YOUNG AT ART – an annual summer art program offered to school-age children (day campers and inner city children) to promote an appreciation of the beauty and historic significance of New Orleans ecclesiastical architecture through the example of St. Alphonsus. The speakers also provide information on the cultural heritage of the surrounding community.
ROOTS – an annual genealogical and historical program that focuses on the migration of the Irish and German immigrants to the “Irish Channel” and Lower Garden District where their subsequent contributions helped form the tapestry that is New Orleans.
ART TOURS – tours of the building are regularly arranged for local, national, and international individuals or groups by our trained volunteer guides.
CONCERTS – musical programs, such as those featuring Irish folk music, the Delgado Community College Choral recital, the St. Alphonsus Elementary School Choir, the New Leviathan Oriental Foxtrot Orchestra, holiday hand bell concert, and the Gulf Coast Chorale.
SAINT JOSEPH’S ALTAR – an annual spectacular display of foods and breads arranged on the St. Joseph’s altar, following the old New Orleans/Sicilian tradition. Foods are displayed to the public for three days and then distributed to the poor.
SAINT PATRICK’S DAY CELEBRATION – gathering site of the Irish Channel Marching Club’s members, queen, maids, and guests, prior to the special Mass at St. Mary’s and their St. Patrick’s Day Parade through the Irish Channel.
SPECIAL EVENTS (partial list):
Guest speakers have included an international, educational symposia on the care, preservation and adaptive reuse of sacred places (“SAVING GRACE: A Symposium of Saving Sacred Sites”);
A series of lectures presented in cooperation with the New Orleans Museum of Art and the New Orleans Arts Council for the exhibition “Passionate Visions of the American South,” as a neighborhood cultural connection; an Anne Rice book-signing for “Servant of the Bones”,
Hosted an annual meeting of the Preservation Resources Center (PRC), and a Community Lead Awareness Program by the N.O. Health Department and Tulane and Xavier Universities.
“Art in April” art showing and auction to raise funds for the restoration of St. Alphonsus.
MUSEUM – an on-site collection of historic artifacts and memorabilia of Irish and Catholic heritage in the Irish Channel and New Orleans is located in the former sacristy and open to the public.
GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH – on-going classes in Irish and German genealogy; genealogical resource materials and books available.
GIFT SHOP – wide array of books and souvenir items are available in the vestibule.