SW FT-542 St Louis Cathedral, New Orleans, Louisiana

The Cathedral-Basilica of Saint Louis, King of France, also called St. Louis Cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans and among the oldest cathedrals in the United States. The first church on the site was built in 1718; the third, built in 1789, was raised to cathedral rank in 1793. The cathedral was expanded and largely rebuilt in 1850, with little of the 1789 structure remaining.

Saint Louis Cathedral is in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA  located next to Jackson Square and facing the Mississippi River in the heart of New Orleans. Today the Parish has more than 6,000 members. Source: Wikipedia

This postcard came from Cindy L. (29 September 2015) Swap-bot.

The flag of Louisiana

The flag of Louisiana shows a "pelican in her piety," - a mother pelican wounding her breast to feed her young from the blood. The image is emblematic of Christian (including Catholic) charity and it is also found on the state seal. There is a ribbon below the pelican image with the state motto: "Union, Justice, and Confidence". The current flag was adopted in November 2010, a revision of the original pelican design of 1912. In this revision, the word “and” was dropped from the flag.

During the 19th century it was traditional in Louisiana flags and the state seal for the "pelican in her piety" to have three drops of blood on her chest. To formalise this, the Louisiana State Legislature passed a bill which requires three drops of blood to be depicted on the pelican used in both the state's flag and seal.

This postcard came from Cathy (12 June 2015) Direct Swap Postcrossing.

DE-3008404, SW DW-312 Louisiana, USA

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its capital is Baton Rouge and the largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana became a U.S. State on April 30, 1812 and it is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties.

Louisiana was named after Louis XIV, King of France from 1643 to 1715. When René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle claimed the territory drained by the Mississippi River for France, he named it La Louisiane, meaning "Land of Louis”. Once part of the French Colonial Empire, the Louisiana Territory stretched from present-day Mobile Bay to just north of the present-day Canadian border, and included a small part of what is now southwestern Canada.  When Napoleon decided to sell this territory, it was bought by the United States in 1803.
 

Louisiana has a dark history with regards to slavery in the early days of its existence.  Even after slavery was abolished, Louisiana still had issues with discrimination and violence against Blacks and other minority groups.  These days of course, human rights are protected by legislation.

Oak Valley Plantation located New Orleans / Baton Rouge



Louisiana is often affected by tropical cyclones and is very vulnerable to strikes by major hurricanes, particularly the lowlands around and in the New Orleans area. The unique geography of the region, with the many bayous, marshes and inlets, can result in water damage across a wide area from major hurricanes. The area is also prone to frequent thunderstorms, especially in the summer.  In 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck and devastated southeastern Louisiana, where it breached and undermined levees in New Orleans, causing 80% of the city to flood. Most people had been evacuated, but the majority of the population became homeless. The city was virtually closed until October. It is estimated that more than two million people in the Gulf region were displaced by the hurricane and that more than 1,500 fatalities resulted in Louisiana alone.

The first postcard of the map of Louisiana came from Germany (26 March 2014) Postcrossing.  The second postcard shows a beautiful plantation mansion and came from Bootsmom (9 October 2014) Swap-bot.