St. Joseph's Day in a Reopening French Quarter
The altar at Irene's restaurant on Bienville Street
For one of our last stories before the COVID shutdown last March, "Famine to Feast," we visited three neighborhood St. Joseph's altars. This year, only the Beauregard-Keyes House and Irene's restaurant participated in the celebration. But while New Orleans isn't feasting yet, the many open doors around the Quarter seem to signal the end of a dark and anxious year.
- photos by Ellis Anderson
Beauregard-Keyes House
1113 Chartres Street
Part of the altar's space this year is shared with an elaborate Mardi Gras Indian suit. From the Beauregard-Keyes flyer:
St. Joseph’s Day means many things for the people of New Orleans. Apart from the Catholic rituals such as altars and feasts, this day is also an important event for those who participate in the Mardi Gras Black Masking tradition.
The Sunday after St. Joseph’s is called “Super Sunday,” and it is one of the only times of the year that these hand-sewn suits are worn outside of Mardi Gras day. These suits, which take an entire year to make, and the traditions surrounding them are a celebration of resilience in the face of adversity.
The costume was by Queen Angel of the 8th Ward Black Seminoles.
The Marino Residence
While the 2020 and the 2021 Bourbon Street St. Joseph's celebrations were both cancelled, the Marino residence was decked out, and St. Joseph presides on the balcony.
A painting of St. Joseph in the Marino doorway signals that the decades old celebration has just temporarily taken a quieter approach.
Irene's
529 Bienville Street
One of FQJ's first stories of 2020 – "Recreating an Icon: Irene's" - took a tour of Irene's new digs on Bienville Street
When we photographed for that story, owner Irene DiPietro gave us a tour of the patio, which she and her son, chef Nicholas Scalo, were planning to open for dining. DiPietro also gave us a preview of a special room in the building that she'd designed especially with St. Joseph's Day in mind. She had to wait another year to build that altar and open it to the public, but it was clear she'd been planning it over those many months.
Chef Scalo said his mother brought this light back from Jerusalem.
Figures of the twelve apostles ring the ornate lamp.
Special thanks to Harriet Swift for sponsoring this column.
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