St. Louis Cemetery No. 3

3421 Esplanade Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70119
Office open M - Th  - 8:00 am to 4:15 pm
Friday - 8:00 to 4:00 
 

504-482-5065
504-304-0576 (alt)
504-313-1127 (fax)



Gates: Monday – Saturday 8 am to 4:30 pm
Sunday & Holidays 8 am to 4 pm

No tours/tourists are permitted on All Saints Day or All Souls Day in St. Louis Cemetery #3

Keep in mind:

• Bike tours and other motorized bike/vehicle tours are prohibited in our Catholic Cemeteries
• All of our Catholic Cemeteries are closed on Mardi Gras Day.  Gates close early on the Saturday before Mardi Gras due to the Endymion parade.
• No alcohol or food permitted
• Only certified Service animals are permitted in the cemetery

St. Louis Cemetery No. 3 established in 1854.
St. Louis Cemetery No. 3 runs parallel to Bayou St. John and covers the width of property included within the 1708 French land concessions, the earliest European land grants in what would later become the city of New Orleans.

The history of the establishment of St. Louis Cemetery No. 3 spanned an eight-year period in the mid-19^th century. The New Orleans City Council passed an act in March of 1848 allowing the wardens of St. Louis Cathedral to establish a new cemetery further from the highly populated areas of the city. On June 8, 1849, the wardens purchased a track of land for that purpose from local businessman and politician Felix Labatut for $15,000 using funds that they had obtained when the city reacquired the fourth square of St. Louis Cemetery No. 2, closest to Canal Street, in 1846. In December of 1850, the Church gained authorization from the city to construct their new cemetery on the Labatut land but the authorization was repealed in 1854. Burials began in 1855 but construction did not occur until 1856 after authorization was reinstated by the Supreme Court.

In April of 1864, the land parcel of the cemetery was expanded from two squares to three, and resurveyed by Claude Jules Allou d’Hémécourt, leading to the initial aisles and allés being replaced to allow for more space for tombs and a better overall aesthetic, divided by three main aisles. At the time of the survey, it was estimated that there were 2,580 building sites for tombs and room for over 5,000 wall vaults.
           
In 1909, further avenues and allés were laid out, replacing earlier divisions in the second part of the cemetery Rapid growth continued throughout the first half of the 20^th century, with many grand society, fraternal, and family tombs being constructed within the cemetery by the leading monument builders of the city. It is also during this period that the current footprint of the cemetery was established with a total of six squares.

In 1966, the first modern mausoleum, St. Mark Memorial, was constructed by the Acme Marble & Granite Co. Inc. under the direction of Most Reverend Philip M. Hannan, Archbishop of New Orleans and Rev. Msg. Raymond A. Wegmann, Director of New Orleans Archdiocesan Cemeteries. The St. Louis Mausoleum and the Resurrection Mausoleum followed under the same direction in 1971 and 1975 respectively.

Under the direction of Most Reverend Francis B. Schulte, Archbishop of New Orleans
and Michael D. Boudreaux, Archdiocesan Director of Cemeteries, three additional mausoleums were constructed by Architectural Concrete Products, Inc.: Our Lady of the Rosary Mausoleum in 1997, St. Dominic Mausoleum in 2000, and St. Raphael Mausoleum in 2002. The St. Leo the Great Mausoleum was added in 2007 by the same contractor under the direction of Most Reverend Alfred C. Hughes S.T.D., Archbishop of New Orleans and Michael D. Boudreaux, as was the St. Francis Garden Mausoleum in 2009 under the direction of Most Reverend Gregory M. Aymond, Archbishop of New Orleans and Jody C. Rome, Archdiocesan Director of Cemeteries.
 
The newest additions to the cemetery include the St. Teresa Garden Mausoleum and the Serenity Garden Columbarium, both of which were constructed in 2015 under the direction of Most Reverend Gregory M. Aymond, Archbishop of New Orleans and Sherri Sison Peppo, Executive Director of New Orleans Catholic Cemeteries. The Serenity Garden Columbarium provides sacred space for cremated remains in the front garden area of the cemetery and is enhanced with an adjoining fountain and bench. The newest addition to the cemetery, the St. Michael the Archangel Mausoleum and Cremation Garden, were completed in May of 2020.

For the last few years, St. Louis Cemetery No. 3 and St. Roch Cemetery No. 1 have been the site of All Saints’ Day Mass, which precedes the annual blessing of the graves ceremony that is carried out in all of New Orleans Catholic Cemeteries.