Saint Augustine Church Restoration Campaign _ Sponsorship

Saint Augustine Church
Restoration Campaign
All Are Welcome
For nearly 200 years, Saint Augustine Catholic Church has welcomed
people from every walk of life, creed, and color to worship side by side.
Perhaps that is why Saint Augustine has not only served as the heart
of the Tremé community but has also played an integral role in
shaping the culture of the city of New Orleans.
“All churches should be like St. Augustine”,
Pope John Paul II said on his 1987 visit to New Orleans.

What is so unique about this church?
St. Augustine Church was built in 1841, making it 177 years old this year.
The structure is so compromised that it leaves her vulnerable to storms, decay,
and other conditions that may result in the closing of her doors forever and is in
dire need of major renovations. Phase I focuses on the restoration of the Church
and rectory at a cost of $2.5 million dollars.
An inscription in French above the altar translates
“If you know the gift of God”
● St. Augustine Church in Tremé is a
historic treasure, a religious haven,
a testament to the love of God and
community, and a monument to the
history and culture of New Orleans;
the African American culture of
the United States, and the African
American and Creole culture of
Tremé.
● St. Augustine Church has been a
spiritual center since 1841, a place of
history, religion and brotherhood;
known for its’ congregation of all
races, Free People of Color, slaves,
whites, Haitians, Cubans, Italians,
Germans, etc. from its inception
in 1841, till today. Kneeling at the
altar, praying side by side.
● Henriette Delille took her vows at
the altar and served the community
at St. Augustine Church, and was
one of the three women who started
the Sisters of the Holy Family in
1842. Henriette Delille is Venerable,
awaiting Sainthood and could be the
first African American Saint. She
started the first school to educate
slave children, women and men;
established a home for aged and was
a loving mother to the community
through her service at St. Augustine
Church.
● Considered the oldest black
neighborhood in America, and the
oldest African American Church
in the country, it was home to the
first civil rights movement, the
first black daily newspaper, black
businesses and was deeply rooted
in the development of the music
culture and parading history of New
Orleans which came out of Tremé.
● St. Augustine Church, as the nation’s
oldest black Catholic parish, is part
of the permanent exhibits in the
Smithsonian’s new National Museum
of African American History and
Culture in Washington, D.C.
Whether it is the tenderness and deep sense of caring of the church
community, the exquisite, moving music sung by choir, the striking mix of
the congregation, folks of all colors, means and ages; the vibrant brass bands
that celebrate on special occasions, and the words of wisdom from our priest;
intertwined, the mass at St. Augustine is known to move new visitors to tears.
Once renovated St. Augustine Church will once again become the center
of the community; it will invite the community old and new to experience its
ministries, to establish everyone’s living relationship with God. It will sponsor
community programs, support groups, classes, counseling services, after school
activities, CYO, music lessons and other neighborhood services. It will provide
educational opportunities for the church, the residents, its religious staff and
the archdiocese.
We believe that losing Saint Augustine Church would prove more damaging
that just losing a historic or sacred place. It would be losing a testament to unity,
love, inclusion and brotherhood.
“If you know the gift of God”

The History of
St. Augustine Church
St. Augustine Church was built on the
site that was part of a plantation estate.
Originally, it was the brickyard and
tilery headquarters built in 1720 of the
Province of New Orleans’ Supervisor of
the Company of the Indies and was an
economic stimulus for
the province. In 1731 the
Company of the Indies
left and the plantation was
sold to the Moreau family
and eventually came into
the possession of Julie
Moreau in 1775,
a manumitted slave.
Claude Tremé, a
Frenchman, married Julie Moreau and
took title to the property. The couple
subdivided the estate and sold off many
lots to Free People of Color, people from
the Old Quarter and Haitian immigrants
fleeing the 1791 revolution. After selling
35 lots the Tremé family left their
plantation home in 1810.
In the 1830s, the Catholic Free
People of Color, in cooperation with
Martha Fortier, a postulate of the hospital
nuns, created a school to educate free
colored girls in the French Quarter,
the first of its kind in the United States.
Marie Jeanne Aliquot, a French émigré,
began overseeing Fortier’s school. In 1834
Henriette Delille
devoted her life
to caring for the
underprivileged.
Her funeral was at
St. Augustine Church;
she is awaiting
sainthood.
she purchased the immediate property
of the Tremé home for $9,000 and was
the major catalyst in the origins of Saint
Augustine Church.
Marie Aliquot moved the school
from the French Quarter to the Tremé
in 1834, which at that
time was briefly the site
of the College d’Orleans.
There, a group of
free colored women,
including Fortier
Protégé Henriette
Delille, organized
themselves as Sisters
of the Presentation.
In 1842 the Sisters of the Presentation
were formally recognized as the order of
the Sisters of the Holy Family. Henriette
Delille, a Creole, along with two others,
founded the group and devoted her life to
caring for the sick, helping the poor and
instructing free and enslaved, children
and adults. She died in 1862 and her
funeral was at St. Augustine Church; she
is awaiting sainthood (venerable).
Marie Aliquot sold the house to the
Ursuline nuns in 1836. The Ursuline
nuns purchased the school under the
condition that it continue the education
of colored children. They, in turn, gifted
the property to the Carmelites in 1840,
Continued on back

