Institute Catholique facts for kids
The Institute Catholique, also known as L'Institut Catholique des orphelins indigents (which means "Catholic Institute for Poor Orphans") and the Couvent School, was a very important school. It was started in New Orleans in 1840. This school mainly helped children of free people of color who were not orphans. Their families paid a small fee for them to attend. The school was founded with money from a generous woman named Marie Couvent.
Contents
History of the Institute Catholique
Early Years and Founding Challenges
The school got its money from a special fund set up by Marie Couvent. She was an African-born widow of Bernard Couvent, a very successful free man of color in New Orleans. Not everyone in New Orleans liked the idea of educating African-Americans. Because of this, the plan to use Marie Couvent's money for the school was challenged in court.
Marie Couvent passed away in 1837. The first person in charge of her will did not strongly support the school. So, a group of ten smart Afro-Creole leaders in New Orleans formed "The Catholic Institute for the Instruction of Indigent Orphans." This group went to court and successfully won control of Marie Couvent's money. The courts finally decided in their favor in 1846.
Opening and Early Operation
The state of Louisiana officially allowed the Institute Catholique to be a school in 1847. The school opened its doors in 1848. At first, it rented buildings in the Faubourg Marigny neighborhood. This was while a permanent building was being built on the land Marie Couvent had given. Félicie Coulon Cailloux, whose husband André Cailloux later became a hero in the American Civil War, was the first principal.
By 1850, New Orleans had about 150,000 people. Around 15,000 were free people of color, and 15,000 were enslaved. Society had three main groups: white people at the top, free people of color in the middle, and enslaved people at the bottom. Free people of color could own property and businesses. However, they could not vote or send their children to public schools. This made many Afro-Creole leaders, who had studied in France, very unhappy.
Growth and Leadership
The permanent building for the Institute Catholique was finished in 1852. Armand Lanusse, an Afro-Creole poet, became the headmaster that same year. He was one of the ten original board members who helped start the school. Lanusse led the school until he passed away in 1867.
André Cailloux and his wife, Félicie Coulon Cailloux, strongly supported the school. They sent all three of their children there. Félicie continued to work at the Institute for several years. She was in charge of the well-being of 75 young orphan girls who attended.
Even though Marie Couvent's will provided the school's property, the money from her estate was not enough to cover daily costs. Other Afro-Creole groups in New Orleans helped by giving money. For example, a group called "The Friends of Order" collected money every year. Other groups held charity balls. Sometimes, the city of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana also gave small amounts of money. About 300 students attended the school each year during the 1850s.
After the Civil War
The school kept running after the American Civil War. In 1866, Harper's New Monthly Magazine wrote a positive story about the school. During this time, the Institute remained a very important place for learning and ideas for the Afro-Creole community in New Orleans.
All the teachers were Afro-Creoles. Many of them had studied in France. Paul Trévigne, who edited L'Union, an Afro-Creole newspaper, taught there for 40 years. L'Union was the first African-American newspaper in the Southern United States. It supported ending slavery and full equality for African-Americans.
In 1893, Thomy Lafon, a kind Afro-Creole who helped pay for the famous Plessy v. Ferguson lawsuit, left money to the school in his will. This money was for a new building. Arthur Esteves, the President of the Institute Catholique's board, was one of the people involved in the Plessy lawsuit.
20th Century Changes
Holy Redeemer Era
In 1915, a hurricane destroyed the school building. The Institute Catholique did not have enough money to rebuild. So, the school's board agreed to a plan from Sister Katharine Drexel. She was the founder of Xavier University of Louisiana. Sister Drexel offered to build and run a new school on the same spot. It would be called St. Louis School of Holy Redeemer parish. The new school would be run by the Sisters of the Holy Ghost. A church, Holy Redeemer Church, was also built nearby. The school, often called Holy Redeemer, became an elementary school for the local area.
During this time, the teachers were no longer the main intellectual leaders of the Afro-Creole community. Even though a school was still there, the original Institute Catholique, run by African-Americans, stopped existing. Ernest Nathan Morial, who became the first African-American Mayor of New Orleans, went to Holy Redeemer Elementary School during this period.
In 1965, Hurricane Betsy destroyed the Holy Redeemer Church. However, the Holy Redeemer Elementary School kept operating. Keith Weldon Medley, an author whose book about the Plessy v. Ferguson lawsuit was published in 2003, was a graduate of this elementary school. The school continued until 1993, when it closed because it ran out of money.
Successor Schools
Bishop Perry Middle School
In the same year the Holy Redeemer school closed, the Bishop Perry Middle School for Boys opened on the site. This was a free school run by the Society of Saint Edmund. It served boys in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades, mostly African-American students. Between 60 and 200 students attended each year.
Bishop Perry Middle School had to close in August 2006. This was due to money problems caused by Hurricane Katrina. Also, some student families did not return to New Orleans after the hurricane. The school building itself was not badly damaged by the storm.
From its start in 1846 until today, the school and its later versions have been at 1941 Dauphine Street in New Orleans. Four different buildings have stood on that land. The last one was built in 1956. The building is owned by the Diocese of New Orleans. The Society of St. Edmund rented it for the 12 years they ran Bishop Perry Middle School.
St Gerard Majella Alternative School
In October 2006, the building became home to the St. Gerard Majella Alternative School. This school was run by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. It was designed to help pregnant high school-aged young women continue their education. That school closed in 2012.
As of 2019, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans was looking to buy the property.
Notable alumni
Books
- Bell, Carolyn Cossé. Revolution, Romanticism, and the Afro-Creole Protest Tradition in Louisiana, 1718-1868. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2003.
- Desdunes, Rodolphe Lucien. Our People and Our History: Fifty Creole Portraits. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1973, Translated from the 1911 French original by Sister Dorothy Olga McCants.
- Medley, Keith W. We As Free Men: Plessy v. Ferguson. Gretna, LA: Pelican Publishing, 2003.
- Medley, Keith W. The Will of the Widow Couvent, Preservation in Print, 1999.
- Ochs, Stephen. A Black Patriot and a White Priest. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2001.
