Jackson Square cathedral haunted by Capuchin friar Pere Dagobert, whose chanted Kyrie has been reported on rainy mornings since the 18th century.
615 Pere Antoine Alley, New Orleans, LA 70116
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Free to enter; donations welcome. Active worship space - check Mass schedule.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Step-free entry from Jackson Square side; level interior aisles
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1789 · Oldest continuously active Catholic cathedral in the United States · Minor basilica (designated 1964) · Battle of New Orleans thanksgiving site (1815) · Jackson Square architectural anchor · French Quarter heritage
When Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville founded New Orleans in 1718, he laid out a central square then called the Place d'Armes (today Jackson Square) and reserved a parcel facing the river for a church named for King Louis IX of France. The parish was established in 1720, and the first wooden church on the site opened in 1727.
That first church was destroyed in the Great New Orleans Fire of March 21, 1788. Construction of a replacement began in 1789 under Spanish colonial administration. When the new building was completed in 1794, the Holy See elevated New Orleans to a diocesan see, and the church was dedicated as the cathedral of the new diocese. Friar Antonio de Sedella - known to history as Pere Antoine - was appointed rector and served until his death in 1829.
The present structure dates primarily to an 1850 expansion and reconstruction overseen by architect J.N.B. de Pouilly, which substantially rebuilt the 1794 cathedral and gave it the three-spire facade familiar from postcards. The cathedral was the site of the formal thanksgiving service following the American victory at the Battle of New Orleans; on January 23, 1815, Abbe William Dubourg celebrated a solemn high Mass with General Andrew Jackson and his troops in attendance and sang a Te Deum.
In 1964, Pope Paul VI designated the cathedral a minor basilica - one of only a handful in the United States at the time. The cathedral remains an active parish under the Archdiocese of New Orleans and welcomes visitors daily outside of Mass and special services. It is anchored to the architectural triad of Jackson Square along with the flanking Cabildo (former Spanish colonial government house, now a Louisiana State Museum) and the Presbytere.
Flanking the cathedral are two named alleys with their own histories. The downriver alley is named for Pere Antoine; the upriver alley is the famous Pirate's Alley (Pirate Alley), which overlaps with the former site of a Spanish-colonial calabozo (jail) and later with the house where William Faulkner wrote his first novel in 1925.
Sources
The cathedral's most-reported apparition is Pere Dagobert de Longuory, a Capuchin friar who arrived in New Orleans from Quebec in 1722 and served the Parish Church of St. Louis from 1745 until his death in 1776 (Wikipedia; Find a Grave memorial 108745546). Period accounts describe him as a beloved figure who ran the city's charity hospital in the 1750s and conducted the funeral rites of French colonial leaders executed by the incoming Spanish governor Alejandro O'Reilly in 1769. According to local ghost-tour and feature reporting (Ghost City Tours; Very Local; Lyn Gibson), Pere Dagobert's ghost is most often reported on rainy mornings, walking the aisles of the cathedral in sandals with his head down; some witnesses report hearing him singing or chanting the Kyrie.
A second commonly cited apparition is Pere Antoine - Antonio de Sedella, the beloved Spanish Capuchin rector who served from 1785 until his death in 1829 (Wikipedia; nola.com '300 for 300'). His ghost is sometimes reported walking Pere Antoine Alley, the lane named for him along the downriver side of the cathedral.
Both named figures are documented historical priests with verifiable biographies. The paranormal accounts are local folklore that has accumulated over more than two centuries of community memory and that are carried forward today by French Quarter walking-tour operators. Because the cathedral is an active worship space, visitors should treat the building with the reverence the parish would expect of any pilgrim, regardless of whether the visit is religious or paranormal-curious.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Walk the aisles of the oldest continuously active Catholic cathedral in the United States. Visitor brochures explain the 1850 structure, the murals, and the cathedral's role in the 1815 Battle of New Orleans thanksgiving service. Photography permitted outside of Mass; visitors should observe respectful silence.
Walk the flanking alleys named for the cathedral's beloved 19th-century rector Pere Antoine and (on the opposite side) Pirate's Alley. Multiple licensed ghost-tour operators include the cathedral exterior on French Quarter walking tours after dark.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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