HOME     ABOUT THE OBLATES    VOCATIONS     SEMINARY FORMATION    LEADERSHIP     MISSION IN USA     WORLD-WIDE MISSION     JUSTICE & PEACE    OBLATE ASSOCIATES     SHRINES/RETREATS     MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION     OBLATE HISTORY      ALUMNI      PERSONNEL/E-MAIL         DECEASED OBLATES      ARCHIVED NEWS   OMI LINKS   OMI WORLD WEB       

Katrina Relief in New Orleans:

Fr. Rigoli and St. Jude's Staff Continue Efforts

Though the devastation following Hurricane Katrina took place over five months ago, the needs of those affected continue to be very great.  One area in which the Oblates continue to make a difference is in New Orleans, at Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel / International Shrine of St. Jude, where Fr. Tony Rigoli, OMI, the current pastor, provides assistance both to parishioners who have been able to return, and other local residents in need of housing.

The current help to the parish and community takes several forms:

• Some one-time funds have been made available to parish staff to help them to get re-established.  Assistance will be provided to other staff as needed as they return.

• The St. Jude's Community Center, located across the street from the parish and  providing a food program and other services for the needy before Katrina, was converted in November by Fr. Tony into a shelter for the displaced.  Currently, the Center houses about fifty adults, both in individual rooms and on cots and sleeping bags on carpeted floors, in a space that would comfortably sleep twenty.  The requests for temporary lodging continue to pour in as people move back into the city.  (There is work available, but almost nowhere for people to stay.  Local police and firefighters, for example, live in rooms on two Carnival cruise ships in the harbor.)  In late January, Sr. Beth Mouch, MSC, a Marianite of the Holy Cross, began her ministry as Director of the Center, providing counseling and advocacy to temporary residents and others seeking help.

• A large room in the back of the rectory offers donated clothing.  Of particular need is men's clothing - jeans, work boots, and other items.

• In terms of ministering to the spiritual needs of the people, the needs continue, and certainly will ongoing.  Partially due to the fact that over 40 Catholic churches had to be closed, Sunday Masses are standing-room only, and weekday Masses are also well-attended.  During the last week of October, Fr. Tony did continue the long-standing tradition of the St. Jude Novena. Throughout the last week of January, people came from as far away as Baton Rouge, about 75 miles northwest, to attend.  For some, the novena serves as an anchor in the midst of the chaos around them, "something being normal".   For others, it allows those who hadn't considered themselves to be "religious" to tap into their spiritual resources, so that they're not overwhelmed by grief.  Fr. George Knab, OMI, a former associate at St. Jude's who preached at the novena Masses (currently stationed at Precious Blood Parish in Chicago), described it as "faith as a survival skill."

When Fr. Tony was asked, "What do you see as the greatest need right now among the people?"  he immediately responded, "The need to listen.  People need to talk, to cry, to tell their story."  He said that it's obviously hard for people who lived through the disaster to believe it really took place.

More specifically, he said, "If you're asking what we need right now, we need specialists from the outside to meet with people regarding mental health / emotional stress issues."  The trauma of the disaster is something that clearly is "just below the surface" of the consciousness of many at the parish.  Fr. Tony said that one man told him, "I can't go to sleep with the door closed."  Another lady said, "When I was a little girl, I would sleep like a baby when it rained at night.  Now, when it rains, I can't sleep."  The fear of thinking, "Will I have to evacuate again?" keeps her awake.

Some of the stories from the areas hit by Katrina are heartwarming and some are heartbreaking.  A third-grader told Fr. Tony, "I feel like my world died.  I don't even want to go outside to play anymore."  People lost their homes and their possessions, but they also lost their communities - folks they lived next to for years; families whose kids played with their kids - people they were close to that they'll probably never see again.

Fr. Tony is doing well amid a large number of parish and other responsibilities.  (After being relocated to Houston, and then to San Antonio due to Hurricane Rita, former pastor Fr. Mike Amesse, OMI was asked by Fr. Lougen to provide emergency assistance as an associate in Brownsville, TX, where he continues.  Sch. Bro. Porfirio Garcia, OMI, who had just begun his internship at St. Jude's when Katrina hit New Orleans, was reassigned to St. William's Parish in Tewksbury, MA, when the Oblates were awaiting their return to the parish.  In the meantime, having volunteers and visitors most weeks does help.  Fr. Tony misses prayer in community; there used to be a total of three Oblate priests at St. Jude's. 

There are many stories of hope, in spite of the tragedy.  For example, in late 2005, some cousins of Fr. Tony's in Buffalo, NY, donated a large number of clothes and toiletries, and put them in a semi truck, about 30 pallets worth of items, and transported the items to New Orleans.  At a Sunday Mass, Fr. Tony asked if people could help to unload it on Monday at 8 AM.  Ten police and fifty other people showed up.  All of them had lost their homes.  He was heartened by the spirit of the people, laughing and having fun as they joined in the work.  In the midst of the pain, there was a sense of relief, support, possibly because everyone felt "in the same boat".

Fr. Tony teaches a Fundamentals of Catholicism class at Our Lady of Holy Cross College in New Orleans, and recently asked the students in the form of an additional quiz question, "What impact has Katrina had on your own personal life, and has it changed you in any way?  Explain."  The overwhelming response was that students were thankful to God for what they have, and that they would no longer take things like relationships with family and friends for granted. 

One response was particularly noted by Fr. Tony:

"I have been forever changed by Katrina.  It almost feels like my life has been categorized by either “before the storm” or “after the storm.”  I lived in Lakeview and I lost everything and so did my family.  I’m not actually sure what keeps me going.  I just get up and live life.  I did blame God at first, but a friend of mine reminded me of the Book of Job.  Where Job was constantly suffering and questioned why God was doing this to him and God’s response was that Job was great to have believed in him through all his tragedies.  That changed me too."

The people of St. Jude's deeply appreciate the gifts and prayers of those who benefit from ministry of Fr. Tony and the parish team.  Both of the fundraising organizations for the US Province, the Missionary Association of Mary Immaculate (9480 N. DeMazenod Dr., Belleville, IL 62223) and Oblate Missions (323 Oblate Dr., San Antonio, TX 78216) continue to forward specifically designated “Katrina relief” donor gifts to the Province for distribution to St. Jude's as needed.

Story and photo thanks to Michael Millar from Oblate Missions, San Antonio.