Ursuline Convent

Built in 1752, the Ursuline Convent is the oldest building in the Mississippi River Valley. When the Americans fought the British at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815, the Mother Superior at the Ursuline Convent vowed that if General Andrew Jackson’s army was victorious, there would be a Mass of thanksgiving sung every year to commemorate the occasion. True to her word, every year on January 8, a Mass of thanksgiving has been offered in the National Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor.