What is a Southern Catholic Chick you may be asking? What does it mean to be truly Southern and faithfully Catholic? Well as recent converts who were received into full communion with the Catholic Church over a year ago, those are questions that we have been pondering lately.
Born and raised in the South, we both were brought up in the Protestant world of long sermons, church night suppers, dressing in your Sunday best, vacation bible school and potluck dinners with a strong emphasis on “fellowshipping.” Now, we’re not saying that Catholics don’t take part in these types of church activities. It is just that from our perspective, it looks and feels a little different in the Catholic Church than what we had grown accustomed to. Let’s face it, although there are plenty of Catholic “transplants” down here in the buckle of the Bible belt, being a native Southerner and a Catholic is still an unusual combination.
A wise priest once said that ethnicity brings life and depth to our faith and to the world-wide church. Certainly, one of the most beautiful aspects of the Catholic Church is her universality and diversity. In our short time as Catholics, we have found that our “southern-ness” fits into the Church, even though the Church is much bigger than our Southern heritage. We have been Southerners for our entire lives and Catholic for only a short period, so this is sort of a cultural identity shift for us.
So, what does it mean to you to be Southern and Catholic? What are your family faith traditions that are both Southern and Catholic? We will be sharing our Southern perspective on living the Catholic life, and we hope you will, too. Grab your sweet tea and join us!
Southern Catholic Chicks “A” & “B”
Paul Bergeron
10 months ago
I was born and reared as a Catholic in Catholic south Louisiana. You will find the culture here somewhat different from the culture you were raised in, and the Northern ethnic Catholic culture that is taken for the “official” Catholic culture of America. In fact, the Catholic culture in south Louisiana is much stronger than that in the other Catholic sections of the South, in particular Maryland. Louisiana has had a pro-life record in its laws since the days of eugenics in the 1930’s. Although we have our share of Protestants in north Louisiana and the Florida parishes (equivalents of counties, they are the parts of the former Republic of West Florida that extend from the Pearl River to the Mississippi River), including the Jimmy Swaggart types, I have never felt like an outsider because there were just too many of us! I am a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and I find the Protestant members to warm up to the members from Louisiana–they remember General Beauregard, General Hardee, and Admiral Semmes, to name a few. I invite you to visit New Orleans and in particular attend the traditional mass at St. Peters on Camp Street on Sunday at 9:30 AM; make a weekend of it and see Confederate Memorial Hall the preceding Saturday, also on Camp Street (929 Camp Street) near the D-Day Museum. There you will see a crown of thorns given by Blessed Pope Pius IX to President Jefferson Davis, the President’s scapular and rosary (but he never converted), and a stain glass window image of Father Abram Joseph Ryan, the Poet Laureate of the Confederacy. While you’re in New Orleans, please visit the original Ursuline convent in the French Quarter, where the Ursuline nuns achieved a number of “firsts” and “bests” in the United States. You should also tour the land settled by the Acadians, from the Mississippi River to the Sabine River, no further north than Alexandria Louisiana and swing by the shrine of Charlene Richard in Richard Louisiana, who, along with Mother Henriette Delille, is a native Louisiana candidate for canonization.
2scc
10 months ago
Paul- Thanks so much for this information. Although we both have been to New Orleans several times, we have not made a visit since we were confirmed in the Church. Can’t wait to get there and explore the rich Catholic heritage. We appreciate your comment!
Chicks A and B