HISTORY 

St. Rita Parish, founded in 1921 in New Orleans, initially began with Mass celebrated in private homes due to the area's agricultural roots and limited infrastructure. Named after the Italian saint, the parish was established by Archbishop John Shaw to serve the growing community around Carrollton and Claiborne Avenues. The first church for St. Rita was dedicated in 1922, followed by a school opening in 1923. Father Patrick Walsh, originally from Ireland, became the first pastor, fostering the parish's growth and spiritual development during its early years. It was after Fr. Walsh's passion to build a new church for this parish, one more architecturally impressive and artistically pleasing. After his sudden passing, his successor would continue his dream, building the current Romanesque revival church that is worshipped in today. Sainte-Chapelle Studios continues this legacy by adding beautiful gold stenciling to the Narthex of this church.​

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OUR WORK​

For this historic church, Sainte-Chapelle Studios designed and executed decorative liturgical art above the front entrance doors of the Church. Included in these renovations, were photometric lighting studies and custom upgrades to Narthex to better illumine the new liturgical art. Careful attention was paid to the selection of the fixtures so that they would match the exiting architectural style of a midcentury Romanesque revisal style of the church. The words “Go Forth, Glorifying the Lord with your Light,” in 23 karat gold, are a reminder to all who exit this sacred space to share that holiness and beauty with the outside world in need of hope.​​​​