On August 7, 1727, a small group of Ursuline nuns stepped from the French sailing ship "The Gironde" on to New Orleans soil. They quickly established a convent, a hospital and a school.
Some 280 years later they are still well established in New Orleans in their convent and school on State Street in Uptown New Orleans.
In this photo an elderly nun prays in a chair on the altar. The gold statue was brought to New Orleans from France. On special occasions crowns made of jewels donated by the people of New Orleans adorn the heads of Mary and Child.