History of the Archdiocesan Archives

A ramble through the precious sacramental registers of the St. Louis Cathedral is like a reunion of New Orleans families and a front-row seat to Louisiana’s past. These old registers contain familiar names of affluent leaders from the French- and  Spanish-colonial days —French noblemen, Spanish officials, Counts and Marquises, Barons and Baronesses, Spanish Grandee, Chevaliers and military officers—as brides, grooms, witnesses, and godparents.
          After the Good Friday fire on March 21, 1788 destroyed the Church of St. Louis and numerous irreplaceable sacramental records, Auxiliary Bishop Cirilo of Barcelona ordered that all records must be kept in a safe place. At the time, the Louisiana colony was under Spanish rule, and it was ministered to by the Diocese of Havana in Cuba. Cirilo's order created the Cathedral Archives in the sacristy of the St. Louis Cathedral, which later became the Archdiocesan Archives.

 Today, the archives are kept in a secure vault by a team of archivists, who are dedicated to preserving the history of New Orleans and its surrounding area.