Bayou
Catholic
The official magazine of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux
Hurricane Ida devastates Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux NOVEMBER 2021 ~ VOL. 42 NO. 4 ~ COMPLIMENTARY
Before, During and After the Storm Thibodaux Regional is Committed to Serving Our Community
Whatever the circumstance, a pandemic, a hurricane, or both at the same time, our commitment to providing quality health care remains constant. We say thank you to our amazing team of staff and physicians, we couldn’t do it without you. And to the communities we serve, thank you for supporting our efforts. We consider it a privilege to be here when you need us. Looking to the future, we remain committed to making this a stronger, healthier place to call home.
985.447.5500 • Thibodaux.com
Contents
Bayou Stories 13
Damage Assessment 36
Catholic Schools 39
Pastoral Response 53
Disaster Response 63
From the Editor 6
On Our Cover
LAWRENCE CHATAGNIER/BAYOU CATHOLIC
Hurricane Ida came ashore at Port Fourchon Aug. 29, unleashing a fury of wind and rain all across the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. This epic Category 4 storm caused widespread damage and power outages that lasted for weeks. Grand Isle took the brunt of the storm as it moved out of the Gulf of Mexico and north along Bayou Lafourche and through neighboring parishes before sweeping northeast and affecting other portions of the state and country.
Comfort For My People By Bishop Shelton J. Fabre
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November 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 3
Bayou
Catholic
The official magazine of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux
A MAGAZINE THAT SUPPORTS YOUR FAITH WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU READ THE BAYOU CATHOLIC? INVOLVED
CONNECTED
INFORMED
INSPIRED
Discover upcoming events at local churches and venues for fun, fellowship and education.
Join friends and neighbors in other parishes as they follow their faith.
Investigate the issues nationally and internationally that involve the universal church.
Strengthen your spiritual life with reflective commentary.
COLLECTION
will be the weekend of November 13-14 or mail contribution to Bayou Catholic P.O. Box 505 Schriever, LA 70395 www.bayoucatholic.org |
@bayoucatholic |
www.htdiocese.org
Catholic Press Association: 100 Years of Good News
4 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • November 2021
Bayou Catholic How to reach us: BY PHONE: (985) 850-3132
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BY MAIL: P.O. Box 505 Schriever, LA 70395 BY FAX: (985) 850-3232 BY E-MAIL: bayoucatholic@htdiocese.org The Bayou Catholic is published monthly, for the people of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux by the H-T Publishing Co., P.O. Box 505, Schriever, LA 70395. Subscription rate is $35 per year. The Bayou Catholic is a member of the Catholic Press Association, the National Newspaper Association and an associate member of the Louisiana Press Association.
Lawrence Chatagnier
editor and general manager
April LeBouef
business manager
Janet Marcel
staff writer/administrative assistant
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39
Lisa Schobel Hebert graphic designer
Katie Luke
accounting specialist
Like us on Facebook or Find us on the web www.bayoucatholic.org
Where to find your Bayou Catholic
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63
Bayou Catholic magazine can be found at all Catholic churches and Catholic schools throughout the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. To pick up a copy, you may also visit the merchants who advertise in our issue. Those wishing to receive the magazine by mail can call Janet Marcel at (985) 850-3132 or write to Bayou Catholic, P.O. Box 505, Schriever, LA 70395. Subscription price is $35 annually. For the online edition, go to www.bayoucatholic.org
November 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 5
From the Editor
Hurricane Ida unleashes its fury on Houma-Thibodaux LAWRENCE CHATAGNIER/BAYOU CATHOLIC
This issue of Bayou Catholic magazine is dedicated entirely to coverage of Hurricane Ida which slammed Louisiana’s coast at Port Fourchon, Sunday, Aug. 29. We begin the issue with stories from people who were directly impacted by the storm. The articles from the Bayou Stories section come from individuals who live in Grand Isle, lower Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes. Some stayed for the storm; others evacuated. Those who stayed recount the terrifying sounds of the wind and rain pelting their homes, ripping apart roofs, uprooting trees and making them wish they had evacuated to a safe place. Other stories tell of what some people found upon their return home. Many came back after the storm to find their homes were uninhabitable. There was a widespread power outage that went on for weeks. In some lower communities, power was out for over a month. This was an epic storm which will be a life changing event for many of this area. In this issue, there is also a diocesan report which lists the
damages sustained by church parishes, schools and satellite locations throughout the diocese. Just about every church parish in the diocese received some type of damage from Hurricane Ida. There is a section that covers the reopening of the Catholic schools of the diocese. The Bayou Catholic was fortunate enough to receive help from the staff of the Clarion Herald, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Their editor, Peter Finney Jr., associate editor Christine Bordelon, and Kid’s Clarion editor Beth Donze, came down to our diocese and reported on the reopening of the Catholic schools. They helped our staff in a time of need. Without their help we wouldn’t have been able to offer the amount of stories, and provide the storm coverage that appears in this issue. The staff of Bayou Catholic thanks them for writing outstanding stories and giving of their time while still having to put together a publication of their own. Our parish priests have done an outstanding job of helping people in their communities during the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. We have stories from different priests who had to deal with many issues, some of a personal nature, while all helping to distribute goods and much needed supplies to storm victims. There is also a section that features the work of the Diocesan Disaster Response Team. From the
6 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • November 2021
moment when it was safe to venture out, the Disaster Response Team members began assessing the needs of the people affected by the storm, and receiving and distributing goods for storm victims. There are many photos showing the devastation that Ida left behind. This issue of Bayou Catholic documents the first month after Ida. This is an event that will have a long lasting effect on people’s lives here in the Diocese of HoumaThibodaux. Our coverage of Ida and how our people are recovering from the hurricane’s fury will be an ongoing event for months to come. We pledge to tell the story of those who have lost so much from this powerful storm. There are many, especially those living in the southern portion of the diocese who lost everything they owned. There are people in the communities of Pointe-aux-Chenes, Dulac, Chauvin and along Bayou Lafourche who could easily be forgotten. We will do our best to tell their story, and let everyone know the plight of the people who live in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. Remember, after reading Bayou Catholic, pass it on to a friend or relative who might not be attending Mass. It’s one of the great ways to do your part in spreading the Good News! BC
Lawrence
Lawrence Chatagnier Editor & General Manager
The collection will be held on November 20 & 21, 2021 Thank you for your generous support.
