Mormon to Medium

Ep. 86 - From Pirates to Priests: Famous Ghosts of NOLA

Nannette Wride / Brad Zeeman Season 2 Episode 86

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Join us on the 'Mormon to Medium' podcast as we delve into the rich history and paranormal mysteries of the St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans' French Quarter. In this episode, we explore tales of the ghostly hymns of ethereal friars, drunken pirates who still roam the streets, and historical figures like Marie Laveau.  Discover the cathedral's dramatic past, from fires to hurricanes, and its evolution into a basilica. Get ready for intriguing insights and good humor in this captivating episode.

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Nannette:

Welcome to the Mormon to medium podcast, where we'll talk about spirituality, the paranormal religion, and my journey going from Mormon to medium. I'm Nanette Wride. Thanks for listening. Now let's go have some fun.

Brad:

This is the Mormon to medium podcast I'm Brad and I'm here with Nanette

Nannette:

Hi guys.

Brad:

Hello

Nannette:

Welcome.

Brad:

We are going to be talking about another haunted location in New Orleans. Last week, if you joined us, you'll know, we got to talk about the famous and very macabre Lalarie mansion and the horrific events that happened there. This week, Nan has got

Nannette:

information

Brad:

on another very haunted location in New Orleans, downtown French quarter.

Nannette:

And in the last episode, we also mentioned, that LaLaurie got married in the St. Louis Cathedral. And I, I was like, had things, my light bulbs go off, you know, cause I was like, Oh, okay. Because that's supposed to be another place that's haunted. And so that's, we're going to talk about is the St. Louis Cathedral.

Brad:

sweet!.

Nannette:

Yeah.

Brad:

That cathedral is probably one of the more prominent places within downtown New Orleans because that's like the gathering place. Everyone gathers there in, Jackson Square,

Nannette:

right? Well, it's in the French Quarter and, um, it's in Jackson Square, but it's also hundreds of years old. So it's been there and it's been rebuilt three different times. So this is a place where, you know, Catholics would go to worship. They'd go to get baptized, married, you know, all the things. And um, so it was a big deal and it has always been a big deal, but it's gone through its phases and, um, it's got a history.

Brad:

Yeah, I can imagine. Well, and Catholicism has just as big a role in early New Orleans as voodoo, right?

Nannette:

It's true. It's true. So I didn't realize this, but Jackson's score is actually named after Andrew

Brad:

Yes it is, because he actually was the general in the War of 1812, who helped defeat the British, with the help of who? Do you remember? No. The pirates.

Nannette:

That is true. Yeah. He gathered the pirates and that was one of, um, yeah. That was one of LeLari's husband's friends, Lafitte, Jean Lafitte. And

Brad:

and it said that Lafitte's husband at the time, John Blanc was friends with the pirates because he was a privateer, right? And he was friends with the pirates and actually helped convince them that it was in their best interest to help fight for the Americas at the time, which a lot of their victory is actually attributed to the Lafitte's.

Nannette:

Right, right. It's interesting to me how New Orleans is not a big town. It's a small town. Everything kind of intermingles together. It kind of weaves together. And as I've looked into this on several different sites and stuff, It's, it's just really, really cool. So, um, and you just touched on voodoo a little bit. So just to put this out there, um, Marie Laveau, you mentioned her in the last one too, she's the voodoo priestess queen of new Orleans, right? She's also the reason why we named our dog voodoo, but she also was baptized and married in the St. Louis cathedral.

Brad:

Oh, that's awesome. I did not know

Nannette:

she was.

Brad:

I would think that she would have her own little voodoo ceremony.

Nannette:

No, she was not always a voodoo queen. Um, she actually got married there. And then at five years after being married, um, her husband supposedly went back to Haiti, but there's been rumors that she may have ended his existence. Um,

Brad:

she unalived him? Unalived him. Ha ha

Nannette:

but. Supposedly he went back to Haiti because the fighting in Haiti had ended and he was from Haiti. So, then is when she really got into the voodoo stuff. And a lot of people think that voodoo is really, really dark magic and all about death. But what it really was, Um, was to help bless people and bring goodness into people's lives. And so it was all about teaching the people about intention and the power of, you know, magic and bringing that into your life. So I thought that was really cool because that's what she's known for. So she's not known as being evil at

Brad:

not known as Marie Laveau, the Catholic.

