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ENTRANCE TO THE NATIONAL SHRINE

The National Shrine of the Grand Priory of America is located in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the old Ursuline Convent, which forms the core of the Archbishop Antoine Blanc Memorial. The old convent was erected for the Ursuline nuns in 1745 by King Louis XV of France who was the Royal Protector of the Order of Saint Lazarus. This historic structure was the first building in the Mississippi Valley.

The National Shrine, which is the former private chapel of the Ursuline nuns, connects Our Lady of Victory Church with the convent, which now houses the archives of the Archdiocese. Our Lady of Victory Church was erected in 1845 as the chapel of the Archbishops of New Orleans.

The opposite photograph, taken from inside Our Lady of Victory Church, shows the black wrought iron gates emblazoned with the distinctive cross of Saint Lazarus and a series of delicate small gold shells forming a border along the upper and lower sections of the gates. These gates lead into a small, intimate chapel, steeped in tradition, which is the National Shrine of the Order of Saint Lazarus in the United States.

THE NATIONAL SHRINE

The central focus of the Shrine is a bas relief sculptured panel depict­ing the inspiring moment when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, and symbolizing Jesus calling us from the dead works of the past into life of Grace. The main panel alone was seven months in the design, and the 7 by 9 foot casting took a small army of workers to install.

In front of this sculpture stands a small altar with a base in the shape of a shell; this symbolism recalls the Faith of the Christian as the pearl of great price. In addition, the Pilgrim's Shell was given to devout pilgrims to the Holy Land, and is in fact still awarded to this very day by the Order of Saint Lazarus for such pilgrimages.

The walls of the chapel are lined with shadow boxes of the coats-of­arms of the Grand Priory of America and its jurisdictions, repeating the bas relief technic of the Saint Lazarus sculpture. Between these shadow boxes are stationed the colors of the United States of America, the banner of The Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, and the flags of the American jurisdictions.

FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

FLAG OF

THE MILITARY AND HOSPITALLER ORDER OF

SAINT LAZARUS OF JERUSALEM

THE GRAND PRIORY OF AMERICA

DESCRIPTION OF FLAG

Argent, a cross vert, in the canton an American Eagle displayed sable.

SYMBOLIC SIGNIFICANCE

The design of the flag of the Grand Priory of America serves as the basis of each flag of the American Commanderies; the arms of each particular Commandery, which arms are symbolic of that Com­mandery' s local heritage, are placed at the fess point.

THE COMMANDERY OF THE WEST

DESCRIPTION OF ARMS

Per fess; above, a chief azure, thirteen pallets gules and argent; below, per pale, dexter argent a lion rampant gules crowned or; sinister, of the second, a castle of the last.

SYMBOLIC SIGNIFICANCE

The upper half of the escutcheon alludes to the American flag and the lower half to the flag of the original Spanish settlers of the West, symbolic of both the supercession of Spanish by American rule and the strong Spanish heritage still felt today in the southwest of the Commandery's jurisdiction.

THE COMMANDERY OF THE ATLANTIC

DESCRIPTION OF ARMS

Per fess; chief, azure, a demi-sun in splendor or; base, barry wavy of six, argent and azure.

SYMBOLIC SIGNIFICANCE

The escutcheon depicts the sun rising over the Atlantic Ocean, symbolic of a new day, a renewal of faith, and new beginnings in a new land - the rising sun, like the first settlers, travelling across the nation from East to West.

THE COMMANDERY OF THE MIDWEST

DESCRIPTION OF ARMS

Gules, three ears of wheat in pale tied with a love-knot, all or.

SYMBOLIC SIGNIFICANCE

The escutcheon represents a red heart standing for the heartland of North America. The three stalks of wheat are indicative of the locale as the "grain basket" of the world and, with the love-knot, representational of the Holy Trinity and God's Love.

THE GRAND COMMANDERY OF THE SOUTH

DESCRIPTION OF ARMS

Gules, on a saltire azure cotized argent, thirteen mullets of the last.

SYMBOLIC SIGNIFICANCE

The Grand Commandery of the South chose for its arms a red field with thirteen white stars on the diagonal arms of a white-edged blue cross. There are significant reasons for this choice.

At its very inception, the Southern Delegation encompassed the eleven original States of the thirteen Confederate States of America. The South has a tenacious pride in its heritage, a pride that could not be shaken by frustration, failure, or poverty; pride in having undergone an experience that no other part of our country could share with it, but an experience that the South can share with nearly all the peoples of Europe and Asia - the experience of military defeat, occupation, and ''reconstruction.'' The South takes pride in having suffered defeat with honor and of having overcome, with an invincible spirit, that unfortunate part of its history.

For these reasons it seemed most fitting and appropriate that the Grand Commandery of the South choose the design of the Battle Flag of the Confederacy for its shield. It symbolizes for the Southerner courage, honor, and duty- noble ideals which are deemed worthy of emulation.

THE GRAND COMMANDERY OF TEXAS

DESCRIPTION OF ARMS

Azure, a mullet argent within a wreath of live oak and olive or ..

SYMBOLIC SIGNIFICANCE

The arms with the words REPUBLIC OF TEXAS in Roman capital

letters, was the official seal adopted during the war for Texas independence.

The present official seal of the State of Texas is the same, but accompanied by the words THE STATE- OF TEXAS.

THE COMMANDERY OF THE SOUTHEAST

DESCRIPTION OF ARMS

Parti per bend gris and gules, an in escutcheon sable seme de lys or.

SYMBOLIC SIGNIFICANCE

Like the Grand Commandery of Texas, the Commandery of the Southeast is an outgrowth of the Grand Commandery of the South; therefore, red and grey, the official colors of the Confederacy, pay tribute to this origin and serve as a background for the inescutcheon of the arms of the Comte de Hervilly who rendered the area great ser­vice in his gallant leadership at the Battle of Savannah during the Revolutionary War. The Comte de Hervilly, a Knight of St. Lazarus, was killed during the French Revolution - and left no direct heirs to carry on his arms.

We, his confr~res in the Order, thought it an appropriate gesture both to perpetuate his memory and to commemorate the re-unification of the Order by the inclusion of his arms.

DELEGATION OF MEXICO

DESCRIPTION OF ARMS

Argent, a tower and three bridges on a lake proper, the tower with supporters sinister and dexter a lion rampant or, bourdure or cotised sable ten nopal leaves vert.

SYMBOLIC SIGNIFICANCE

The tower and bridges in the lake represent Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital which is today Mexico city, built on an island and only reachable by bridges. In combination with the lions, the tower becomes part of the heraldry of Spain [symbolic of Leon and Castille] depicting the unification of two ancient cultures to form a new nation. The border represents the natural resources of the nation, gold for precious minerals, black for oil, and the nopal (edible cactus) leaf for food.