New Orleans, twice saved by prayers to Mary

In the United States, one of the many graces obtained by Our Lady of Prompt Succor, the national shrine of New Orleans, came with one of the great fires that regularly threatened the city, including the Ursuline convent.

The superior had ordered everyone to evacuate the building. Before leaving, one of the sisters placed a small statue of Mary holding her Son, on a window facing the approaching fire, with the prayer, “Our Lady, unless you hasten to save us, we are lost! ” Then she followed the residents to safety. Their prayer was answered within minutes: the wind suddenly shifted, and within a short space of time, the fire had lost its momentum, leaving the rest of the town unharmed.

The second well-known intervention of Our Lady of Prompt Succor happened during the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815. On the night of January 7, US general Andrew Jackson and his modest band of ill-prepared and ill-equipped soldiers found themselves up against the large, well-equipped British army, which was preparing to attack the city before dawn.

Meanwhile, many citizens had joined the Ursuline Sisters for a prayer vigil in their chapel, imploring Our Lady of Prompt Succor. During the night, the Superior, Mother Marie Olivier de Vezin, promised Our Lady that if General Jackson and his men were victorious, they would have a mass of thanksgiving sung every year. 

As day broke, Father Dubourg began a mass for this intention. At the very moment of Communion, a courier rushed into the chapel, announcing that the US army was victorious! The mass ended with the joyous singing of the Te Deum.

Marian Encyclopedia