St. Mary Church open for 5:30 p.m. Sunday Mass

    St. Mary Church, located at 1116 Chartres St. adjacent to the Old Ursuline Convent, has begun celebrating Mass every Sunday at 5:30 p.m. St. Mary Church is considered a “filial” church of St. Louis Cathedral, four blocks away. Since Hurricane Katrina, St. Mary had been used only for the celebration of weddings and funerals. Father Philip Landry, the new cathedral rector, discussed the resumption of Sunday Mass with Archbishop Gregory Aymond as a way of reconciling Catholics who had been regular Massgoers there. St. Mary reopened for Mass on Sept. 8 – the feast of the Nativity of Mary – and 180 attended. “When the church was closed a number of people left and didn’t attend Mass at the cathedral,” Father Landry said. “Many people had talked to me to see if there was any way that we could do this.” The archbishop agreed to the change.