NEW ORLEANS — The Jeanne d’Arc has landed in New Orleans for the annual Joan of Arc Parade. This is the first time in 594 years that Orléans is officially sending their Jeanne d’Arc to New Orleans.
She was officially welcomed by the City of New Orleans with a special ceremony at Gallier Hall on Thursday.
The 2023 Jeanne d’Arc, Clairvie Quesne, will walk with the Krewe de Jeanne d’Arc for its 16th annual parade. Ms. Quesne will be accompanied by the krewe's 2024 Maid of Honor Marley Marsalis, who will portray Joan of the Arch.
Last year, the New Orleans Rotary Fund, Inc., awarded the Krewe de Jeanne d’Arc 2023 Maid of Honor a cultural scholarship to visit Orléans, France, for 10 days in the summer. Now, the inaugural scholarship has been reciprocated by the Orléans, France, Rotary Club, and the City of Orleans.
The krewe said Marsalis will travel to Orleans, France, in the summer of 2024, representing the Joan of Arc Parade and New Orleans, via the New Orleans Rotary Fund, Inc. scholarship.
Ms. Quesne will stay at local Rotarians' homes while experiencing New Orleans' French, Catholic, and other historic institutions during her one-week stay.
Ms. Quesne will be accompanied by her two pages, Maximilien de Rochefort and Théophile Joinneaux, from the May 8, 2023, Fetes des Jeanne D’Arc Parade in Orléans, France, as well as Madame Benedicte Baranger, President of the Orléans Jeanne d’Arc Association, who herself portrayed Jeanne d’Arc in 1975.
The parade celebrates the 612th birthday of Joan of Arc and Twelfth Night.
The Annual Joan of Arc Procession is set for Saturday, Jan. 6 at 7 p.m.
Learn more about the Krewe de Jeanne d’Arc and the parade route here.
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