New Orleans, LA

“The Catholic novelist in the South will see many distorted images of Christ, but he will certainly feel that a distorted image of Christ is better than no image at all. I think he will feel a good deal more kinship with backwoods prophets and shouting fundamentalists than he will with those politer elements for whom the supernatural is an embarrassment and for whom religion has become a department of sociology or culture or personality development.” 
― Flannery O'Connor 

My first destination is New Orleans. As I cross the Louisiana state line, this Relient K song is playing on my radio, reminding me that this trip is to not only honor the late Flannery O'Connor, but also my own journey to gain a greater knowledge and relationship with the Catholic religion as I travel around the "Bible Belt".

St. Louis Cathedral 

Labeled as one of the world's greatest attractions, St. Louis Cathedral is the United States' oldest continually operated Cathedral, and the reason that I am visiting the city. Since 1718, three different churches have stood on the site, the final being built in 1789. In 1793, the Church was raised to Cathedral rank.  The structure was expanded and largely rebuilt in 1850, leaving little of the previous church remaining.  The Cathedral is in the French Quarter of New Orleans, overlooking Jackson Square. It is one of the few Roman Catholic churches in the United States that fronts a public square. Perhaps the greatest moment in the history of the St. Louis Cathedral was the visit of Pope John Paul II in September, 1987.