St. Louis Cathedral anchors Jackson Square with its three steeples, the oldest continuously active cathedral in the United States and the spiritual heart of the city that built it. A church has stood on this spot since 1718, the year New Orleans was founded; the current building is the third on the site, constructed in 1794 after fire destroyed the second. The Spanish colonial government funded the rebuilding, and the church was rededicated to Saint Louis, the French king who led two Crusades and died of plague in 1270.
Pope Pius VII elevated it to cathedral status in 1793, making it one of the oldest cathedral sees in the country. The three steeples rise dramatically above the square, the central spire topped with a weather vane shaped like a rooster. Inside, the vaulted ceiling murals depict scenes from the life of Saint Louis, and the altar glitters with gold leaf.
The cathedral is inextricably linked to the creolized Catholic tradition of New Orleans — a faith that absorbed African spiritual practices, blended with Spanish and French piety, and produced something distinctly its own. Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen, is said to have worshipped here regularly, weaving together Catholic saints and African orishas in a practice that defined New Orleans spirituality.