The church was built in 1827 and dedicated as a mortuary chapel for victims of
yellow fever. It was erected close to
St. Louis Cemeteries #1 and #2, the primary Catholic cemeteries at the time (St. Louis Cemetery #1 is located directly behind the church, right across Basin Street). At the time, it was thought that exhalations from the dead could spread the disease, so St Anthony's was established to relieve the burden then stretching
St. Louis Cathedral thin. In 1918, Archbishop
John Shaw asked the
Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate to serve at the chapel (which had fallen into disuse), at which point the missionaries renamed it to its current moniker. In the 1930s, parishioners praying to
Saint Jude had their prayers answered, which resulted in a tradition of regular
novenas to Saint Jude (that continues today) and the erection of a
shrine to Saint Jude (which is still maintained today). The St. Jude Shrine is located in the area to the left of the altar, and it includes a
relic of St. Jude. The statue of
Saint Expedite is also visited by Catholics, as well as some local followers of
Voodoo. The church grounds also feature a Marian
grotto, located between the church and the adjacent rectory. ==References==