Comment
The Lord’s presence is with us during this long and tedious recovery period Comfort For My People Bishop Shelton J. Fabre
My dear friends in Christ: When I chose my episcopal motto in 2007, I chose a phrase that has always spoken to me in my life and in my priesthood, which are the words from the Prophet Isaiah 40:1: “Comfort my people.” I chose those words as my episcopal motto because I have known the Lord’s comfort in my life at difficult times. It is my experience and my sure and certain faith that God desires to come to us, to comfort us, and to guide us through the challenges of life. Never more in the Diocese of HoumaThibodaux do we need these words from the Lord than we do now. The historic events surrounding Hurricane Ida have changed and will change all our lives. Times such as this elicit a variety of emotions. Some of us are fearful, others may feel overwhelmed, and still more of us have questions. I myself have felt all of these emotions as the days since Hurricane Ida have felt like an interior roller coaster. Wherever you are and whatever you are feeling, I want to be with you and invite you to hear the words of the Lord: “Comfort my people.” As we all continue to journey through the long and tedious recovery period after the hurricane, the Lord desires for us to know of his presence with us and to comfort us in various ways. The Lord wants to comfort us in prayer. I invite you not to forget the power of prayer, Mass and other forms of liturgical worship in this time of uncertainty. As you watch the television or listen to the radio, as
TYLER NEIL/BAYOU CATHOLIC
you deal with the many demands that are placed upon us in these days of challenge, may I invite you to consider praying a decade of the rosary or forms of prayer throughout the day. As you respond to many demands and attempt to meet various deadlines, do not forget to keep holy the Lord’s Day on Sunday by attendance at Mass. If you are a person who adores the Lord in eucharistic adoration, allow the Lord to comfort you during this time and pray for God’s comfort upon others for their benefit. Our attention to prayer in these ways roots us in our relationship with the Lord at this difficult time, and serves as a reminder to us of God’s comforting presence with us. The Lord wants to comfort us with prudence. Times such as these can tempt us to act out of emotion rather than wisdom. We all know that difficult times can place before us the temptation to be disillusioned and act only on the emotion of the moment. As we make significant decisions, I urge us to use prudence in our decision making. The Lord wants to comfort us with community. My friends in Christ,
8 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • November 2021
we will get through this. We will persevere together. Since my moving here in 2013, I have come to discover many things about the people of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, and one of them is that we are a strong people and a people of strong faith. God is with us, and often times we experience his presence through others. While I don’t know what our future holds post Hurricane Ida, what I do know is that we are stronger together. With you, dear brothers and sisters, I believe that our hope is in the Lord, who made heaven and earth. The Lord is with us now, and will be journeying with us in the coming weeks and months as we continue to recover from Hurricane Ida, bestowing upon us his comfort and his strength. As we seek God’s comfort, let us also be willing to comfort one another, to lift one another in prayer before the Lord, and to always remember that we will get through this together! I remain grateful for your faith, for your generosity, and for your presence in our community. Our help is in the name of the Lord, and our hope and our trust are rooted in the living God! Blessings and peace to you all! BC
TYLER NEIL/BAYOU CATHOLIC
November 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 9
Comentario
La presencia del Señor está con nosotros durante este largo y tedioso período de recuperación. Mis queridos amigos en Cristo: Cuando elegí mi lema episcopal en 2007, elegí una frase que siempre me ha hablado en mi vida y en mi sacerdocio, que son las palabras del profeta Isaías 40,1: “Consuela a mi pueblo”. Elegí esas palabras como mi lema episcopal porque he conocido el consuelo del Señor en mi vida en momentos difíciles. Es mi experiencia, y mi fe segura y certera de que Dios desea venir a nosotros, consolarnos y guiarnos a través de los desafíos de la vida. Nunca como hoy en la Diócesis de Houma-Thibodaux habíamos necesitado estas palabras del Señor como en estos momentos. Los eventos históricos que rodearon al huracán Ida han cambiado y cambiarán todas nuestras vidas. Momentos como este provocan una variedad de emociones. Algunos de nosotros tenemos miedo, otros pudieran sentirse abrumados y aún más, tenemos preguntas. Yo mismo he sentido todas estas emociones ya que los días a partir del huracán Ida se han sentido como una montaña rusa interior. Estén donde estén y lo que sea que estén sintiendo, quiero estar con ustedes e invitarlos a escuchar las palabras del Señor: “Consuelen a mi pueblo”. Mientras todos continuamos caminando a través del largo y tedioso período de recuperación después del huracán, el Señor desea que sepamos de su presencia, Él está con nosotros y nos consuela de diversas maneras. El Señor quiere consolarnos en la oración. Los invito a no olvidar el poder de la oración, la Misa y otras formas de culto litúrgico en este tiempo de incertidumbre. Mientras miran la televisión o escuchan la radio, mientras se enfrentan a las muchas situaciones demandantes que se nos imponen en estos días de desafío, los invito a considerar rezar una década del rosario o formas de oración a lo largo del día. A medida que tratan de responder a muchas situaciones urgentes e intentan cumplir con fechas
TYLER NEIL/BAYOU CATHOLIC
