Our Lady Of The Sacred Heart / St. Boniface Church, New Orleans, LA.

HISTORY OF THIS NOW DECOMMISSIONED CHURCH

The parishes of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, originally located at Claiborne and Annette Streets, and Saint Boniface, a church serving the area near Claiborne Avenue and Saint Bernard, both began in 1871. In 1917, Saint Boniface was combined with Our Lady of the Sacred Heart to form a single parish. The original O.L.S.H. Church was destroyed by the 1915 Hurricane and it was never rebuilt. The original St. Boniface church stood near the present site until a tragic fire, on August 18, 1945, reduced the wooden structure to ashes. Father Lawrence Bonin, O.S.B., who was pastor at the time of the fire, rescued pews and statues and set up a temporary church in the school auditorium. It was not until 1955 that a new church was completed. Dedicated in an era when "white flight" was just beginning to take its toll on New Orleans churches, the predominantly German parish found itself in competition with the parishes of Corpus Christi and Saint Augustin, both of which had well established and loyal African-American congregations. Attendance dwindled and, only a few short years after completion, the church was closed. Today, the1955 building still stands and is used to warehouse supplies for the Catholic Food for Families program.

HISTORY OF THIS NOW DECOMMISSIONED CHURCH The parishes of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, originally located at Claiborne and Annette Streets, and Saint Boniface, a church serving the area near Claiborne Avenue and Saint Bernard, both began in 1871. In 1917, Saint Boniface was combined with Our Lady of the Sacred Heart to form a single parish. The original O.L.S.H. Church was destroyed by the 1915 Hurricane and it was never rebuilt. The original St. Boniface church stood near the present site until a tragic fire, on August 18, 1945, reduced the wooden structure to ashes. Father Lawrence Bonin, O.S.B., who was pastor at the time of the fire, rescued pews and statues and set up a temporary church in the school auditorium. It was not until 1955 that a new church was completed. Dedicated in an era when "white flight" was just beginning to take its toll on New Orleans churches, the predominantly German parish found itself in competition with the parishes of Corpus Christi and Saint Augustin, both of which had well established and loyal African-American congregations. Attendance dwindled and, only a few short years after completion, the church was closed. Today, the1955 building still stands and is used to warehouse supplies for the Catholic Food for Families program.


Only remaining exterior identifying marker remaining on the 1955 building.


At left, the original church of Our Lady Of The Sacred Heart, located at the corner of Claiborne Avenue and Annette Streets, was destroyed by the Great Hurricane of 1915. Shown at right, is a scene from the August, 1945 fire which destroyed St. Boniface Church. St. Boniface was located near to the present Our Lady Of The Sacred Heart building. (Photos are from original church publication by Roger Baudier, KSG)