Beyoncé Buys Century-Old Church in New Orleans

Rumors have been circulating, courtesy of TMZ, that East Hampton music icon Beyoncé recently purchased a nearly 7,500 square foot church on Camp Street in New Orleans, and people cannot wait to see what she’ll do with it.

The place of worship was previously listed for $850,000, but it’s unclear how much the 36-year-old musician supposedly paid for the building, originally built in the early 1900s. The church has been out of commission for many years now, and some believe the property may be refurbished into a home for the singer-songwriter, as her sister Solange Knowles lives nearby in the French Quarter.

According to NOLA, the purchase, made on May 11, was mysteriously not signed by either of the songstress sisters, according to Ocean Parish land records. It was signed by a trustee of the Noble Jones Trust, Knowles family-friend Vernell Jackson Keys. Keys has been a friend of the singers’ mother Tina “since sixth grade,” according to a 2015 Instagram post.

Interestingly, the Noble Jones Trust also owns another property in New Orleans, which serves as the mailing address for the Garden Quarter church, according to the Orleans Parish Assessor’s Office.

The aforementioned home has served as a Mardi Gras celebration venue for the Knowles family in the past, which further solidifies their link to the Camp Street church.

Though a lavish, stained-glass-filled home would certainly feel fitting for the highly worshipped Beyoncé, it’s still unclear as to what the old church is going to become. According to city zoning laws, the area is compatible with “compact residential properties,” however there is still the possibility that it may remain a church or become a commercial establishment.

This supposed transaction occurred just a few weeks after an Episcopal church in San Francisco hosted a Mass dedicated to Beyoncé and her music. Grace Cathedral’s Beyoncé Mass celebrated the lives of “the marginalized and forgotten,” particularly women of color, and drew over 900 guests.