límites, no olviden santificar el Día del Señor el domingo asistiendo a la Misa. Si son personas que adoran al Señor en la adoración eucarística, permitan que el Señor los consuele durante este tiempo y oren para que Dios consuele a los demás con sus bendiciones. Al elevar nuestra oración de esta manera somos arraigados en nuestra relación con el Señor en este momento difícil, y nos sirve como un recordatorio de la presencia reconfortante de Dios con nosotros. El Señor quiere consolarnos con prudencia. Tiempos como estos pueden tentarnos a actuar por emoción más que por sabiduría. Todos sabemos que los tiempos difíciles pueden poner ante nosotros la tentación de desilusionarnos y actuar solo sobre la emoción del momento. A medida que tomamos decisiones importantes, los exhorto a que seamos prudentes en nuestra toma de decisiones. El Señor quiere consolarnos con la comunidad. Amigos míos en Cristo, superaremos esto. Perseveraremos juntos. Desde que me mudé aquí en el 2013, he llegado a descubrir muchas cosas sobre la gente de la Diócesis de Houma-Thibodaux, y una de ellas es
10 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • November 2021
que somos un pueblo fuerte y un pueblo de una gran fe. Dios está con nosotros, y muchas veces hemos experimentado la presencia de Él a través de otros. Si bien no sé qué nos depara el futuro después del huracán Ida, lo que sí sé es que juntos somos más fuertes. Junto con ustedes, queridos hermanos y hermanas, yo creo que nuestra esperanza está en el Señor, quien hizo el cielo y la tierra. El Señor está con nosotros ahora, y caminará con nosotros en las próximas semanas y meses a medida que continuamos recuperándonos del huracán Ida, dándonos su consuelo y su fuerza. Mientras buscamos el consuelo de Dios, también estemos dispuestos a consolarnos unos a otros, al elevar nuestras suplicas los unos a otros en oración ante el Señor, ¡y siempre recordemos que superaremos esto juntos! Sigo agradecido por su fe, por su generosidad y por su presencia en nuestra comunidad. ¡Nuestra ayuda está en el nombre del Señor, y nuestra esperanza y confianza están arraigadas en el Dios vivo! ¡Bendiciones y paz para todos ustedes! BC
Binh luan bang loi
Sự hiện diện của Thiên Chúa ở với chúng ta trên con đường dài và gian khổ xây dựng lại Anh chị em thân mến: Khi chọn khẩu hiệu giám mục cho bản thân năm 2007 tôi đã chọn một khẩu hiệu mà nó luôn nói với chính mình cũng như trong đời sống linh mục, những lời đó phát xuất từ tiên tri Isaiah đoạn 40 câu 1: “Ủi an dân ta.” Tôi chọn khẩu hiệu đó bởi vì tôi đã cảm nhận được sự ủi an của Ngài trong thời gian khó khăn. Với kinh nghiệm, niềm xác tín và đức tin vững vàng tin rằng Thiên Chúa ao ước đến với chúng ta, để an ủi ta, và hướng dẫn chúng ta lướt qua nhiều thử thách. Không có thời điểm nào trong Giáo Phận cần những lời nói đó của Thiên Chúa như bây giờ. Những tàn phá xảy ra chung quanh bão Ida đã làm xáo trộn đời sống và sẽ ảnh hưởng tất cả mọi người. Thời gian như thế này gợi ra một số cảm xúc. Một số trong chúng ta cảm thấy sợ hãi, những người khác thấy quá sức chịu đựng, và những người khác nữa đặt nhiều câu hỏi. Bản thân tôi cảm nhận được hết những cảm giác trên từ những ngày mà cơn bão tàn phá chúng ta, nó giống như mình chơi những trò chơi cảm giác mạnh. Cho dù anh chị em ở đâu hay cảm giác như thế nào tôi muốn hiện diện bên anh chị em và mời gọi anh chị em nghe lời của Thiên Chúa: “Ủi an dân Ta.” Để tiếp tục con đường còn rất dài và khó khăn xây dựng lại sau cơn bão Thiên Chúa ao ước muốn chúng ta nhận biết sự hiện diện của Ngài và để ủi an chúng ta trong mọi sự. Thiên Chúa muốn ủi an ta trong kinh nguyện. Tôi khuyến khích anh chị em đừng quên sức mạnh trong kinh nguyện, Thánh Lễ và các nghi thức phụng vụ khác trong thời điểm bấp bênh. Như khi anh chị em xem tivi và nghe đài, như khi anh chị em đối diện với thách thức đè nặng trên vai trong những ngày tháng đầy thách thức này, cho tôi mãn phép mời gọi anh chị em đọc mười kinh kính mừng hay các lời kinh khác trong ngày. Như khi anh chị em đáp ứng được những đòi hỏi và cố gắng làm xong dự
TYLER NEIL/BAYOU CATHOLIC
tính thì đừng quên giữ ngày Chúa Nhật bằng cách tham dự Thánh Lễ. Nếu anh chị em là người chuyên chầu Thánh Thể thì để cho Chúa an ủi anh chị em trong thời gian chầu Mình Thánh và cầu xin Chúa ủi an những người khác nữa. Sự chăm chỉ cầu nguyện qua các nghi thức đó đặt nền móng gắn bó với Chúa trong thời điểm khó khăn, và như khí cụ nhắc nhở chúng ta sự ủi an của Chúa luôn bên cạnh chúng ta. Thiên Chúa muốn ủi an chúng ta với sự khôn ngoan. Vào thời điểm như thế này có thể chúng ta hay bị cám giỗ hành động theo cảm giác hơn là khôn ngoan. Chúng ta biết rằng thời điểm khó khăn có thể đặt trước mặt chúng ta sự cám dỗ với ảo giác chỉ hành xử theo cảm xúc. Vì thế khi quyết định làm gì lớn tôi khuyến khích anh chị em hành xử trong sự khôn ngoan. Thiên Chúa muố ñ ủi an chúng ta với cộng đồng. Anh chị em thân mến, chúng ta sẽ trải qua gian đoạn khó khăn. Chúng ta cùng nhẫn nại. Từ khi dọn tới đây từ năm 2013 tôi đã khám phá ra nhiều thứ về anh chị em trong Giáo Phận HoumaThibodaux, và một trong những khám
phá đó là chúng ta là những người kiên cường và có niềm tin vững mạnh. Thiên Chúa hiện diện với chúng ta, và nhiều khi Ngài đến với chúng ta qua người khác. Trong khi tôi không biết tương lai sẽ ra sao sau cái bão này, điều mà tôi xác tín là chúng ta khăng khít hơn. Anh chị em rất thân mến, tôi tin rằng hy vọng của chúng ta là ở trong Thiên Chúa, người đã dựng nên trời đất. Thiên Chúa hiện diện với chúng ta bây giờ, và cùng đồng hành với chúng ta trong nhiều tuần và tháng tới trong khi chúng ta gầy dựng lại sau Bão Ida, Ngài ban cho chúng ta sự ủi an và sức mạnh của Ngài. Trong lúc chúng ta tìm kiếm sự ủi an Ngài, chúng ta cũng đem an ủi cho người khác, cùng cầu nguyện cho nhau trong kinh nguyện trước mặt Chúa, và luôn luôn nhớ rằng chúng ta cùng trải qua khó khăn. Tôi cảm mến đức tin và lòng quảng đại của anh chị em và sự hiện diện của anh chị em trong cộng đồng. Sự cậy trông là ở trong tay Chúa, hy vọng và tín thác được ăn rễ trong Thiên Chúa hằng sống. Phép lành và bình an ở cùng anh chị em! BC
November 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 11
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12 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • November 2021
Bayou Stories
