The story of St. Paul's begins in 1836 with the
work of a missionary priest from Ohio, the Rev. John Wheat, sent
to New Orleans to establish a parish with a small band of communicants.
With faith and hope, they gathered to worship first in a school
room at Lee Circle. The Rev. Wheat was with us only six months,
but his vision was made real by the Rev. Charles Goodrich who
served as Rector for the next 30 years. The parish grew and moved
into a warehouse on Julia St. and then to another schoolhouse
on Clio St. In 1839, the first bishop of Louisiana, Leonidas Polk,
consecrated a modest building on Camp and Gaiennie streets. Fifteen
years later this building was replaced at the same location by
an impressive masonry structure. In less than 10 years the Civil
War ensued and New Orleans surrendered early on to Farragut. Gen.
Butler closed the church and ordered the Rev. Goodrich out of
the city. The church was used to stable Union horses from 1862
to 1865.
In 1891, fire essentially destroyed that historic
building. Although the church was stone, the roof was timber.
It went up in flames as did the interior furnishings and historic
church records. A gracious invitation from Rabbi Max Heller to
hold services in Temple Sinai was accepted for a year until the
building on Camp St. was restored. One of our parishioners today
is married to the great grandson of Rabbi Heller. The new church
was exceptionally beautiful and filled with many gifts and memorials
from loving parishioners. In 1903 the Ascension window, deemed
"one of the most handsome and costly ($3,800) memorial glass
windows ever erected in a church in New Orleans," was installed.
In the 1950’s, the property on Camp St. was
expropriated in order to make way for a new bridge across the
Mississippi River in downtown New Orleans. A search for a new
location followed and land was purchased near Lake Ponchartrain
in a neighborhood called Lakeview. The third church was erected
here on the corner of Canal Boulevard and Harrison Avenue with
as many of the historical memorials and furnishings as could be
moved from the Camp St. site. The original hand carved cypress
pews and choir stalls, stained glass windows, the marble pulpit,
brass lectern, the angelic Baptismal font, and the Last Supper
frieze placed in the new marble altar were but a few of these
treasures. The magnificent Ascension window was incorporated as
a focal point behind the altar. It has stayed aglow every evening
to welcome and inspire passer-bys.
Seeing a need in the community and in keeping with
a long history of commitment to education in the Episcopal Church,
the Vestry established a day school in 1960. The school opened
in 1961 with 52 students. A second story was added to the main
building for classrooms. Over the years additional expansion was
undertaken to build a science lab, an art center, gym, more classrooms,
and the Susie Dunn Early Childhood Development Center. Thus it
developed into an exceptional place for providing quality education
in a loving and Christian environment for grades pre-K through
eighth with an enrollment of about 270 boys and girls. In 1996-97,
the U. S. Department of Education recognized our school as a National
School of Excellence under the Blue Ribbon Schools Program.
On September 9, 1965, Hurricane Betsy slammed into
New Orleans. The beautiful Ascension window was shattered and
strewn across adjacent properties. Neighbors and parishioners
painstakingly gathered as many pieces as could be found. The head
of Christ was unbroken. The recovered pieces were packed and shipped
to Munich for restoration. Franz Mayer & Co. called several
craftsmen out of retirement to recreate the original quality and
workmanship. Two years later, the window was back over the altar
where it remains today.
Another remarkable milestone in St. Paul's history
was the ordination of the Reverend Peggy Walker, the first female
priest in the Diocese of Louisiana, in 1992. The Reverend Walker
served St. Paul's as Associate Rector, and later as Rector Pro
Tem. She was exceptionally gifted in incorporating the talents
and work of the laity into the life of the church.
August 29, 2005, another day that will live in
infamy, certainly in the minds of New Orleanians, St. Paul's drowned
when a defective levee built by the federal government collapsed
on the edge of our neighborhood shortly after the passing of Hurricane
Katrina. A twelve foot wall of water roared past the breach, sending
a torrent through Lakeview and other areas of the city. For three
weeks the church and school sat under eight feet of stinking,
polluted water and debris. The result was the total destruction
of the first floor interiors as well as two single story buildings
that will have to be demolished. The latter buildings once housed
our youth programs and ArtStart for toddlers, as well as school
admissions and development. With 80% of the city flooded and businesses
ruined, the tragic scattering of our people ensued.
What is remarkable about St. Paul's is her sense
of place that has withstood so much: war, fire, expropriation,
hurricanes, floods, and the Katrina Diaspora. For it remains a
place of joy, beauty, and service. It is a place that lives in
the hearts of the congregation and clergy. It will always be a
holy place. And with God's help, it will be restored.
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