From the beginning St. Augustine’s
origins lie in the initiatives of New
Orleans’ people of Tremé on land
donated by the Ursuline Sisters.
who took over the school and merged it
with their school for white girls and used
the Tremé home for their mother house
until 1926.
From the beginning St. Augustine’s
origins lie in the initiatives of New
Orleans’ people of Tremé. In the 1830’s
Tremé’s Free People of Color petitioned
Bishop Antoine Blanc for permission to
build a church. The Ursuline Sisters, who
owned the property adjacent to the school,
donated a lot at the corner of Bayou Road
(Gov. Nicholls St.) and Saint Claude,
(Henriette Delille St.) on the condition
the church would be named Saint
Augustine, after one of their patron saints.
St. Augustine Church began construction
in 1839, where fourteen Free People of
Color placed the church’s capstone. The
church was dedicated in 1841.
A few months before the October
9, 1841 dedication of Saint Augustine
Church, the Free People of Color began
to purchase pews for their families. Upon
hearing of this, white people in the area
started their campaign to buy pews, thus
the “War of the Pews” began. The white
and Free People of Color each purchased
the center pews. In an unprecedented
political and religious move, the Free
People of Color members bought all the
side aisle pews. They then gave those
pews to the slaves as their exclusive place
of worship. This mix of pews resulted
in the most integrated congregation in
the country. It is the oldest church in the
United States that has had a continuous
mixed congregation of Free People of
Color, slaves and whites throughout its
entire history; many ethnicities found
spiritual comfort at Saint Augustine
Church. White children and black and
every shade in between knelt side by side.
Black and whites sang side by side in the
choir of Saint Augustine as early as the
1860s, and knelt together at the altar rail
for communion.
On Saturday, October 30, 2004,
in the midst of a Gospel Extravaganza
unfolding in the St. Augustine parking lot,
Archbishop Alfred Schulte, standing near
the church garden area and accompanied
by a large crowd from around the city and
parts of the nation, blessed and dedicated
“The Tomb of the Unknown Slave”, a
shrine consisting of outsize marine chains
welded together with shackles and iron
balls to form a huge, fallen cross. The
grim, rusting monument standing outside
the church honors those countless slaves
who perished uncounted and unnamed.
As the bronze plaque affixed to the wall
behind the shrine explains, the monument
was primarily inspired by the number
of unmarked graves that have been
unearthed in the city over the years, but
is also dedicated to all of those who died
ignominious fates during the American
slave trade. The plaque even points out
that it is likely that there are such graves
even in the earth beneath it since much
of the parish was created by slave labor.

ST. AUGUSTINE CHURCH
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
PROJECT
COSTS
The following is a summary of a proposed restoration program based upon
the findings of a Facilities Condition Assessment conducted by AECOM Inc.
The results have been modified somewhat to simplify the presentation and to
reflect what are, in effect, changing conditions.
PHASE I
Church and Rectory Restoration
$2,500,000
• Replace/restore roof (slate and shingles) $540,000
• New HVAC system 315,000
• Restore/new electrical system 170,000
• Restore choir loft 50,000
• Restore church steeple 110,000
• New fire alarm and sprinkler system 105,000
• Restore interior/exterior masonry, plaster and painting 265,000
• New public restrooms, lighting and paving 535,000
• Contingency and program management 410,000
TOTAL $2,500,000

PHASE II
School Restoration
$2,505,000
• Replace/restore roof (asphalt shingles) $210,000
• Restore interior, floors, stairs and decking 565,000
• New HVAC and fire alarms 320,000
• Restore/replace electrical system 290,000
• Restore interior/exterior masonry, plaster and painting 230,000
• Repair plumbing 400,000
• New commercial kitchen 80,000
• Contingency and program management 410,000
TOTAL $2,505,000
PHASE II
ALTERNATIVE
School Restoration Alternative
As an alternative to restoring the school, its demolition and replacement
with a new parish hall is being evaluated. The potential cost is estimated
to be between $1.1 to $1.4 million.