Hurricane Ida rips through the heart of bayou communities Story by Janet Marcel Photos by Lawrence Chatagnier Driving through the area that comprises the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux to the north, south, east and west, one is easily overwhelmed by mounds of ceiling tiles, insulation, carpet, mattresses, furniture, thousands of uprooted trees, and piles upon piles of tree branches lining the streets and highways. Roof shingles are everywhere, there are tarps on roofs, leaning and downed power poles blocking the roads, trees on houses; mobile homes and houses – big and small, old and new – ripped apart by the 150 plus mile-an-hour winds of Hurricane Ida, which made landfall at Port Fourchon, LA, about 18 miles southwest of Grand Isle and about 60 miles south of New Orleans, on Sunday, August 29, wreaking havoc as it moved north through southeast Louisiana. “Devastating … heartbreaking … shocking … unbelievable … unimaginable … and catastrophic” are just a few of the words that have been used over and over again to describe the storm and its aftermath. We are all dealing with the many challenges Hurricane Ida left behind. Everyone’s story is different … but, everyone has a story to tell. Following are the stories of eight families throughout the diocese who agreed to share their Hurricane Ida experience with Bayou Catholic. BC
November 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 13
Bayou Stories
Retired couple counts themselves among the lucky as Ida wrecks Grand Isle Janet and Lenny Ray, parishioners of Our Lady of the Isle Church parish in Grand Isle, moved to the island in 1993, right after Lenny retired. Their house has been in the family since 1968. The couple also have a residence in Marrero, where they stayed during Hurricane Ida, but they call Grand Isle their home. Janet says they spend one or two nights a month in Marrero, mostly when they have doctors’ appointments there. Lenny, who retired from Schlumberger where he worked as an oilfield engineer, volunteers as a handyman for the church, always doing little projects there; and Janet heads up the Catechism classes. They have two children, one boy and one girl, and six grandchildren. Upon returning to the island after the hurricane, Lenny says, “It was quite a shock. It looked like someone set off a bomb on the island.” Ruth says they started seeing pictures of the island about three or four days after the storm. “The first picture we saw of this house was taken at angle and showed some roof damage, but it didn’t look that bad, however the picture was shadowy. Then we started seeing more and more pictures of the island, and we felt like if we had anything left at all, we’d be lucky; but it was still a big shock seeing it for the first time.” They had no significant damage to their house in Marrero. “We could hear things hitting the roof during the storm,” says Janet, “but luckily it was nothing big enough to cause damage.” When they drove up to their Grand Isle home for the first time after Hurricane Ida, they found that the screenedin porch at the front of the house along with its roof was completely gone, but the deck was still there. They also found that there was about two feet of the house’s main roof where the wood was missing; the wall above the front door was gone and the glass on the front door had broken. There was a lot of water damage mostly to the living room in the front of the house which was left wide open to the rain. Their brand new whole house Generac generator was smashed and the air conditioning unit flipped over. There was no flooding at their house, which is raised eight feet off of the ground, from storm surge, but there was a few feet of sand under the house, which was the case for most of the island. Their house was built very well using metal rods and all plywood – no sheetrock – by Humble Oil Co. in the late 1940s or early 1950s, says Lenny, who adds that you don’t put sheetrock in a house in Grand Isle.
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14 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • November 2021
©d-maps.com
Story by Janet Marcel Photos by Lawrence Chatagnier
The Ray’s home on Grand Isle after Ida
Grand Isle
Bayou Stories
The Rays say Catholic Charities of the Diocese of HoumaThibodaux has been doing a wonderful job on the island. They set up an area underneath the school and have been giving away all kinds of supplies … water, ice, canned goods, diapers, baby goods, paper towels, cleaning products, gloves, gas and much more. They brought two big laundry trailers in front of the church where you could do your laundry, and there is even a place where people can go to get Wi-Fi services. Ruth says some of their fellow parishioners who didn’t have much damage went to Lowes and purchased several trailer loads of wheelbarrows, air conditioners, rakes, shovels and cleaning equipment to help others who did have damages. Lenny says they’ve never seen anything like the damage from Hurricane Ida. “In 1947, my grandpa had a little camp in Clermont Harbor, MS, on four-foot cement pilings that got knocked down. And for (Hurricane) Betsy in ‘65, my grandmother’s camp on the beach here was completely destroyed. But from ’65 until now, we’ve been lucky … a little roof damage here and there, but that’s about all.” “Our damages are an inconvenience … we’ll give the house a good cleaning and put the roof back on; the screened porch will come later. We were very fortunate; we can smile and laugh about it now. We have no plans to sell this place. I choose to live here because I enjoy the lifestyle and we’ll leave this place to our children to do what they will with it,” says Lenny. BC
Janet and Lenny Ray
A camp on the beach side of Grand Isle November 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 15
Bayou Stories
