I Will Establish Peace in Their Homes

Connie Anderson recalls her family's celebration of All Saints Day according to southern Louisiana traditions.

All Saints’ Day is an ancient Christian holy day that Catholic missionaries brought to South Louisiana almost 300 years ago. The French tradition of La Toussaint gathered families to clean, refurbish, and place flowers and lighted candles around loved ones’ graves to prepare for their parish cemetery’s annual Mass and blessing. The annual get-together, usually orchestrated by the mamans and grand-mamans on or before All Saints Day (November 1) or All Souls Day (November 2), was an innovative way to hand on the Faith, while at the same time cultivating spiritual ties to deceased relatives.

Baton Rouge was never well established by the French as a settlement. When Great Britain acquired the area in 1763 following the Seven Years’ War, they quickly populated the new territory with Protestant planters and farmers.

When the Spanish retook Baton Rouge in 1779, aided by local American Revolutionaries, the area retained its British influence, as well as several Protestant colonists. Together with Irish pastors who had been ordained in Spain, Baton Rouge Catholics revived the custom of La Toussaint, with some families observing it in a more understated way.

My first recollection of my own family’s La Toussaint was when I was a little girl and helped my mother clean our family’s graves in the late 1950s. What distinguished our observance was that we were Catholic, but the gravesite we cleaned, left flowers, and prayed at was owned by my father’s family, all of whom were devout Protestants.

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Mother, whose father’s family was from Bayou Teche and mother’s family was from New Orleans, had married into a well-known Baton Rouge Presbyterian-Anglican family. When Dad converted before they married, his family was not happy. Nevertheless, everyone made an effort to get along, particularly because they were all grateful to God that Dad had survived World War II.

While the relationship between my mother and grandmother was polite but often strained, my mother felt it was important to continue her parents’ tradition and maintain her in-laws’ grave site, bring flowers, and pray for their souls. Many Protestants do not pray for the dead, but I did not know that until I was much older. My Catholic family’s simple All Saints’ Day tradition seemed a normal, loving way to commemorate our deceased great-grandparents and grandfather, regardless of what church they attended.

Many years have passed. My Presbyterian grandmother and both my Catholic parents are now buried in our family plot. In trying to understand why Mother beautified the graves and prayed for people who often made her feel uncomfortable, I realized that her devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, our parish patron, had made an impact.

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My Catholic family’s simple All Saints’ Day tradition seemed a normal, loving way to commemorate our deceased great-grandparents. #CatholicMom

For three generations Sacred Heart Parish was my mother's spiritual home. Her parents were founding members. As a little girl, I was aware that our family’s devotion to Our Lord’s merciful and loving Heart had been promoted by both Pope Pius XII and Pope John XXIII. I remember fondly that my grandfather had a picture of the Sacred Heart that he displayed in his and my grandmother’s kitchen.

Our family’s consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus served to reinforce our devotion already practiced through our church and parochial school. Extending that love, even to those who might not understand or appreciate it on earth, is an overflow of those graces. My son, who is named for my grandfather, now has the picture of the Sacred Heart in his kitchen.

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One of the promises Our Lord made to those who keep this devotion is to “establish peace in their homes.” While my mother and her in-laws may not have experienced unity here on Earth, I know they have found peace together in Heaven.

When I continue my own La Toussaint tradition this year, I will say special prayers of thanksgiving to Jesus’ Sacred Heart. I trust He kept His promise to my mother. And I trust He will keep His promise of peace to my family too.

About the author: Connie Anderson retired from teaching; television; freelance film-making; and fundraising. A Baton Rouge, LA, native, she and her husband, Larry, are the proud parents of two adult children and grandparents of one, recently adopted grandson. Connie, a member of the St. Robert Southwell Writing Group, Word on Fire Institute, is interested in passing on her Faith through stories about Louisiana’s rich Catholic family traditions.