Nannette:

definitely not. And when she was married and baptized, she went by just Marie. It wasn't her whole name. So, yeah, so if you look on records and stuff, she's known as just Marie,

Brad:

So what you're saying is if she had a podcast, it would be to medium.

Nannette:

so New Orleans was founded in 1718. And the Catholic cathedral, it wasn't a cathedral at the time, but it was being built in 1724. But it was raised in 1793 to the status of a cathedral. And what that means is that it has a Bishop that's over it. Um, and it was raised by the diocese of New Orleans. The cool thing too, is it's got two historic buildings on each side to, um, a Presbyterian building and one that they call the Cabildo. Um, but it, it is also the home. Of two of the most respected figures in New Orleans

Brad:

Okay, who

Nannette:

during the 18th and 19th centuries. Um, they call them Pierre Antoine and Dagobert. So Dagobert.

Brad:

Dagobert.

Nannette:

Yeah,

Brad:

That sounds like something you would hear on like the Star Wars series,

Nannette:

All right.

Brad:

I went to Dagobah, but then I went to Dagobert, and it's a much nicer society. They've cleaned up the jungles, there's no snakes, it's a great area. Yeah. So these writers

Nannette:

So, so these, these friars were very, very different. their personalities were really different. So Antone or Antoine, if you want to say it right, um, he was dedicated to helping the enslaved and the prisoners, um, and he's the one that baptized Marie Laveau. So,

Brad:

Got it. So, um, And that was in the early 1800s for him? Yes. So, in the early 1800s, they figure that New Orleans had a population, uh, less than 10, 000. So, and it grew to over 150, 000 by 1860. So, they had a little bit of a population explosion. but initially, about 60 percent of the population were enslaved peoples.

Nannette:

Right, right. Well, and, um, Antoine, he, he arrived in 1774. So shortly after the church was built or the cathedral was built and his death was in 1829, but he was super well known for, um, for going and intermingling with the city's underclasses. And he worked tirelessly to help the poor. And like I said, the prisoners and slaves I've got so much information on him, it's crazy. Because they have, they have like an alley on the side of the church called the Antoine alley.

Brad:

And

Nannette:

And his spirit has been seen to walk down this alley. And he's singing church hymns in the early morning. He's been seen several

Brad:

Oh! Now wait a minute, is this just from people who are like, leaving Bourbon Street early in the morning? You would think! But

Nannette:

think, but you know, you've got Cafe du Monde that's near there. You've got Early morning, you're talking coffee and beignets is like, and a lot of people gather there. You've got tarot readers, you've got artists,

Brad:

musicians, like all

Nannette:

like all different kinds of

Brad:

Well, it's great because it's actually closed off to traffic, so people walk through there and it's, yeah, it's actually a beautiful area. So, yeah, I could see people ending up through that area early in the morning and it is adjacent to Bourbon Street as

Nannette:

Exactly. It is part of the French Quarter. Um, but he was so well loved in the community that both the garden behind the cathedral and the Northeast alley are named after him. So that's the alley I was talking about. So 1793, he was appointed the rector. I'm not really sure what that means. I think that he fixes things, he raises things, um, but he served as a rector of there until he died.

Brad:

So I think it's important to give a little bit of perspective on the history, and we should have done this on the last episode when we talked about the Lolares. But New Orleans was initially part of the Kingdom of France from 1718 till 1763. It belonged to France in 1763, Spain took it over until

Nannette:

1802,

Brad:

is when the French took it over and they only had it for a short period of time. So 1802 to 1803, which is when the United States purchased that as part of that Louisiana purchase. Exactly.

Nannette:

Exactly. And if you think about it, it's got all those ports all the way around there. And so it's really the hub of a lot of business.

Brad:

absolutely. And the Mississippi River comes right down there. So anything you ship can go right there, either in

Nannette:

States.

Brad:

very strategic port.

Nannette:

Yeah, it's a big deal, a really big deal. I'm very profitable, but I'm back to Antoine at the day that he died, the whole entire city shut down and, all the businesses they closed early that day to pay respects to his death. So like he was a big deal to the city. think it's interesting that he would be seen in the alley, not inside the church, but inside the alley.