Pointe-aux-Chenes residents return to find devastation in tribal community Story by Janet Marcel Photos by Lawrence Chatagnier Alayna and Russell Dardar Jr., parishioners of St. Charles Borromeo Church in Pointe-aux-Chenes, along with their three children, Russell III, 6; Parker, 4; and Caroline, five months, traveled up the bayou to Bourg to ride out the storm with Russell’s family. “It was so scary. The wind was so bad. We won’t do it again,” says Alayna. There were nine people in the house where they rode out the storm, which sustained some roof damage during the storm. The Dardars weren’t able to return to their home in Pointe-aux-Chenes to assess the damage until about a week after the hurricane. When they got to the house, which is on the ground, they found damage to the roof and several broken windows; on the inside there were three buckled walls, ceiling tiles were falling down and there was water damage. They cleaned up as much as they could and put a tarp on the roof to prevent further water damage. The couple says that even though there were some houses in Bourg that had damage, those houses were in much better shape than the ones in Pointe-aux-Chenes. “It looked like a bomb went off here,” says Alayna. “I was shocked to see so much damage, but my husband says he expected it to be really bad.” Alayna says before the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe Community Center opened, they had to travel all the way to Morgan City to get a generator and some gas. But since
Pointe-aux-Chenes
the Center opened they have been able to get just about anything they needed. Looking toward the future, Russell says, “We will stay here and rebuild. We have no plans to leave … this is our home.” BC
Alayna and Russell Dardar Jr. and child Caroline look over damages near their home in Pointe-aux-Chenes. 16 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • November 2021
Bayou Stories
In above photos, two of the many homes in the community of Pointe-aux-Chenes that were completely devastated November 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 17
Bayou Stories
Chauvin fisherman rides out Ida on his 55-foot fishing boat Story by Janet Marcel Photos by Lawrence Chatagnier Kimothy and Melissa Guy are parishioners of St. Joseph Church parish in Chauvin who live along the banks of Bayou Little Caillou just south of Boudreaux Canal in a home that was raised 16 feet off the ground after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita flooded the area in 2005. The couple has been married for 28 years. Kimothy’s wife Melissa didn’t want to leave her husband here to face Hurricane Ida alone, but he eventually convinced her to go to their camp in Natchitoches. Kimothy, however, chose to stay on the 55-foot steel hull commercial fishing boat he built with his father 20 years ago, hoping to somehow be able to save it. He makes his living on the water and says he doesn’t know anything else. Hurricane Ida was somewhat unique in that it made landfall during the day. Kimothy says around 10 a.m., Sunday morning the winds were already at 62 mph straight out of the north. At around 1 p.m., from his vantage point in the boat, he watched the roof blow off of his house and over the power lines eventually breaking into two pieces and landing in the bayou. “It flew off just like you woulda pulled your hat off your head … and it took the living room walls with it.” At that point, he says, “I thought to myself, this ain’t gonna be good. I didn’t know what to do except pray. So I just prayed and prayed.” At around 2 p.m., Kimothy says the wind switched around and started coming out of the west and when that happened all the water from the lake across the street crossed over and started piling up in his yard and into the bayou. The waves started crashing against his boat; the ropes that were keeping his boat anchored to the dock started fraying and the boat shed pilings started breaking. “At about 3:30 p.m., the boat took off and when it took off it just turned sideways. I was inside the cabin holding on to the back door and when it rolled over, it rolled over away from me, so I flew over the kitchen sink, over the stove and the cabinet, and I landed hard against the window on the other side. And I didn’t remember nothing … I got knocked out for a little while and I woke up and I was in the water. I looked to the front and I saw the boat had rolled over head first and all the windows went underneath the water, and I was like I gotta get outta here.” He put on a lifejacket on at about 1 o’clock because he figured it was going to get bad. Because the windows on his boat were sealed, he couldn’t get out of them. He could see the back door about 15 feet above where he had landed so he tried catching the door a few times, but he couldn’t get it because he had hurt his back when he hit the window before. He finally was able to climb over the stove and the cabinet 18 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • November 2021
Chauvin
again and get to the door where he sat for about an hour with the winds howling around him. When the fumes from the gas tank started pouring out, he says it was like somebody was spraying him with fuel and he was burning up. “I looked in the engine room and I didn’t see the engine. Then half an hour later, I looked back in the engine room again and I could see the top of the engine coming out of the water so I knew the water had gone down a little bit. I crawled in the engine room and sat on the engine where the wind wouldn’t hit me.” There were three other men nearby who had stayed on their boats, too. Each of their boats flipped during the rising waters and high wind, but somehow one of the other men managed to get to Kimothy’s small boat, make his way to Kimothy, who jumped in the bayou and swam to the boat. Then they were able to pick up the other two men and make it to the bank of the canal. “The only thing I could see in the dark was my shed and I said, ‘I’m gonna get in that shed.’ The other guy said okay, we’re all getting in that shed. We made the round and they didn’t have no more steps and the shed was above my head. One guy said I won’t be able to get in there. And, I said, ‘Listen, thank God we all didn’t die across the bayou, we didn’t die and we didn’t drown, and I’m not about to drown on this side the bayou.’ Then I got mad and I said, ‘we’re all getting in that shed one way or the other!’” And they all did. Kimothy had sleeping bags and an air mattress in the shed so they were able to keep warm. “We started praying, thanking God that we were all alive. We could have all died out there and nobody would have
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Bayou Stories
In top photo, Kimothy and Melisssa Guy’s home before Hurricane Ida. In bottom photo, Melissa and Kimothy stand in front of their home after Ida’s fury.
