Les Vieux Temps
As one drives around Acadiana, a common sight in people’s yards is a statue of the Virgin Mary. While visiting the Vatican Mosaic Exhibition at the Ursuline Convent in New Orleans, I was reminded of miracles of Mary.
On the grounds of the convent is the oldest building of record in the entire Mississippi Valley, an edifice constructed in 1745 at the command of King Louis XV of France. Historical events at the convent have been associated with the Virgin Mary. During a fire in New Orleans, the convent was facing destruction as the winds blew the fire toward Jackson Square. An order was given to evacuate but a nun named Sister Anthony placed a small statue of Our Lady of Prompt Succor on a window seat and Mother St. Michel began to pray, “Our Lady of Prompt Succor, we are lost unless you hasten to our aid!” Immediately the wind shifted direction, blowing the flames away from the convent allowing for the fire to be extinguished. The Ursuline convent was one of the few buildings spared.
Another miracle occurred in 1815, three years after the disastrous fire. Gen. Andrew Jackson faced the British army in the Battle of New Orleans with only 6,000 troops against 15,000 British. The city of New Orleans surely was going to be destroyed. Knowing the fate the city faced, the nuns and other faithful gathered in the Ursuline chapel to pray before the statue of St. Mary. They spent the night before the battle praying before the holy statue, begging for the Virgin’s help. On the morning of Jan. 8, 1815, the Rev. William Dubourg offered Mass at the altar on which the statue of Our Lady of Prompt Succor had been placed. Mother Ste. Marie Olivier de Vezin made a vow to have a Mass annually should the American forces win. At the very moment of Communion, a courier ran into the chapel to inform them that the British had been defeated. Gen. Jackson went to the convent to thank the nuns for their prayers:
“By the blessing of heaven, directing the valor of the troops under my command, one of the most brilliant victories in the annals of war was obtained.”
The vow made by Mother Ste. Marie has been faithfully kept throughout the years.
As soldiers from Acadiana who participated in the battle returned home, they were so anxious to remember the miracle that many of them placed holy statues in their homes and yards. That is the reason you see so many of the outdoor statues of the Virgin Mary in Acadiana, a custom started almost 200 years ago by brave Cajun soldiers.
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