The parish was bordered by Bayou St. John to the west, the London Avenue Canal to the east, by Lake Pontchartrain on the north, and extended in a southerly direction into the Mid-City neighborhood of New Orleans.

[6] The church sanctuary had an arched canopy, also of concrete, with four broadly spread columns that extended through the roof, tapering in the spire, which was 135 ft (41 m) in height.

[6] The exterior of the church at levels below the arched canopies were made of brick, in the same style as the mid-century modern homes that were typical of the Gentilly neighborhood of St. Frances Cabrini Parish.

[8] Philip Hannan, who became archbishop of New Orleans shortly after at the time the church was dedicated, was skeptical of the practicality of the design once construction was complete.

In his autobiography, Hannan wrote: "Every time a breeze would blow, the spire would wiggle and shake part of the curved roof loose, leading to continuous leaks.

Cabrini's design may have won some national architectural awards, but that leaky roof was flawed and a maintenance nightmare.

"[9] St. Frances Cabrini Church was heavily damaged late August 2005 by Hurricane Katrina, rendering it unusable.

[10] Capital punishment abolition advocate Sister Helen Prejean served as religious education director at St. Frances Cabrini Parish and also as a teacher at the affiliated school.

[11] The first pastor of St. Frances Cabrini Church was Gerard Louis Frey who later became a prominent Roman Catholic Bishop in the United States.