Louis Armstrong: "niger, illegitimus" -- and baptized Catholic

Deacon's Bench ^ | December 23, 2008 | Deacon Greg Kandra

[NYer]

Over at McNamara's Blog, Patrick McNamara has found another surprising bit of Catholic trivia, about one of the great popular jazz artists of the 20th century:

According to his own, cherished tradition, Louis Armstrong was an all-American jazz baby, born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on the Fourth of July 1900. He believed this to the end of his days, and so did everyone else, until a baptismal certificate confirming his actual birth date as August 4, 1901, surfaced and in the name of scholarship silenced one of the happiest legends in American popular music. Exactly three weeks after his birth, the infant was taken to Sacred Heart of Jesus Church at 139 South Lopez Street to be baptized "according to the rite of the Roman Catholic Church."

The baptismal card, signed by the Reverend J. M. Toohey, described Louis as "niger, illegitimus," apparently because his father had by that time abandoned his mother and was living with another woman. So it was that Louis Armstrong, an illegitimate black child, was baptized into the Catholic Church. Since his grandmother, Josephine, was a practicing Catholic, she was most likely the one responsible for arranging the baptism, and the earliest religious influence over him, though limited, was largely Catholic.

Although baptized as a Catholic, Louis never thought of himself as a member of the Church. He remained similarly aloof from Protestantism, the religion of his mother and other family members. Even so, he was vaguely religious, and, at times, deeply spiritual, but his approach to religious matters was always unorthodox, and he took what he wanted from Catholicism, Baptism, and Judaism, and, under his grandmother's influence, voodoo.

[ichabod1]

It’s sort of a different sect... saint worship, santeria in spanish. It doesn’t necessarily include sticking pins in dolls and dancing around with bloody chickens.

[ichabod1]

I would suggest that his trumpet was what was influential to the music, his singing was what propelled him to worldwide fame and crossover fortune. Good for him. Such a lovable figure.

[ichabod1]

Thank you. IIRC, it was the jazz style to do that, unlike the classical world which of course was very staid and proper. It was the DIXIELAND jazz style, which was all about the New Orleans joie de vivre, unlike “cool” jazz which came along later. It’s all good.

[Lee N. Field]

saint worship, santeria

makes sense, thanks.

Black lady I know, remembers her Mom doing "weird stuff" when she was a little kid. Glow in the dark rosaries -- does that sound like familiar?

[bcsco]

While Louis epitomized New Orleans jazz, he migrated to Chicago early on (his classic West End Blues was first recorded in Chicago on Okeh records in 1928). And Chicago was the start of many jazz and pop musicians of the time. Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa, (the Dorsey bros. and Glen Miller also played in Goodman's early band as well as Harry James), Bud Freeman and the Austin High Gang, Eddie Condon, just to name a few.

Check out The Red Hot Jazz Archive if you haven't already for a real early jazz music experience.