St. Augustine Church: A mustard seed in full bloom

Before imparting his final blessing at the end of the 175th Anniversary Mass for St. Augustine Parish in Treme Oct. 2  – where two hours went by in a flash – Archbishop Gregory Aymond stated the obvious: “We truly had church today.”
 
With its establishment dating to 1841 and its church to 1842, St. Augustine is the third-oldest parish in New Orleans outside the French Quarter.
 
The archbishop also praised the shining example of the parish’s beginnings as a multi-ethnic, multi-racial parish community.

A competition for pews
In the years before the Civil War, free people of color and white people vied to buy pews in the church. The church also provided pews for slaves, who sat on the side aisles.
 
“Before the church’s dedication, people of color began to purchase pews for their families, as was the tradition of that time,” the archbishop said. “Upon hearing this, the white Catholics started a campaign to buy pews also. There was a little competition there.
 
“May I suggest that the people of color were more generous and more charitable, because they bought the side aisles and gave those pews as a gift to the slaves of the community. This enabled St. Augustine Parish to become the most integrated parish in the United States at that time.
What a blessing!”

The church also is steeped in history because Venerable Henriette Delille, foundress of the Sisters of the Holy Family in 1842, ministered in the French Quarter and Treme and treated St. Augustine as her home church.
 
Mother Henriette, who lived in rented quarters in Treme, was familiar with the chapel that preceded the parish and had served as a godparent there in 1836. In 1851, she purchased a home on Bayou Road (now Governor Nicholls Street), just a short distance from St. Augustine. She and her early community prepared free women of color for First Communion.

Hope for church renovation
Oblate Father Emmanuel Mulenga, pastor of St. Augustine, said a feasibility study has been conducted detailing a proposed $2.09 million restoration of the church. A major part of the renovation would be replacing the roof.
 
“We have many challenges, especially human and financial resources,” Father Mulenga said. “Yes, we are a small church family now, but I believe that if we stand united and keep the faith, our loving God will bless our efforts.”
 
Pastoral Council president Monique Brierre Aziz said she is thrilled the parish remained alive after Hurricane Katrina because it was an anchor to the Treme community. U.S. and international visitors regularly come to the church for Sunday Mass, but the church also is a haven for parishioners, she said.
 
“We feel this is such a special place,” Aziz said. “One of our parishioners said she lost everything in Katrina – she lost her house and her car – but when she came back to St. Augustine, once she got here she just cried and prayed.”

Holy ground in Treme
Archbishop Aymond called the church “holy ground” and said it has “become one of the city’s most welcoming churches, bringing together people of all races and cultures and ethnic groups. This truly represents what the universal church is for us. What a great gift that is.”
 
Citing the Gospel reading from John about the parable of the mustard seed, the archbishop said the tiniest of seeds has been known to grow into a 20-foot tree.
 
“May I suggest that St. Aug­ustine has a mustard tree that is 21 feet tall,” Archbishop Aymond said. “If these walls could talk…”
 
Peter Finney Jr. can be reached at[email protected].