Fava Beans, Fig Cookies, and Faith: Why Every New Orleans Family Should Visit a St. Joseph Altar
On March 19th, New Orleans Catholics celebrate St. Joseph’s Day. The best way to celebrate is by attending a local St. Joseph Altar. St. Joseph Altars have meant a great deal to Southern Italians. St. Joseph is the patron saint of Sicily, which is where many New Orleans-Italians proudly hail. It is a tradition that dates back to the Middle Ages. St. Joseph saved the Sicilians from a famine with fava beans and rain. The altars are erected every year to pay homage to St. Joseph on his feast day. The food that is so lovingly prepared for the altars is then donated to local shelters.
The “old school” way of celebrating was to host one in your family home. It would be an open house all day of people paying their respects and admiring the family’s hard work and dedication. Now, there has been an uptick in public altars around the city, offering a chance for all to experience the beautiful tradition. One of my absolute favorite public altars is located at Rock-n-Bowl, founded by the Credo and Blancher family. I proudly serve on the ministry for St. Ann Church and Shrine St. Joseph Altar. I am so proud of our altar and have loved meeting and befriending older parishioners I would have never met otherwise. Whether you are a seasoned visitor to altars or brand new, walking through a St. Joseph altar is like stepping into generations of faith, gratitude, and classic New Orleans. Here is why it’s something every family should experience.
Built in Cultural experience
New Orleans is overwhelmingly Catholic. Something that I have always loved about the city is that Catholicism isn’t just a religion; it is a culture. We proudly walk around with ashes on our foreheads each Ash Wednesday. Meat-free Fridays become a seafood feast and social event at your local fish fry. Growing up, we would discuss with our family which St. Joseph altars we would visit at what time, planning whose altar to visit and for how long. My great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother were in charge of the St. Joseph Altar float for years. It rolls through the French Quarter with the Italian American St. Joseph Society. We would watch them strategically place each produce item to become a beautiful work of art that would roll through the streets of the French Quarter.
Beautiful Hidden New Orleans Traditions
My favorite time of year is gathering in St. Ann’s school cafeteria and baking cookies with the older parishioners. Every year, there is a discrepancy on how big the fig cookie should be. Which always makes me smile. The reminiscing begins, and they tell stories of baking cookies with their grandmothers. The altar itself is a host to traditions. Each cake, bread, pupaculova (dyed eggs baked into bread) has a specific meaning and purpose as to why it is on the altar. Grab a blessed fava bean (lucky bean) to keep in your wallet for the year for good luck. Don’t forget the famous tradition of stealing a blessed lemon off the altar in order to find a spouse or get pregnant.
The St. Joseph altars are a true labor of love. Communities, neighbors, and family come together to create works of art that take an immense amount of preparation. It connects generations with grandparents beaming with delight when explaining the various traditions of the altar. This can not be a dying art form, and we need to make sure we do our part and continue with helping keep the spirit of the altar alive. Attend as many as you can, donate produce, baked items, bread, etc. Sign up with your local school’s altar and volunteer to help with cookie baking. Whatever you can do to help makes a huge difference to these altars.
Here is the list of the Archdiocese altars that are available for viewing.
2026 Archdiocese List of Altars
