411 North Rampart

Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel was built in 1826 and served the city as a mortuary chapel for yellow fever. Our Lady of Guadalupe is the oldest surviving church building in New Orleans. The original name was Chapel of St. Anthony of Padua. Located at 411 North Rampart at Conti, the chapel was conveniently located near St. Louis No. 1 Cemetery, to help prevent the spread of yellow fever. Inside the Church to the left of the altar is a shrine to St. Jude, the patron for difficult and impossible cases. Just inside the door to the right is the statue of Saint Expedite, who is the patron Saint for everyone who needs a quick solution. With very little documented past...but some interesting stories...the Saint has many followers. Some say the crate that delivered the statue was stamped "EXPEDITE".....shipment, which was mistaken as the actual name! So a story and a life begins. Any way you want to take it, this statue of a Roman Centurion, is the patron Saint for quick help, urgent need, and to end procrastination....who doesn't need some quick relief at times!!

"How soon 'not now' becomes never." Martin Luther...1483-1546...German Priest and scholar whose questioning of certain church practices led to the Protestant Reformation....