s by a Redemptorist pastor to a local antiques dealer for $5,000.

It may even have been used by Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, who ministered in the Irish Channel until his death from yellow fever in 1867.

“Within the spirit of church law, when something is used for a sacred purpose, it should not be sold or used for something that is not for a sacred purpose,” Archbishop Aymond said. “This held the Body and Blood of Christ. I was upset, because this kind of thing should not happen.”

When news of the monstrance’s potential sale became public, Roussel called the archbishop and offered to buy it and donate it back.

“We were determined if it did sell at Sotheby’s, we were going to be the ultimate high bidder,” Roussel said.

The monstrance has been offered to Notre Dame Seminary for daily adoration.

            Peter Finney Jr. can be reached at pfinney@clarionherald.org.