The Cloister Garden

Go through the door to the left of the altar in the chapel. Turn left and walk down the steps. Looking left, you can see the cloister garden.

In the 1950’s, a new two-story building facing Saint Charles Avenue was added to the property. An arcade connected the chapel porch to the front of the new building. This formed the cloister garden you see here. Cloisters are typically found in monasteries. They comprise a quadrangle surrounded by covered passages. Cloisters are usually located on the south side of a church. This one is on the so-called “north” side; remember that we ignore the compass directions and assume the altar faces east.

A fountain in the cloister garden depicts St Fiacre, patron saint of gardeners. It was sculpted by New Orleans artist Angela Gregory. She was considered unusual because women sculptors were virtually unheard of in her day.