St. Mary’s Assumption in Irish Channel connects with brides

By Peter Finney Jr. 
Clarion Herald
Bridal Registry

St. Mary’s Assumption Church in the Irish Channel is one of those treasured sacred spaces that speaks to New Orleans’ identity as a historically Catholic city.

In the 19th century, when Catholicism in New Orleans was imbued with ethnic pride, St. Mary’s Assumption, located at 923 Josephine St., was the so-called “German” church.

St. Mary’s Assumption was the church where Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos served for two years as a tireless shepherd and confessor before succumbing to yellow fever in 1867. It is now home to the national shrine in his honor.

Right across Constance Street, the Redemptorist Fathers also staffed St. Alphonsus Church for New Orleans’ Irish Catholics.

And, then, just a few hundred feet away at Constance and Josephine streets was yet a third church, Notre Dame de Bon Secours, which served French-speaking congregants from 1858 to 1925.

19th-century ties

Of the three, only St. Mary’s Assumption still functions as a Catholic worship site. St. Alphonsus, which ceased operating as a church in 1975, is an arts and cultural center, but the building has been closed since sustaining damage in Hurricane Ida.

Notre Dame de Bon Secours was demolished in 1926 after having been damaged in a 1915 hurricane and then seeing its small congregation dwindle.

But, when brides want a church they can cherish to mark the beginning of their marriage, they know that St. Mary’s Assumption is about as “Catholic” as they could ever imagine.

A beautiful church

“I think brides are always looking for a beautiful church,” said Judy Burke, wedding coordinator at St. Alphonsus Parish for about 20 years. “They know that this is their religious ceremony and not their reception. I think brides are always looking for a beautiful church – St. Louis Cathedral, Jesuit (Immaculate Conception) Church on Baronne, St. Mary’s Assumption, St. Joseph’s on Tulane and St. Anthony of Padua.

“Brides prefer an older church. Our altar is very ornate, and they love it. We do a lot of destination weddings with people coming in from out of town, and we do have a lot of people who are associated with the Seelos Shrine or who had parents or grandparents or even great grandparents who got married here.”

One of the most profound moments Burke experienced during her tenure as wedding coordinator was associated with Blessed Seelos, whose reliquary resides in the shrine connected to the church.

“There was a bride whose dad was having (medical) difficulties,” Burke recalled. Before he escorted her down the aisle, everybody stopped and said a prayer. All the guests were standing, and everybody said this prayer that someone had given them for the intercession of Blessed Seelos. Somebody called me at the end of the next week and told me that the father was now cancer free, and they attributed it to the prayer.”

A team effort

Burke has now turned over most of her wedding-day responsibilities to a team of eight volunteers. Her team includes Suzette Dietrich, Janene Taylor, Angela Duhon, Betty O’Neal, Hilda Austin, Pam Waldron, Sandra Hecker and June Ellerbusch.

The coordinators are there to ensure that the liturgy runs smoothly and, as much as possible, adheres generally to a time schedule.

“Maybe because I’m getting old and crotchety, I find that they don’t follow time constraints,” Burke said, laughing. “They have no conception that when you book a wedding for 7 o’clock at night and you don’t start until 7:30 or a quarter till 8, you don’t get out early. We actually had a bride who was 25 minutes late called us later to tell us she got to her reception and they cut it 30 minutes short. I told her, ‘We tried to tell you!’”

The couples are responsible for fulfilling all the requirements of the diocesan marriage preparation program, which is why St. Alphonsus requires couples to call at least six months in advance to reserve the church.

One trend Burke has seen over the last two decades is that brides are generally marrying later.

“A hundred years ago when I got married, I was 20,” Burke said. “Brides are normally 30 and older now.”

Burke said one of her most fulfilling moments as a wedding coordinator was helping Linda and Louis Passauer, both in their 70s, get married at St. Mary’s Assumption Church.

Linda has lost two previous spouses, and Louis’ wife died in 2018. They graduated from Redemptorist High School in 1965 and would attend Mass together  at St. Mary’s Assumption.

“Linda was actually my first date at Redemptorist, and St. Mary’s was our church,” Louis said. “Every morning we had Mass there, and I used to serve.  We graduated together. Our birthdays are 19 days apart. We’re both CPAs. We each have three children and six grandchildren. We have so much in common.

“Actually, Linda was my first date in high school. She still has the invitation from the football prom with both of our names on it.”

Linda actually was married to a member of the Class of 1965, who passed away, and then was married again until her second husband died.

“So, now I sleep with one eye open,” Louis said, laughing.

Was there any question that they would get married again at St. Mary’s Assumption?

“Oh, not at all, because we both felt it was just very appropriate,” Louis said. “Father (Allan) Weinert was very, very kind to us and took care of us.”

Because of their special circumstances, their marriage preparation was made very easy by Father Weinert.

“He said we knew what we were doing!” Louis said.

Started with a suggestion

Burke got involved as a wedding coordinator when she attended a wedding at St. Mary’s Assumption and saw some confusion during the the bridal procession. The bridesmaids began processing down the main aisle, but the bride was waiting with her father in the limousine parked outside. After the mother of the bride and the bridesmaids reached  the altar, there was a long gap.

There was no bride.

“We didn’t know what happened to the bride,” Burke said. “So, the mother of the bride had to get up and go outside to the limousine and tell her daughter to walk up. The mother of the bride comes running back in, and then the bride and her dad come in.

“At the reception, I told the pastor, ‘I have a suggestion about the problem you had in church.’ And, he said, ‘Oh, are you free Monday to come talk to me?’ That’s the day I learned don’t ever tell a Catholic priest there’s something wrong unless you are prepared to help fix it. Then it becomes your job.”

Intimate chapel setting

Burke also has coordinated weddings at St. Alphonsus’ stunning small worship space, St. Mary’s Chapel, at 1516 Jackson Ave. The beautifully restored white wooden chapel seats about 48 people.

“Those are the simplest, nicest, most reverent weddings, because they are there to get married,” Burke said.

Approximately two to three dozen weddings are celebrated each year at St. Mary’s Assumption Church or St. Mary’s Chapel, Burke said.

She tries to accommodate most requests, but some brides have a vision of what they want by watching television shows that include certain music or customs more appropriate for the reception than for the church.

“A lot of time the brides want to compete with everything they see on television, and every wedding can’t be everything to every person,” Burke said. “I always tell them, ‘Make it yours.’”

For more information on weddings at St. Mary’s Assumption Church, 923 Josephine St., or St. Mary’s Chapel, 1516 Jackson Ave., New Orleans, contact Judy Burke at (504) 522-6748; www.stalphonsusno.com/wedding-guidelines/

[email protected]