Brad:

think that it would be, well, maybe they just don't report seeing him in the church because it's probably, you know, people who work in the church who might see him. So maybe they don't report that a lot. Maybe

Nannette:

and is the main figure is Pierre Dagobert that we talked about and he's originally from Quebec, but he moved to New Orleans, um, to become part of the Catholic Church and he became the priest of the St. Louis Cathedral in 1745. And as soon as he was appointed, He was praised for his kindness, his dedication to New Orleans. He was kind of a, you know, a big figure

Brad:

That's because he's Canadian. Everyone knows Canadians are polite and kind. Tons and Tons

Nannette:

tons and tons and tons of, you know, weddings and births and funerals and all the things. And he was also a foodie who hung out at the taverns and the bars. So he was kind of looked down

Brad:

Now, wait a minute. Was he a foodie or was he an alky?

Nannette:

Well, let me, let me continue because I think it's a little bit more, um, he was seen wearing non traditional Catholic clothing. So he wouldn't dress the part a lot. And

Brad:

wore the dresses still back then, I'm sure, right?

Nannette:

they also had like a three pointed hat. That they would wear back then. Um, and he, it's called a tricorn hat. And, um, they kind of, kind of looked down on the fact that he was more lax with things, but he also was seen, um, in with the pirates.

Brad:

was that hat like what you see George Washington wear all the time? That type of hat?

Nannette:

I'm not sure. Look up a tricorn hat,

Brad:

Yes it is. That is a George Washington hat. George

Nannette:

Washington. So he, he didn't want to wear it. So, but he, he would also,

Brad:

it's because that's what Jack Sparrow wore, and he didn't want to be associated with the pirate. Jack Sparrow I,

Nannette:

I find interesting, too, is in 1718, the church was dedicated to King Louis the Fourth of France, and that's how it came up with St. Louis, because it's, so St. Louis is really what it is, but he's the only French king to be made a saint.

Brad:

Oh.

Nannette:

So he, he's the only one and I think that that was really interesting. But the church stood for 70 years until a fire broke out in 1788 and tore through New Orleans. And then there was another fire that broke out in 1794. And you have to understand the houses are built really, really close together. And there's timbers, the timbers are made of cypress. So kind of like our big trees out there, um, that's what they used. And, um, the fire began at the home of an army treasurer, Don Vincent Jesus Nunez, Nunez, I guess is how you say that. I know. Anyway, he lived next door to the church. So the fire broke out at his house and it is, it is known to just have swept through not only the church, but New Orleans and it was on Good Friday. So on Good Friday. the priests had decided not to ring the bells as a warning to the people in New Orleans. And so they kept it quiet. And so the city burned. And so, that with the heavy winds made things burn really, really fast. And there was no warning to the people that this was happening.

Brad:

Wow.

Nannette:

So it led to even more damage.

Brad:

So

Nannette:

So, this was Antonio, he was the church priest and he got blamed for the destruction of the city by lots of the locals because he didn't, he didn't let people know with the bells in the church that there was danger.

Brad:

he didn't ring the bells and they're like, uh, dude, what's up? Wow.

Nannette:

So, so the second church was in 1794 and a year before that, being, being, being, being A year before that being rebuilt, it was raised to the status of a cathedral by the New Orleans diocese. Um, the central spire and the clock were put on in 1815 to commemorate the victory of the Battle of New Orleans. And then in 1850, the church got a facelift. Most of the Spanish architecture was demolished and then rebuilt. Um, the spire was made, And the whole church was made bigger because they had more parishioners. Um, interesting again, in 1909, it was bombed. They have never caught the culprits. It was bombed.

Brad:

That's crazy. You don't hear about that very

Nannette:

luckily no one was there and so no one was hurt, but they never did catch the culprits

Brad:

what year was that?

Nannette:

in 1909. And then a few years after that, A category three hurricane came through and wrecked the church again. And then in 2005, yeah, she's gone through a lot in 2005. You, you have hurricane Katrina that hit, but all that happened during that, um, was a hole in the roof. So she tore a hole in the roof this church has been, um, dedicated by a couple of popes. So it's interesting because to be a cathedral is one thing, but to be a basilica is something different.