November 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 19
Bayou Stories
Fisherman cont. known what had happened to us. And then all of a sudden, one of the guys said my phone just lit up. We had all lost our phones and we yelled ‘call somebody.’ He tried a number, but no one answered. So I gave him my wife’s number and she answered on the second ring. I said, ‘Listen,’ … she was crying … ‘all four of us are in the shed. We’re all alive. We don’t have anything left. The boat flipped over in the middle of the canal and the house blew up. We don’t have nothing left, but we’re all alive … .’” A little bit later, they were able to get in touch with Kimothy’s brother-in-law who lives by St. Joseph Church. They told him where they were and that they were safe. His brother-in-law told them he was coming to get them, but Kimothy didn’t think he would be able to make it. About an hour and a half went by and they could hear a horn blowing, so they untied the door and opened it. It was his brother-inlaw and he was yelling to them, “get out of the shed.” So they all jumped out and walked through waist deep water to get to his truck on the road and then back to his house. The next morning Kimothy’s father and a few of his friends went looking for him at his house and were met with a frightening scene and no sign of Kimothy or the other three men. But they eventually found him alive, although a little shaken up, at his brother-in-law’s house. Melissa says it was a tearful reunion. “For about four hours, no one knew what was going on or even if they were alive or not. No one had radio or cell service. So being over there and not knowing what was going on over here was crazy,” says Melissa. They stayed with their son in Thibodaux for three weeks after the hurricane, but are now staying at Kimothy’s father’s house in Montegut, which they say makes it much easier on them to get to their house. The boat was flipped over on the other side of the bayou for about seven or eight days after the hurricane, but since then they have had help to turn the boat upright again, and Kimothy says it will take a lot of work, but he’ll be able to fix it. When they were finally able to pull it up, all of the rigging was mangled up, so they pulled all of it up onto the bank of the bayou. For about five or six days, Melissa would sit on the tailgate of the truck while Kimothy worked on the boat. One morning she started yelling to him to come see something. He says at first he thought she saw a snake, but when he went over to sit next to her, she told him to look at the stuff that was all tangled up in the rigging. That looks like a pretty tablecloth, huh?” she asked him. Kimothy said, yeah I guess; I don’t know. Why? … She tells him, “look real good.” So Kimothy got down and grabbed it, and much to their surprise … it was her wedding dress. Melissa says she had been seeing it for three or four days and thought to herself, “I don’t know who this pretty tablecloth belongs to, but I want it.” There were only a few little holes in the bag and Melissa says she is going to find somewhere to bring it to be cleaned. 20 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • November 2021
Melissa’s wedding dress was in the attic of their home. Kimothy says when the roof blew off, everything flew out of the attic and there was nothing left up there. But somehow, to Melissa’s delight, her wedding dress ended up in the canal and got tangled up in the boat’s rigging. After cleaning and working on their house and boat every day for 23 days straight from sunrise to sunset, the couple decided to spend a few days at their camp in Natchitoches. They got up on Sunday morning and tried to find a church where they could attend Mass. “When the priest started talking,” says Kimothy, “he was saying ‘all you people who have all kinds of material things … material things don’t mean nothing. You have to have faith in your heart.’ And I started crying. We came from way down the bayou … nobody knows who we are … we lose the house, we lose the boat, we lose everything we got and we come to church way over here and the priest is telling us about how material things don’t mean nothing.” “It was like he was talking directly to us,” says Melissa. Kimothy and Melissa have no plans to leave their home. “We will rebuild our house and fix the boat. They’re both salvageable,” says Kimothy. “I’ve been living here 53 years. I can’t go anywhere. I need the water. You can’t put me in the city; I’d go crazy. There’s nothing for me to do in the city. All I ever did was shrimp and crab. This is my life.” BC
Kimothy Guy’s overturned commercial fishing boat
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Bayou Stories
Dulac couple is thankful that 120 year old family home has moderate damage Story by Janet Marcel Photo by Lawrence Chatagnier Laura and Larry Verdin, parishioners of Holy Family Church in Grand Caillou, evacuated to their daughter’s father-in-law’s house in the back of Broadmoor Subdivision in Houma. “The storm was really bad there. It was a nightmare. The roof got damaged and ceiling tiles started falling down inside the house,” says Laura. “At one point, one of the windows on my car, which was parked in the driveway, was blown out, so my car was destroyed.” The couple made their way back to Dulac on Tuesday to find much devastation in their community. Their house, which is about 120 years old, had roof damage that lead to water damage in the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom, and they are also having trouble closing some of the doors, which they believe was caused by the wind twisting the walls of the house. But, they are thankful they are still able to live in it; many of their neighbors were not as lucky. Larry says after a storm passes, the officials have to open the floodgates, which then causes their whole street to flood. This time the water was up to the second of three cement steps leading up to their porch, but fortunately it didn’t get into the house like it has in the past. Laura says Holy Family Church has been a distribution site for food and supplies almost every day since the storm.
Dulac
“They have really helped us a lot. Father Antonio has been so good to us.” The Verdins have been married for 56 years. Laura says she wouldn’t mind moving further inland, but Larry won’t hear of it. So they will stay in Dulac … in the very same house where Larry was raised. BC
Larry and Laura Verdin of Dulac sit outside their home on Shrimpers Row on a hot September afternoon. Much of the Dulac community was out of electricity and running water for weeks after Hurricane Ida made landfall at Port Fourchon, LA, on Aug. 29.
22 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • November 2021
Bayou Stories
Many homes along Bayou Grand Caillou suffered major damage or complete devastation from Hurricane Ida’s relentless wind.
November 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 23
Bayou Stories
Young family grateful for outreach given by the St. Eloi community Story by Janet Marcel Photos by Lawrence Chatagnier Amy and Tim Denton, parishioners of St. Eloi Church in Theriot, along with their two boys, Isaac, 9; and Todd, 5, rode out Hurricane Ida at the home of Amy’s uncle in Raceland. The weather got really bad in Raceland, but Amy says they were lucky to be in a sturdy house. There was a lot of damage in Raceland … very similar to Theriot, she adds. Amy was raised in England by her mother from an early age after her parents divorced. She and Tim, who is originally from England, went to high school together. The couple moved to Theriot about three years ago to be closer to family. When they were able to make it back to Theriot after the hurricane, they found the roof of their house had lifted off of the front bedroom area and there was a lot of water damage. Three of their windows busted out. They put a tarp on
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Tim and Amy Denton with their sons Isaac and Todd at their home in Theriot 24 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • November 2021
Theriot
Bayou Stories
the roof and covered the windows. Even though the house is livable, they stayed for a few weeks at St. Eloi Church parish’s rectory, where Amy and Tim work. Amy is the parish’s administrative assistant, and Tim is the custodian and the coordinator of activities. “We’re very lucky compared to a lot of people. We still have a house. We know a lot of people don’t. We are still kind of in shock. I didn’t expect to see this amount of devastation here. We have big storms in England, but nothing like this,” says Amy. “You don’t see people’s roofs totally ripped off of their houses. I’ve never seen anything like this … it’s total devastation.”
