St. Catherine of Siena Parish holds the distinction of being the first parish church established in the Metairie area. In 1921, Archbishop John Shaw established St. Catherine of Siena as an independent parish with a chapel on Labarre Road and the Rev. James Furlong as Pastor. 

St. Catherine of Siena School is the parochial school of St. Catherine of Siena Parish. The school opened in 1926 and was staffed by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word from San Antonio, Texas. The Sisters were not new to the area as they were already teaching at St. Francis de Sales School on Second Street in New Orleans, with a Provincial House on Prytania Street. 

The school opened for grades one through six with four teaching Sisters and an enrollment of approximately 120 students. Each year a grade was added and the first class graduated on June 5, 1929, with fourteen students. The school population grew over the years until it reached its peak in 1960 with 1660 students and a staff that included 13 nuns and 19 lay teachers. 

The school consists of five separate buildings joined by covered walkways. The Msgr. Barrett Complex, which was dedicated in 1991, the Junior building, established in 1965, the Senior building, built in 1957 and the Incarnate Word Building, completed in 1966.  The school campus was expanded in 2021 with the dedication of Gator Field. 

In 2023, St. Catherine of Siena partnered with the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation, more commonly known as the Nashville Dominicans.  Starting in August of 2024, three religious sisters will join the faculty at St. Catherine of Siena and continue to long tradition of religious sisters teaching in the school.

School Coat of Arms

A new coat of arms was created for the 100th anniversary of St. Catherine of Siena Parish. The symbols on the coat of arms carry unique meanings for the church and for the school.

For St. Catherine of Siena Catholic School, the keys signify Catholic education; the book, academics; the fire, St. Catherine of Siena’s famous words, “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire”; and the fleur-de-lis, the French origin of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, who staffed the School at its founding in 1926 and for the majority of its years of operation; the cross is the same cross used by the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation. 

As the logo pertains to St. Catherine of Siena Church, the keys represent our patroness’s convincing Pope Gregory XI to return to Rome from Avignon in 1376; the book, the Scriptures; the flame, that the  parish is guided by the Holy Spirit; and the fleur-de-lis, the Archdiocese of New Orleans;  the cross the call to be disciples of Jesus Christ.