The Founding of FOSA

The Friends of St. Alphonsus, Inc., is a grass-roots organization dedicated to the preservation and restoration of St. Alphonsus Catholic Church. Our mission is to develop multiple venues of adaptive reuse for this endangered and irreplaceable, historical architectural asset, thereby insuring its preservation and producing a resource for the community.

St. Alphonsus Church is located at 2025 Constance Street and was originally built in 1855 by the Redemptorist Fathers to serve the religious and social needs of the Irish Catholic immigrants who began settling in an area upriver from the French Quarter known as Lafayette City in the 1840s. It was one of a number of buildings forming a religious complex that once occupied five adjacent city blocks.  Often referred to as "Ecclesiastical Square," the complex included an orphanage, nine school buildings, a gymnasium, three churches, the priests' residence and gardens, two convents, stables, a laundry and other supporting buildings.

   The post-World War II migration to the suburbs, in addition to the development of low-income housing within the neighborhood, diminished the church's congregation. Steadily rising operating and maintenance costs led the Redemptorists to close St. Alphonsus in the early 1980s.

   The Friends of St. Alphonsus (FOSA) was formed in 1990 after a small group of concerned citizens entered the abandoned church to view the splendid F. X. Zettler stained glass windows (c. 1870).  Noting the serious deterioration and benign neglect of this magnificent and beautiful  historic structure, Blanche Comiskey and Susan Levy successfully petitioned the Archdiocese of New Orleans to lease the building to the newly formed FOSA.  Since that time, FOSA has held a number of successful fund raisers that have included concerts, auctions, and tours of the building. 
In 1996, through these efforts, the building was declared a National Historic Landmark helping to insure its survival.

​   The building is available to the community once again, albeit on a limited basis.  Collaboration of these dedicated volunteers with other civic and private organizations has yielded a number of activities that have benefited the community.

Images of St. Alphonsus Church

St. Alphonsus Art and Cultural Center / St. Alphonsus Church is located at 2025 Constance Street in New Orleans, Louisiana.  

Due to COVID restrictions, the church is currently open to the public every Saturday from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm.  Social distancing and face masks are required.

Once all COVID restrictions are lifted, the church will be open three days a week.