Brad:

Well, yeah, I've, cause I've heard both of those names, but I have no idea what the differentiation

Nannette:

So a cathedral and the locals call this a cathedral, but the cathedral just means that it has a bishop that resides over it, presides over it. Um, but a basilica, um, Means it's blessed by the Pope and that it has extra, um, leeway to do more things because it has the power of the Pope

Brad:

it. Interesting. So, so, it's given the pope's blessing. He doesn't actually come and like,

Nannette:

Oh, he did. No, he did. So Pope John Paul, the fourth visited the cathedral in 1964 and declared it a minor Basilica.

Brad:

Oh. Well, I'll be damned.

Nannette:

Isn't that crazy? Very cool. But holy cow, that the thing has gone through so many things. I think it deserves to be a basilica, honestly. And then again, in 1987, um, Pope John Paul, the second visited the cathedral or the basilica.

Brad:

back

Nannette:

So, back to the really cool alleys that are there, we talked about the Antoine Alley, um, and his spirit being seen

Brad:

there, Antoine. Antoine. Uh, yeah, I can't even pretend to

Nannette:

I, I don't know, I'm not French, so, my name's French though, but I can't

Brad:

I don't speak French.

Nannette:

ho ho ho, hee hee hee,

Brad:

that.

Nannette:

um, but there's also Pirate And it is named for the legendary Jean Lafitte, who you talked about in your story

Brad:

Jean Pierre Lafayette, right?

Nannette:

Yes, he actually had his favorite bar that was just around the corner from the cathedral and it was called the Absinthe House, which I think is really

Brad:

cool. Is it still there?

Nannette:

I don't know.

Brad:

Well, we're going to find out right

Nannette:

Find out right now.

Brad:

find out right

Nannette:

As you're looking it up though, I will tell you that the pirates used to sell their bootlegged wares along that alley and through the fence at night. And all I can think of is glory holes when

Brad:

you think

Nannette:

in the middle of the night. My mind went there and I giggled and I was like, okay, I'm no good for

Brad:

I'm selling my booty We to sell it through the fence. Oh my God. Come take my wee wee wee. Oh my

Nannette:

That this cathedral, it was actually built on the graveyard, um, For so many hundreds of years. And so there's lots of ghosts that are seen. it just depends on where you're at.

Brad:

There is a bar, the Old Absinthe House. Uh, it says since 1807, it's on the corner of Bourbon and Bienville. So it

Nannette:

So it looks like we need to go there.

Brad:

Yep.

Nannette:

So there you go. Our friends that are going with us, we are going,

Brad:

Okay, we're going.

Nannette:

already have our itinerary half done.

Brad:

Oh my gosh. Right?

Nannette:

Heck yeah.

Brad:

So while we've got pirates selling their booty on the alley, it's called La La feets alley. What

Nannette:

are, no, it's called Pirate Alley.

Brad:

alley. Excuse me. Okay. And do we have paranormal activity from them selling their booties?

Nannette:

Yeah. Pirates. They say that Jean Leite has been seen walking down that alley.

Brad:

Oh, is that also after the partying on Bourbon Street is

Nannette:

right? You know, I think she wonder, but I guess we're gonna go find out. Yeah. Yeah.

Brad:

we're going to have to party late on Bourbon Street to find

Nannette:

to find out. Well and I'd be curious too to be up there and, you know, go down the alleyways early in the morning and see if we can hear some hymns being sung because you will have one of the friars singing the hymns. I know they're

Brad:

Well, all I know is I'm going for the char grilled oysters.

Nannette:

so delicious. You can't find oysters like that anywhere and they're not slimy so they're so good.

Brad:

Oh, that's because they're cooked.

Nannette:

With butter and garlic and, oh, so good.

Brad:

I guess if you put butter and garlic and cheese on anything, it's good.

Nannette:

And cook it, you mean? Yes. Yeah, don't leave it raw. It's nasty. Just nasty.

Brad:

So tell me more. What other ghosts have been seen around?

Nannette:

would be all that's been seen there.

Brad:

been seen there.

