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Home/New Orleans/Restoring St. Louis Cathedral
st. louis cathedral at Jackson Suare in New orleans with statue and people

Restoring St. Louis Cathedral

Interest in restoring St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans is getting a boost from Gayle Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans sports franchises. And to help that effort, she arranged for a collaborative meeting between cathedral architects in New Orleans and Paris.

Restoration work continues at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris

The Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris may have been a beacon of hope for the world after its catastrophic fire, but it also serves as an inspiration for restoring other historic cathedrals around the world. One of those is St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans, which is now in need of its own renovation.

collaboration between architects

During a recent meeting with the French ambassador, Gayle Benson expressed her desire to have access to the ongoing restoration project in Paris, with hopes of collaboration between the French and New Orleans architects. “I wanted to get our architects and designers to collaborate with the French people, and he said, okay,” Benson stated. Within a few weeks, two architects leading the St. Louis Cathedral project were touring Notre Dame, with the chief French architect as their guide. They shared ideas, looking for common solutions.

man in blue clothing and white hard hat with man in dark gray jacket and white hard hat in scaffolding in Notre Dame Cathedral
New Orleans architect Andre Villere listens to Notre Dame’s lead architect Philippe Villeneuve

a lesson in preserving authenticity at st. Louis cathedral

New Orleans architects Andre Villere and Kevin Morris spent an entire day at Notre Dame and were impressed with the restoration work being done. Morris emphasized that their approach to the St. Louis Cathedral restoration is “not about designing or changing the design of the cathedral. It’s more about creating a preservation of the cathedral and restoring the authenticity that was there before.” With this approach, they hope to restore the original features of the cathedral.

the meeting of cathedral architects featured on tv

Watch the story of New Orleans architects and their visit to Notre Dame.

a decaying new orleans landmark

At a glance, the historic St. Louis Cathedral at Jackson Square in New Orleans is an impressive-looking structure.  But there are problems throughout the aging building.  Large sections of peeling paint appear near windows and corners of the interior.  Decaying plaster occasionally falls from overhead.  Termites have chewed through some of the giant timbers in the attic.  And there is nearly a two-foot drop in elevation along the main aisle from the church’s sinking foundation. 

a closer look inside st. louis cathedral

A closer look inside St. Louis Cathedral at needed repairs.

an amazing roadmap to restoring the cathedral

side view of Notre Dame Cathedral in Parish before the great fire
A 2014 view of Notre Dame Cathedral before the great fire of 2019

The French architects were guided in their project by a total three-dimensional laser scan and imaging of Notre Dame completed a few years before the fire. This technique allowed them to have exact dimensions and profiles of every centimeter of the cathedral. Villere stated that they like to would employ such a technique as well, “because we do not have exact dimensions, profiles, original drawings. We have nothing to document the portions of the church that are inaccessible.”

A lesson in restoring a cathedral

rooftop view of stone flying buttresses and scaffolding outside Notre Dame
view looking up at scaffolding and high ceiling inside Notre Dame
view of Paris skyline from roof and scaffolding at Notre Dame
tall scaffolding inside nave of Notre Dame
wooden support beams in place for new spire on roof of Notre Dame
view of scaffolding inside nave of Notre Dame
view from behind the large round stained glass window in Notre Dame
peeling latex from limestone wall feature
damaged sculptures in the choir loft of Notre Dame
worker in protective clothing and helmet with pneumatic chisel working on ornamental stone
ornamental stone work and tools on table with photographs of architectural features in Notre Dame
stone artwork being copied in workshop
ornamental stonework being copied on workbench with tools
rooftop view of stone flying buttresses and scaffolding outside Notre Dame
view looking up at scaffolding and high ceiling inside Notre Dame
view of Paris skyline from roof and scaffolding at Notre Dame
tall scaffolding inside nave of Notre Dame
wooden support beams in place for new spire on roof of Notre Dame
view of scaffolding inside nave of Notre Dame
view from behind the large round stained glass window in Notre Dame
peeling latex from limestone wall feature
damaged sculptures in the choir loft of Notre Dame
worker in protective clothing and helmet with pneumatic chisel working on ornamental stone
ornamental stone work and tools on table with photographs of architectural features in Notre Dame
stone artwork being copied in workshop
ornamental stonework being copied on workbench with tools

Surprises and discoveries

As the restoration work continued at Notre Dame, unexpected burials and artifacts were found beneath the floor. Gayle Benson was amazed and fascinated with the discovery of buried statues, stating “it’s amazing, it’s fascinating.” There are also burials beneath the floor of the New Orleans cathedral.  And if the flooring needs to be removed during renovation, that work could expose the tombs of notable clergy and citizens who were buried beneath St. Louis Cathedral during its nearly 300-year history.

stone statues and burials underground
A lead sarcophagus from 14th century uncovered during excavations at Notre Dame
burial plaque of bishop from 1908 in underground vault
One of the underground burial vaults beneath the floor of St. Louis Cathedral

new exhibition opens at notre dame

Visitors must wait until at least December 2024 to be allowed inside the newly restored Notre Dame. However, a new exhibition opened underneath the construction site in March of this year. The exhibit, titled “Notre Dame de Paris: At the Heart of the Construction Site“, includes an impressive wooden model of the Cathedral. There are displays that show artifacts salvaged from the catastrophic 2019 fire and explanations of the detailed restoration now taking place.

Watch this video tour of the new exhibition at the Notre Dame construction site.

fundraising for restoring st. louis cathedral

In Paris, donations poured in from around the world, raising nearly a billion dollars to cover all of the restoration work. In New Orleans, fundraising for the restoration of St. Louis Cathedral is just beginning. Gayle Benson emphasized the importance of preserving this historic monument, stating that “it’s over 200 years old and we just can’t lose that.”

Explore the French Quarter

drawing of original Catholic Church in New Orleans

History of St. Louis Cathedral

    exterior of the 3-story Old Ursuline Convent in New Orleans showing cross above front entrance and garden

    Historic Ursuline Convent

      Preservation Hall

        Written by:
        Dave McNamara
        Published on:
        March 14, 2023
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        Categories: Featured, New Orleans

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