Academy of Our Lady sisters hail ‘mother’ of orphans

Above: Academy of Our Lady students and sisters Ava, left, and Grace Marchand stand in front of the Margaret Haughery statue located inside the tiny New Orleans park named in Haughery’s honor. (Photo courtesy of Academy of Our Lady)

By BETH DONZE
Clarion Herald

Academy of Our Lady freshman Ava Marchand and her sister, AOL junior Grace Marchand, recently presented $700 to New Orleans’ Monumental Task Committee for the ongoing care of the 137-year-old marble statue of Margaret Haughery, located near Coliseum Square.

In “normal” times, the Marchand sisters fundraise for an annual charitable cause through a lemonade and cookie sale set up in the front yard of their Harvey home.

“This year, because of COVID, we just asked for donations,” Ava said. “We chose this cause because our good family friend informed us about it, and we wanted to help with it and preserve the statue.”

Turned grief into service

Haughery’s selflessness, resilience and business acumen indeed are part of a great New Orleans story – one that was featured in “Ordinary, Extraordinary Lives: The Road to Sainthood,” a 2015 exhibit at the Old Ursuline Convent that recognized the contributions of seven individuals with New Orleans connections who are either canonized or on the road to sainthood.

Widowed and bereaved of her only child shortly after immigrating to the city in 1835, the Irish-born Haughery became so impressed with the ministry of the Sisters of Charity at the Poydras Orphan Asylum, she offered her services to the nuns in exchange for room and board. Using personal funds, Haughery purchased a single cow to help feed the orphaned children.

That endeavor grew into a dairy of 40 cows and a separate bakery operation, but instead of keeping the wealth to herself, Haughery donated her businesses’ food and profits to the care of local orphans.

Upon her death in 1882, Haughery bequeathed her estate to seven area orphanages and was given a state funeral. A statue was erected in her honor in 1884 – only the second statue of a woman to be erected in the United States. The sculpture depicting Haughery with a child dominates Margaret Place Park, a green space named in her honor.

[email protected]