Center of Jesus the Lord (New Orleans, Louisiana)

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On November 21, 1877, four Sisters from the Carmelite convent in St Louis arrived in New Orleans to found the Monastery of St. Joseph and St. Teresa of the Discalced Carmelites of New Orleans. Among the four were two Creole daughters of Louisiana, Louise J. Roman, professed as Mother Teresa of Jesus, and Marie Eliza Tremoulet, professed as Sister Marguerite. In 1878 the four nuns moved into a pre-Civil War cottage at 134 Barracks. The 22-foot walls surrounding the monastery now enclose this original building. The sisters spread their rambling convent through the square adding buildings, courtyards, (there are 14 courtyards), a fruit orchard, terraced rooftop recreation patios, a multilevel collage of cells, (the nuns’ tiny sparsely furnished bedrooms), refectory, oratory, infirmary, chapels and corridors all linked to one another. The permanent monastery was completed in 1895. On November 12 of 1895 the Archbishop of New Orleans consecrated the chapel, dedicated to the Transfiguration of Our Lord.