'White-letter' day for Henriette Delille

It was a “white-letter” day for the Sisters of the Holy Family on Aug. 31. Workers in the street signs department of the City of New Orleans replaced eight blocks of street signs in Tremé, changing out St. Claude Street for Henriette Delille Street in honor of the foundress of the Sisters of the Holy Family.

The City Council voted earlier this summer to make the switch to honor the free woman of color who founded her congregation of African-American religious women in New Orleans in 1842 to educate and care for slaves and the elderly.

Mother Henriette is now considered venerable by the Vatican, and her cause for beatification rests with the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. A miracle attributed to Mother Henriette’s intercession is being examined by the cardinals and bishops who sit on the congregation.

Earlier this summer, the Roman postulator for Mother Henriette’s cause, Dr. Andrea Ambrosi, told Tulane University history lecturer Dr. Virginia Gould that everything was on track for her cause and there was intense interest in her cause among the congregation’s members. Ambrosi said the street name change was just another symbol of the great devotion that exists in the Archdiocese of New Orleans for Mother Henriette.

Mother Henriette would be the first African-American beatified by the Catholic Church, and her beatification would be the first ever held on American soil. Under Pope Benedict XVI, beatification ceremonies are held in the home diocese of the “blessed.

Henriette Delille Street runs in front of St. Augustine Church, where Mother Henriette worshipped. She also worshipped at St. Louis Cathedral and was the godmother of many slaves who were baptized at the cathedral. A prayer room in her honor has been dedicated at the cathedral.