About Blessed Trinity · New Orleans, Louisiana
Blessed Trinity Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic parish of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, located at 4230 South Broad Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, where it worships in the historic St. Matthias Church building. It was canonically established on August 6, 2008, the Feast of the Transfiguration, through the merger of three parishes — Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Monica, and St. Matthias — as part of Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes's Phase II of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Plan. The parish's identity emerged from a facilitated, collaborative process designed to bring together the gifts, traditions, and hopes of all three predecessor communities in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Today Blessed Trinity continues that mission as a worshipping community at St. Matthias, serving Catholics on the south side of New Orleans with weekend and daily Mass, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and a focused portfolio of outreach ministries.
- Established
- 2008
- Patron
- The Blessed Trinity
- Rector
- Fr. R. Tony Ricard
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of New Orleans
Why belong here
Blessed Trinity welcomes Catholics and visitors to worship at the historic St. Matthias Church on South Broad Street, with two accessible Sunday morning Masses (8:00 and 10:00 AM), a Saturday Vigil at 4:00 PM, and weekday Mass Tuesday through Friday at 8:30 AM. Parishioners put faith into action through a focused outreach ministry: Beyond the Church Walls, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, an Evangelization Committee, and a Respect Life ministry, all rooted in the spirit of the merger that formed the parish — drawing the best gifts of multiple New Orleans Catholic communities into one family of faith.
Mass times at Blessed Trinity
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 3:15 PM – 3:45 PM
Our History: How Blessed Trinity Came to Be
Blessed Trinity Catholic Parish was canonically established on August 6, 2008 — the Feast of the Transfiguration — at St. Matthias Church. It is the fruit of Phase II of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Plan announced in the spring of 2008 by Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes, which consolidated 27 parishes in the Archdiocese of New Orleans in response to the priest shortage and the lingering effects of Hurricane Katrina. Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Monica, and St. Matthias were suppressed as canonical parishes on the same day, and their communities were invited to worship together as one family under the name "Blessed Trinity." What made this merger distinctive was how much of the groundwork had already been laid: the doors of Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Monica had been closed since Katrina, and many of their parishioners had already been attending Mass at St. Matthias. A team of facilitators — Sr. Lory Schaff, CSJ, Sr. Kathleen Ballinger, CSJ, and Ms. Lynn M. Buggage — guided individual and group meetings across the three communities, gathered hopes and ideas, and ran the vote that produced the new parish's name. The history page on the parish website is adapted from Lynn M. Buggage's account, "Forming Blessed Trinity Parish."
- Founded: August 6, 2008 (Feast of the Transfiguration)
- Established by Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes
- Predecessor parishes: Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Monica, St. Matthias
- Phase II of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Plan
- Facilitators: Sr. Lory Schaff, CSJ; Sr. Kathleen Ballinger, CSJ; Lynn M. Buggage
- Worshipping location: the former St. Matthias Church, 4230 S. Broad Street
Outreach & Ministries
Blessed Trinity's Outreach page groups the parish's external apostolic work into a small but focused portfolio. These ministries reflect the same spirit of combining gifts that shaped the original merger in 2008 — each group is meant to take the parish beyond its walls and into the surrounding New Orleans community.
- Beyond the Church Walls — outreach to the wider community
- Society of St. Vincent de Paul (parish conference) — direct service to the poor and those in need
- Evangelization Committee — sharing the Catholic faith and inviting others
- Respect Life — prayer, education, and witness on behalf of the sanctity of life
Clergy & Leadership
Blessed Trinity's current pastor is Fr. R. Tony Ricard, a priest of the Archdiocese of New Orleans well known across the city for his work with young people and Black Catholic ministry. The parish has been served over its sixteen-plus years by a series of pastors assigned under the Archdiocese's six-year appointment system, including Fr. Daniel Green and Fr. Bartholomew Chukwuma (named pastor effective July 1, 2020).
- Current pastor: Fr. R. Tony Ricard
- Fr. Bartholomew Chukwuma — appointed July 1, 2020
- Fr. Daniel Green — earlier pastor, referenced in Clarion Herald reporting
- Fr. Ricard is also Catholic Chaplain of the New Orleans Saints and an instructor at Xavier University of Louisiana's Institute for Black Catholic Studies
Location & Visiting
Blessed Trinity worships at the historic St. Matthias Church in the 4230 block of South Broad Street in New Orleans. The address and phone are listed on the parish website and on directory services such as Discover Mass. Visitors are invited to celebrate Mass with the parish; specific parking, transit, and accessibility arrangements can be confirmed by calling the parish office.
- Address: 4230 S. Broad Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
- Phone: (504) 822-3394
- Website: blessedtrinitynola.org
- Worship location: St. Matthias Church building
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Daniel Greenserved as pastor of Blessed Trinity Parish (date range not published on the parish site)
Referenced in Clarion Herald reporting; was speaking pastor of the parish in the early years of the merged community.
- Fr. Bartholomew Chukwuma2020 –
Named pastor of Blessed Trinity Parish by Archbishop Gregory Aymond effective July 1, 2020, as part of a broader round of new pastor appointments.
- Fr. R. Tony Ricardappointed as current pastor
Well-known New Orleans priest, a 1982 alumnus of St. Augustine High School; previously served as pastor of Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish, as Director of the Office of Black Catholic Ministries for the Archdiocese, and as Campus Minister at St. Augustine. Also serves as Catholic Chaplain of the New Orleans Saints and an instructor at the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana.