All Saints' Day Is Sunday, Nov. 1: Where New Orleans Cemeteries Hold Blessings, and How Some Louisiana Families Keep la Toussaint

All Saints' Day is Sunday, Nov. 1, and New Orleans Catholic Cemeteries will mark it with a Mass led by Archbishop James F. Checchio at 11 a.m. at Our Lady of the Rosary Church, 3368 Esplanade Avenue. A blessing of the graves at St. Louis Cemetery No. 3 follows the Mass. Blessings at the other cemeteries on the schedule, in New Orleans and Luling, begin at noon, and the last starts at 3 p.m.

Here is the afternoon's lineup from the cemeteries' schedule. St. Vincent de Paul Nos. 1 and 2 (1950 Soniat St.) start at noon. St. Joseph Nos. 1 and 2 (2220 Washington Ave.) and St. Charles Cemetery in Luling follow at 12:30 p.m. St. Louis No. 1 (425 Basin St.), St. Louis No. 2 (300 N. Claiborne Ave.) and St. Roch Nos. 1 and 2 (1725 St. Roch Ave.) begin at 1 p.m. St. Patrick Nos. 1, 2 and 3, including 5000 Canal St. and 143 City Park Ave., come last, at 3.

The cemeteries' home page says the offices will be open on Nov. 1 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the St. Roch chapel from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Most gates keep regular hours for family visits. Families who need a pass into St. Louis No. 1 can call 504-596-3050. St. Louis No. 2 is locked during restoration work, though family members can call the same number to get in.

In French Louisiana the day is la Toussaint, a Catholic holy day that honors the saints and, according to Ryan Brasseaux's entry in the 64 Parishes encyclopedia, deceased family members. Above-ground tombs of brick and concrete can deteriorate in the region's subtropical climate, the entry says, so families repaired them, whitewashed them, cleared weeds and set out wreaths and flowers. Some families still clean and decorate graves on Nov. 1, it adds.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the entry says, New Orleans cemeteries took on a festive air on the day, with families packing picnics, visiting among friends and buying food and flowers from vendors. The Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans adds that families once limewashed tombs on Nov. 1, often in vibrant colors, particularly in Catholic cemeteries. The all-white look dates to about 1920, the center writes, once family upkeep dwindled and cemetery operators found white easier and less expensive. It also says New Orleans' above-ground burial tradition comes from French and Spanish practice, and it calls the common explanation that the water table forces burial above ground "mostly incorrect."

Across Lake Pontchartrain, the custom looks different. The 64 Parishes entry says participation has waned in many places but remains significant in Lacombe, in St. Tammany Parish, where French, Creole and Choctaw cultures have influenced the custom. There, it says, the pastor typically spends much of the afternoon blessing the community's many cemeteries, several of them restricted to particular families, and the day ends at Lafontaine Hilltop Cemetery, where graves are adorned with white candles.

For Nov. 1, Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church's Oct. 25 bulletin lists the Lacombe blessings: Tranquility at 12:15 p.m., Casborn at 1, Osay at 1:25, Toomer at 1:45, Ducre at 2:15, Last Penney at 2:35, Melon-Cousin at 3, Bayou Lacombe at 3:30, Williams at 4 and Peter Cousin at 4:15. Mass is at 5 p.m., followed by a procession to Lafontaine-Hilltop at 6:30. Call the parish office at 985-882-5229 to confirm.

Deacon Steve Ferran of Sacred Heart told NOLA.com in 2024 that the parish was blessing 11 cemeteries that year, up from seven when he arrived in 2014. Families cut grass through the summer, pressure-wash headstones in September and paint in October, he said.

Not everyone is sure the customs will last. Brasseaux writes that graveside observances are largely limited to New Orleans and Acadiana and describes the holy day as moving into the realm of Cajun memory. The Rev. Damian Zablocki of the Mount Carmel Latin Mass Community in Covington told NOLA.com that fewer people were keeping up the local customs. Ferran said in the same article that the tradition remains vibrant in Lacombe.

For tours of St. Louis No. 1, the cemeteries' St. Louis No. 1 page says they are offered only through Cemetery Tours New Orleans and links to booking. For another custom families keep each year in south Louisiana, see our look at the Christmas Eve bonfires on the levee in St. James Parish.

Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (resized).