ST. AUGUSTINE CHURCH
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
SPONSORSHIP
PLEDGE FORM
St. Augustine Catholic Church is publicly launching the Restoration Campaign
to rebuild and restore this beautiful historic church built in 1841 by Free People of
Color. We would like to offer you the opportunity to be a sponsor of this joyous and
significant campaign.
St. Augustine Church in Tremé is a historic treasure, a religious haven, a
testament to the love of God and community, and a monument to the history and
culture of New Orleans; the African American culture of the United States, and the
African American and Creole culture of Tremé.
St. Augustine Church was built in 1841, making it 177 years old this year. The
structure is so compromised that it leaves her vulnerable to storms, decay, and other
conditions that may result in the closing of her doors forever and is in dire need of
major renovations.
PLEDGED LEVEL OF SPONSORSHIP (Choose One):
❑ Alleluia Sponsor ($20,000)
❑ Saint Sponsor ($15,000)
❑ Mission Sponsor ($10,000)
❑ Faith Sponsor ($5,000)
StAugRestoration@gmail.com
Phase I focuses on the restoration of the Church and rectory at a
cost of $2.5 million dollars. (See Project Cost Breakdown Fact Sheet.)
We believe that losing Saint Augustine Church would prove more damaging
that just losing a historic or sacred place. It would be losing a testament to unity,
love, inclusion and brotherhood.
An inscription in French above the altar translates “If you know the gift of God”
❑ Blessing Sponsor ($1,000)
❑ Glory Sponsor ($500)
❑ Prayer Sponsor ($250)
Continued on back

ALLELUIA Sponsor $20,000 Plaque on Church Wall of Saints of St. Aug
Restoration. Full page Ad in Dedication Program. Listing in all promotional materials,
banners, programs, social media, etc. 8 tickets to Saints for St. Aug Party, and Closing
Night Dance.
SAINT Sponsor $15,000 Plaque on Church Wall of Saints of St. Aug
Restoration. Full Page Ad in Dedication Program. Listing in all promotional materials,
banners, programs, social media, etc. 6 tickets to Saints for St. Aug Party, and Closing
Night Dance.
MISSION Sponsor $10,000 Plaque on Church Wall of Saints of St. Aug
Restoration. Full Page Ad in Dedication Program. Listing in all promotional materials,
banners, programs, social media, etc. 4 tickets to Saints for St. Aug Party, and Closing
Night Dance.
FAITH Sponsor $5,000 ½ Page Ad in Dedication Program. Listing in all
promotional materials, banners, programs, social media, etc. 2 tickets to Saints for
St. Aug Party, and Closing Night Dance.
BLESSING Sponsor $1,000 ¼ Page Ad in Dedication Program. Listing in
programs, banners, social media, selected promotional materials. 2 tickets to Saint for
St. Aug Party, and Closing Night Dance.
GLORY Sponsor $500 4 Line listing in Dedication Program. Listing in
programs, posters at events and Gratitude Banner. 2 Tickets to Saint for St. Aug Party,
and Closing Night Dance.
PRAYER Sponsor $250 2 Line listing in Dedication Program. Listing in
selected posters and programs and Gratitude Banner. 2 Tickets to Saint for St. Aug
Party, and Closing Night Dance.
Make Checks Payable to: Saint Augustine Restoration Campaign
Your sponsorship is tax deductible; you will receive an acknowledgement receipt.
Or go online to: www.StAugChurch.org/Restoration/Donate
God Bless you for your sponsorship.
You will save an Eternal Church and touch the lives of a community.
Name:
Address:
Email (required):
Phone:
Message for Ad (if applicable):
Or send artwork & any questions to:
StAugRestoration@gmail.com

Parishioners
of Note
Henriette Delille
is Venerable,
and awaiting
Sainthood and
could be the first
African American
Saint (Among 4
Venerable).
Homer Plessy,
of Supreme
Court case Plessy
v Fergusson
Mardi Gras
Indian and
“Chief of Chiefs”
Allison “Tootie
Montana”
Sidney
Bechet
one of the first
important
soloists in
jazz, beating
trumpeter
Louis
Armstrong to
the recording studio by months
Danny
Barker
American
jazz musician,
vocalist,
and author
Please follow us on
Facebook @staugchurch

All contributions are welcome,
just as all people have been and will continue to
be welcomed at Saint Augustine Catholic Church.
To donate, please visit gogetfunding.com/restorestaug/
Saint Augustine Church
1210 Governor Nicholls St. • New Orleans, LA 70116
(504) 525-5934
Please follow us on Facebook @staugchurch