The building is modest and simple, like the quiet nun who stayed and prayed there during a visit to New Orleans in 1976.
Now, that nun is St. Teresa of Calcutta and the convent where she stayed on the campus of St. Michael Special School is poised for a $5 million makeover that will help educate and inspire generations of students.
The building on the corner of Chippewa and Race Streets sits next to the school which has educated students with special needs since 1965. Its founder, the beloved Sister Lillian McCormack, S.S.N.D., hosted St. Teresa there during her 1976 visit. St. Teresa, then Mother Teresa, spent the night with Sister Lillian and the other nuns there and attended a special Mass in the building’s chapel.
The convent building is now being transformed into a $5 million multi-purpose building that will house a renovated chapel, classrooms, a music room and technology lab. School leaders broke ground on the $5 million project Wednesday.
There are plans to restore Sister Lillian’s bedroom, which is where Mother Teresa slept during her visit. The beloved nun and missionary, who died in 1997, was canonized by Pope Francis in 2016.
“This building will always be in memory of her and Sister Lillian and also tell the story of two women who loved children so much and special children so much,” said Archbishop Gregory Aymond at Wednesday’s groundbreaking.
Jefferson Parish assessor Tom Capella, who is one of Sister Lillian’s 24 nephews and nieces and spoke on behalf of his family Wednesday, recalled serving as an altar boy for the Mass celebrated in the convent during Mother Teresa’s visit.
“We had a family photo taken and I remember I was kneeing with my brothers and sisters – there are 10 of us - and I just hear someone say in the background, ‘Touch her, touch her,’” he laughed. “I didn’t, because she exuded beauty and grace and holiness, and so did Sister Lillian.” Capella’s sister, Jane Capella Silva, taught at St. Michael for 38 years and was principal of the school before her death in 2012.
“What happens here at St. Michael’s is special in many ways, but one thing is that you fall in love with the place,” said Gary Solomon, who with Maureen Huguley serves as co-chair of the capital campaign to raise money for the convent renovation project. “Something about this place, I don’t care who you are, what religion you are, whether you have special needs children or where you come from - you don’t just see a non-profit that’s doing great work. You fall in love.”
The school is in the final stages of raising money for the renovations but construction is underway. St. Michael hopes to open the building next year.