Madonna Manor and Hope Haven were Catholic orphanages in Marrero that provided services to at-risk boys.  Although technically two separate institutions, they sat across Barataria Boulevard from each other and often served the same population of children.

Madonna Manor was a home and school for boys between the first and sixth grades, and it was operated by the School Sisters of Notre Dame.  Hope Haven provided the same services to boys between the seventh and twelfth grades, and it was operated by priests of the Salesians of Don Bosco.  It was common for a boy to start at Madonna Manor and transition to Hope Haven later.

The New Orleans Archdiocese owned Madonna Manor and Hope Haven and was ultimately responsible for the abuse at those institutions.  The Archdiocese’s caseworkers, through Catholic Charities, were responsible for supervising and monitoring the needs of the children who were placed at the two orphanages.  The School Sisters of Notre Dame were responsible for the day-to-day operations of Madonna Manor, and the priests of the Salesians of Don Bosco were responsible for the day-to-day operations of Hope Haven 1933 to 1967.

Dozens of boys placed at Madonna Manor and Hope Haven suffered a wide range of sexual abuse.  The perpetrators were not one or two individuals, but they included Archdiocesan priests and seminarians, orphanage visitors and workers, nuns of the School Sisters of Notre Dame, and priests of the Salesians of Don Bosco.  Many boys were sexually abused by more than one person and were often abused in front of each other at off-site camps and in the on-campus homes of the orphanage workers, seminarians and Salesian priests.

The Lamothe Law Firm, teaming together with lawyers from the Pfau Cochran Law Firm, have represented dozens of survivors of sexual abuse at Madonna Manor and Hope Haven over the years.  In 2009, they settled a group of cases for over $5 million after years of battling with the New Orleans Archdiocese and others affiliated with it.  They have since continued to represent survivors of sexual abuse in Louisiana, bringing them justice for the terrible wrongs committed against them as children.