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We haven’t wanted for anything. The response has been phenomenal here. The local fire department, Catholic Charities of Houma-Thibodaux, Matthew 25 and so many other organizations have been here helping us.
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Tim says even though he kind of expected there to be a lot of damage, he didn’t expect to see so much damage to St. Eloi church and the community center. The couple says they have never seen anything like the relief efforts they’ve experienced since the storm. “We haven’t wanted for anything. The response has been phenomenal here. The local fire department, Catholic Charities of Houma-Thibodaux, Matthew 25 and so many other organizations have been here helping us,” says Amy. “So many people have contacted me by phone, by text and through social media to see what we need. The Dularge Recreation Center has taken over as the distribution center now, because the church parish’s community center is so badly damaged. And, there have been volunteers from all over serving this community in our time of need. We are very blessed.” Even though a lot of St. Eloi parishioners have lost so much, Amy says they would show up every day to help clean the church and the community center. “To see people who have suffered so much loss, but are still so supportive of the church is just unbelievable.” The parishioners removed religious items from the church, ripped out ceiling tiles, and tried to salvage as much as they could from the community center. “To see our church as it is now, it’s just devastating for us … for the parishioners,” says Amy, “but Father Dean (Danos, pastor of St. Eloi) reminds us every day that ‘it’ is just a building and the church is the people, so that’s been comforting.” BC
St. Eloi Church in Theriot
St. Eloi community center November 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 25
Bayou Stories
South Lafourche resident knows rebuilding will be a slow process in bayou community Story by Janet Marcel Photos by Lawrence Chatagnier Sulina Hebert, parishioner of Sacred Heart Church parish in Cut Off, evacuated to her oldest daughter’s house in Alabama for Hurricane Ida and returned to her parent’s house in Raceland on Wednesday after the hurricane. When she walked into the house that she’s lived in for the past 26 years on Thursday, she says she just stood in the doorway and cried. She had been in touch with some of her neighbors who sent her pictures of the outside, so she knew there were some missing shingles and that the shed was gone, but she thought she was going to be okay. Then her youngest daughter’s boyfriend went to the house on Tuesday and took pictures of the inside, but she says pictures did not do it justice at all; and then it rained again and that made things even worse, so she was not at all prepared for the sight that greeted her when she went inside on Thursday. “It was very overwhelming. It was 15 or 20 minutes before I could even bring myself to take a step,” says Sulina, tearing up again as she recalls that moment. “Ceiling tiles and insulation were falling down … there was water all
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Sulina Hebert inside her home in Cut Off 26 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • November 2021
Cut Off
Bayou Stories
over the furniture and on the floor … it was a mess.” Now, a month later, the walls and the floors are both starting to buckle. When she left before the storm, she did not think she would return to find as much damage as she did. “I was here for (Hurricane) Katrina and we just had roof damage. So I figured I’d come home, fix the roof and just move on. And I left everything at school, I didn’t bring anything home … and still, right now I don’t even know what my classroom looks like or what’s left in it.” Sulina teaches study skills at South Lafourche High School in Galliano. Because of the damage to the school, it is in Tier III of the Lafourche Parish School District’s reopening schedule, and is slated for reopening in mid-October. She says it’s been a slow process having to do everything on her own because all of her friends and neighbors are in the same place as she is … they all have their own problems to deal with. Her youngest daughter came home from Lafayette where she attends college on the Sunday after the storm and helped her clear out things that were damaged from the water, clean up some and go through her things. Her 18-yearold son who wishes he could be there to help her through this, joined the Army two weeks before the storm and is in basic training in Fort Wood, Missouri. She has been coming to the house every day to do whatever she can before she has to go back to work. She has started taking down the trim, the molding and the baseboards. Sulina’s plans as of now are to gut and rebuild her house, because there are no structural damages that she knows of. “The hardest part of the whole process,” she says, “was clearing out, going through everything that was damaged and throwing away 26 years of memories.” BC
In photos above, Ida’s destruction is evident all along lower Bayou Lafourche as you travel ‘down the bayou.’ November 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 27
Bayou Stories
Larose couple witnesses epic flooding from Ida that destroys home and property Story by Janet Marcel Photos by Lawrence Chatagnier Ruth and Ted Falgout are parishioners of Our Lady of the Rosary Church parish in Larose who spent the duration of Hurricane Ida on their houseboat. Ted says they had to watch it all fall apart and they couldn’t do anything about it. “You just feel helpless. The way the storm passed, this area stayed in the strongest eyewall from the beginning of the storm to the end. We never got in the eye. It moved a little bit and the eye passed just to the west of us, and we stayed in the eyewall; then it moved again and we caught the back of the eyewall, so we never got out of the strongest winds.” Ted says by 4:29 p.m. on Sunday, the water was overtopping the levee in the canal on his property and by 5:40 p.m., their home was already flooded. The levee district says there was a nine-foot storm surge at the Intracoastal and the Falgouts are about a mile north of that. Ted estimates that there was about a seven-and-a-half-foot storm surge where they are, which brought over a foot and a half of water and mud into their house and destroyed both of their vehicles.