Nannette:

You've got the, the couple of friars. Some people have said they've seen LaLaurie

Brad:

they've seen lollary there. That's interesting. I wonder, I wonder how they would, how would they know it was her?

Nannette:

I, I don't buy it because you're literally, this, this place is built on a graveyard and you've got people, additionally,

Brad:

an Indian graveyard. No, in

Nannette:

know a New Orleans

Brad:

okay. So they had a graveyard there and then they built. On

Nannette:

On top of it, because it's, remember the cathedral is smaller and then it burnt down and then it got bigger and then it got

Brad:

bigger. Okay. So it probably had a graveyard behind it or near,

Nannette:

still has a garden and stuff in it.

Brad:

see.

Nannette:

It's also been said, there's a story I want to tell you,

Brad:

Story time. Okay. So

Nannette:

additionally, Pierre Antoine, he, he's the one that's most commonly spotted. and he's easily recognizable because there's a gigantic portrait of him in the church. He's usually seen on the balcony or the altar, especially near the holidays. And, um, people have seen him looking through the window at midnight mass, holding a candle,

Brad:

Wow.

Nannette:

but he's also seen in that alleyway that bears his name. So the Antoine alley. And he also appears early in the morning, humming church songs, like I said, um, but he's been seen for over a hundred years by many, many people. So he's kind of a normal one.

Brad:

have Dagobert, who's commonly seen at the

Nannette:

And then you have Dagobert who's commonly seen at the cathedral as well. They say that he can be heard, heard singing a hymn called Kylie on rainy mornings. He tends to walk out of the St. Louis cathedral and strode stroll down pirate alley, humming the entire way.

Brad:

Interesting.

Nannette:

So, this is the story I was looking for, this is interesting to me anyway, um, when Spain took over the city in 1768, a group of French Creoles ousted the new Spanish governor and Spain didn't appreciate the revolt and sent their soldiers to come and crush the revolt.

Brad:

Oh,

Nannette:

Here's the thing, Dagobert was actually working for, um, the Spanish king. And so, um, he was actually kind of a bit of a spy a little bit.

Brad:

Yeah.

Nannette:

and so he was reporting

Brad:

politics have gone hand in hand for years. Yeah. Since the beginning of religion. right. So that makes

Nannette:

It does make sense. He reported back that he needed additional soldiers to kill these people. Because we

Brad:

Because we also do very humane things in the name of god.

Nannette:

uh huh. I thought it was interesting. Anyway, um, five

Brad:

five

Nannette:

of the surviving Creole ringleaders were rounded up and shot, and the Spanish ordered the bodies not to be buried. But Dagobert felt really bad and his men went and retrieved the bodies under the nose of the Spaniards. And Dagobert gave them a proper burial on the church grounds. And that is where he is seen to be guarding their bodies because he was a guilty fucker.

Brad:

Interesting. So he's like haunted and this is his punishment.

Nannette:

Uh huh. Uh huh. I think that that's really interesting.

Brad:

Interesting. Oh, that'll be cool. Do you think they're still having people sell booty through the fence?

Nannette:

I truly doubt it, but there might be some glory holes, but there's also another pirate by the name of Reginald Hicks. Um, who fell in love with a beautiful Creole woman just a few months before the war of 1812. He was, he rushed to hurry and marry her because he found out that she was pregnant with his child and he didn't want to leave her destitute. Um, the only priest that would marry them was this German priest, um, who was in prison. So he stood on the other side of the, The prison bars and got married to her and then he was killed in the war. So they say that the Hicks, um, walks those alleyways and is haunted because that's where he married her and his life kind of was good then and then fell apart in the worst. So,

Brad:

Interesting.

Nannette:

yeah, so you're, there's a couple of pirates, a couple of friars, you know, other people that can be seen. So I think it's places

Brad:

place is worth checking out.

Nannette:

Yeah. I think it's interesting that the pirates had anything to do with the The cathedral or the people that were there, you would think that they would be looked down upon or something. I mean, hello, you look at the culture now, you're not doing certain things you're looked down upon. So you

Brad:

so you'd think. The entire founding of New Orleans, though, you

Nannette:

it's true with all those ports

Brad:

yeah, they're all right

Nannette:

nothing would happen, including the slave trade. I mean, all of it. Yeah,

Brad:

Fascinating. Wow. Well, I can't wait to go and see.

