The Old Ursuline Convent

Outer Journey 

Today was a very insightful day we got to experience so much of the New Orleans culture. One tour that I found especially exciting was the Old Ursuline Convent, it was so interesting to me to learn about all the history there and actually see the building itself that’s been there for hundreds of years. I thought this building told a very unique and interesting story, it actually felt like I was back in high school because I went to a catholic high school and what we talked about and learned was very similar to what we learned and talked about today. Looking outside at the convent was so beautiful you could see the history by simply looking at the structure when looking at the building from the outside you could see all the little details carefully crafted into the architecture of the building. It amazes me that back then when this building was being created that the people making it knew so much about design and architecture, it seemed so advanced for that time. Now when you go inside of the convent you will absolutely be blown away, it is absolutely breath taking everything has so much detail and all the statues and monuments were so beautiful. I was shocked to see how well everything was preserved from being so old. My favorite part of the convent was seeing the windows they were so colorful and had such intricate designs on them. The structure that held the Eucharist was also a sight to see it was so beautiful and told such an amazing story.

Inner Journey

When walking through the convent and the cathedral it felt very familiar to me, learning about the history was very comforting in a way to me, I grew up catholic and went to a catholic high school, so I am very used to and familiar with learning about the catholic faith and their history. This experience was comforting and made me feel like I was home because even though I am thousands of miles away from my home I am talking about my religion and learning about the history of my religion, the catholic religion is universally all the same throughout different countries states etc. so even though I am so far away from home it doesn’t feel like it because I am talking about the same religion with the same concepts that I would at home which was really comforting. I also thought it was really refreshing to see how proud the individuals who gave us a tour were of their religion and where they came from, nowadays I feel as though people don’t really like to talk about their religion or it’s a touchy subject but not here religion is such a big part of this city’s history and the people who live here are so proud of that which is nice to see and be a part of. I think the biggest lesson that I learned and got to experience first-hand is that no matter how far away from home you are religion can always bring you back and make you feel at home, which I think is something very special.