Nannette:

I know we've never gone in there. We've seen it

Brad:

we've seen the outside. The pictures of the inside look beautiful.

Nannette:

They do. And I want to see this picture of Antoine

Brad:

And to them.

Nannette:

Antoine.

Brad:

Well, I'm very much looking forward to exploring this haunted area. and we'll just add that right along with the Lalari Mansion, uh, Jackson Square and St. Louis Cathedral.

Nannette:

Cathedral. And we're going to look into some more places too. I think there's many, many more. I want to see, uh,

Brad:

see, uh

Nannette:

what's it called? Midget wrestling? No. Ew. You are so fixated on that. You're so 14.

Brad:

I, I don't know that I can call it that. Little person wrestling might be more appropriate.

Nannette:

no,

Brad:

I don't know

Nannette:

that's not what I

Brad:

I don't know how to be PC on that.

Nannette:

I want to see one of the big, huge mansions,

Brad:

You mean a plantation?

Nannette:

a plantation. Yeah, I want, I, part of me doesn't want to fill the part of the plantation that I know I'm going to feel, but I just want to see. You

Brad:

a big plantation in

Nannette:

a big plantation in Nashville.

Brad:

Yeah, so maybe

Nannette:

that's a coincidence.

Brad:

Well, that's a coincidence because we're gonna see Jackson Square.

Nannette:

Square. No. Andrew Jackson's

Brad:

Andrew Jackson.

Nannette:

Jackson.

Brad:

Yeah, same Andrew Jackson.

Nannette:

you kidding? I didn't realize that. I know my history. Okay, let me just put those out there. I had a really boring history teacher growing up and so history is not my forte. I love it now as an adult, but um, yeah, it wasn't my forte because it was boring from the teacher. I think it's super interesting now though, so, okay, so I'm putting my.

Brad:

so

Nannette:

My history together. That's crazy. That's really cool because I've been to his place

Brad:

I've been

Nannette:

the hermitage

Brad:

The Hermitage. Yeah,

Nannette:

in Nashville. Yeah, and and I did feel some really really really heavy energy

Brad:

there Oh, I can

Nannette:

And I cried I stood in one place and just cried and cried. So, um Yeah, this will be interesting Fantastic.

Brad:

Fantastic. Fantastic. I don't know that that's the right word.

Nannette:

I cry? Rude.

Brad:

Yeah. Like I said, that's not the

Nannette:

not the word. Yeah. You're at a loss for

Brad:

Do you know what? I mean the right thing. I just don't always say the right

Nannette:

That is freaking true. I know your heart is pure, but sometimes, sometimes. I'm

Brad:

Well, I'm super excited to go to New Orleans with you and discover all kinds of haunted places, beautiful places, amazing food, and great friends.

Nannette:

yeah. Heck yeah.

Brad:

In fact, if you've been listening to the podcast, you will remember Wylin from episode 66. We're actually going with Wylin and his wife to New Orleans. We're very excited about it. It's going to be a ton of fun. So we can't wait to get back to everyone and let you know what we learn.

Nannette:

They are super fun and I think that Wylin's wife is like one of our greatest, fans. She has, she has our, our show memory. She knows more about our show than we do, I

Brad:

Yeah. Shout out to Kristen. She's fucking awesome. Yeah. And there's our F bomb. So that makes our show explicit and uh, it's only available to adults now.

Nannette:

Well,

Brad:

All for Kristen. You're

Nannette:

welcome. Fucker Right.

Brad:

Thank you so much everyone for listening to the show. We love you so much and we really appreciate you. Please tell your friends, get them to listen to the Mormon to medium podcast. And if you have any questions or concerns or something you'd love to hear us talk about, let us know. there's a link in the show notes. There's also a link to book with Nan. If you would like to book

Nannette:

a reading or an energy balance or healing, with me, go ahead and hit the show notes and you can book it there. Or you can go to my website at zenergysage.Com. so

Brad:

Thank you so much, everyone. Don't forget to leave a positive review. And we will see you

Nannette:

on the other side of the veil.

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