Larose
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Ted and Ruth Falgout in the kitchen of their home in Larose after Hurricane Ida pushed over a foot and a half of water and mud inside. 28 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • November 2021
Bayou Stories
The Falgout’s home the day after Ida made landfall Ted and Ruth, who have been married for 48 years and have 43-year-old twin sons, have lived in their house for 41 years. Ruth’s grandparents established a cattle farm on that land in the early 1900s. Ruth says she has been visiting that land her whole life and doesn’t ever remember it flooding. At daylight the morning after Hurricane Ida made landfall, Ted jumped off of the houseboat into water up to his waist and walked to the road where the water wasn’t quite as deep and then made his way to their house. He says it took almost two weeks just to get the mud to surface and over two weeks to get the water off the land, so you couldn’t really clean anything during that time. “It was unbelievable the amount of dead fish in the water. Every morning my first order of business was to get on my tractor and pick up the dead fish floating in the water around the house,” says Ted. “If I hadn’t done that, the smell would have been so bad that we couldn’t have been here.” The cleanup process was slow; they didn’t really have any help for at least the first week because everyone around them was impacted and had their own problems to deal with. It was basically just survival and learning how to deal with an unplanned event, says Tim. Ruth says they were able to save some pieces of furniture, but anything that could hold water had to be thrown out. They were lucky to be able to store a lot of things in the attic so that the contractor could tear out the floors and walls and begin the rebuilding process. Ted, who served as the executive director for the Greater
PHOTO COURTESY OF TED FALGOUT
Lafourche Port Commission for 31 years, says what is most amazing to him is the damage to the marsh. “We have sustained a tremendous amount of land loss in this whole region. What happens is marsh will heal itself, but it takes a very long time. There’s regular (saltwater) marsh and then you have what is called floton (floating) marsh … and the older the float is the thicker it gets. The last time the floton was pulled out was for Hurricane Betsy in 1965. Hurricane Ida was the first time in 56 years that the water got high enough and the winds were strong enough to pull the floton out again.” The Falgouts have about 1,500 acres of floton marsh on their property and Ted says before Hurricane Ida, there was not even so much as a pothole on any of his marsh. It was solid floton marsh. A few weeks after the storm, Ted took an airboat through the marsh and says that of the 1,500 acres, probably about half of it is now open water ponds, when he had none before the storm. And he says, that’s north of the Intracoastal Canal. He estimates that it will take another 30 or 40 years for that floton marsh to come back, which unfortunately probably won’t be in his lifetime. The Falgouts are rebuilding and moving back into their house, but it will never be the same as it was before Hurricane Ida, says Ted. An avid outdoorsman his entire life, he was able to hunt and fish at least three times a week on his own property, which was his paradise … but, sadly, he says, that luxury is over for him, now. BC November 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 29
Bayou Stories
Bourg family prays the rosary through Ida’s fury Story by Janet Marcel Photos by Lawrence Chatagnier Denise and James Charpentier, parishioners of St. Ann Church in Bourg, chose not to evacuate from their home on Company Canal Road, where they’ve lived for 39 years. Denise says they never evacuated for any other hurricane in the past and they had family and friends staying with them in their house during Hurricane Ida. There was only one other nearby neighbor she knows of that did not evacuate. When asked about her experience, Denise says it was so bad. “I’ve never ever seen wind like that before … for any other hurricane. It was so scary. I kept praying the rosary through the whole storm … I never ended it. When the wind would pick up, I’d say it louder. I was never so scared … at one point I thought we were all going to die.” They had a new roof put on after Hurricane Zeta last year so there was not much damage to it. But, after a pecan tree fell on their brand new 80 X 28 foot patio in the backyard, the wind ripped it completely off of the house. There was water coming in the house from the patio doors and every
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Denise Charpentier in her yard in Bourg 30 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • November 2021
Bourg
Bayou Stories
bedroom window, but Denise says the scariest part was when the wind blew out a window in the laundry room. “The window just exploded. There was glass everywhere, and rain, grass and leaves were just pouring in and there was nothing we could do. And when the wind would gust, we could see the corner of our carport roof lifting up and I thought the wind was going to take off our whole roof.” After the hurricane was over, Denise says there was debris everywhere – downed trees, awnings, shingles, power lines and poles. All the roads into and out of their neighborhood were blocked. “We just went into survival mode. We had no water, no electricity and no phone service. We had to flush the toilets with rain water and then bayou water. Immediately after the storm, people from the fire department were knocking on our door to check on us. People from St. Ann Church and Vision Church started giving out gas, water and food. The amount of people who want to help is unbelievable. I am fortunate to have a gas stove, so I have been able to cook for my family and my neighbors.” Denise says she and her family have no intentions of leaving their home in Bourg, but they won’t stay for a category 4 or 5 hurricane ever again. “It was an amazing experience to go through. Now that I survived it, I’m glad that I was able to witness it; because it was something I’ve never gone through before.” BC
Denise Charpentier holds the rosary that she was praying with during the hurricane.
We stand with our community as we recover and rebuild. Together, we will be stronger than ever.
Your Bank. Our Community. Stronger Together. November 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 31
Special
A bayou community finds faith and perseverance amid rubble and destruction By MADDY THIBODEAUX I’m five or six years old, sitting on a soft, worn blanket under my gran’s crape myrtles, a cement bird bath standing nearby. My brother and I are eating tomato and mayo sandwiches on Evangeline Maid bread and drinking icy cokes. On a different day, I’m in my gran’s kitchen. It’s probably too late for me to be up. I’m weaving through legs – some dancing, some still. The smell of homemade bread dough hangs thick in the air. It’s early morning now, and I’m watching my papa cook scrambled eggs on the stove. He’s wearing his welding cap, a white undershirt tucked into his blue jeans with a brown belt and worn leather boots on his feet. An old western is playing on the T.V. The old house gently stirs awake. These are some memories I often think about as I drive over the bridge to Dularge, LA, and begin a winding journey “down the bayou.” They present familiar feelings of pure contentment. I turn left after the curve of the bridge and the sky opens up – there’s a swamp, then a bayou; on the other side of the road, a vast shipyard. I keep driving, curving past trees and skirting fields until I pull into a driveway – Gran’s house. It’s up nine feet on pilings now and has a big red swing on the porch. This is how I know the power of faith. My grandparents built this house when they were first married, and, though after two floods it bears little resemblance to its first iteration, it’s still here, built and rebuilt in the spot they picked, in Terrebonne Parish down the bayou from parish seat of Houma, in a small town called Dularge. Almost directly across the bayou from her house is a simple A-frame church named after St. Eloi, the patron saint of metalworkers. It’s the people’s church – honestly, just the kind of church you would expect to find down
The head of a statue of Christ can be seen amidst the rubble, which was a wall of St. Eloi Church in Theriot. the bayou: Unassuming, plain, but it holds us and keeps us safe. It’s a haven, much like its parishioners are to their families. Mine, in particular, showed me their faith and charity directly through action. Gran’s house has always been an in-between dwelling for all of her children and two grandchildren. Most of us moved back at certain points in
32 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • November 2021
our lives; others came when needed – all to a house that was never less than a home. A few days after Ida roared through Terrebonne, images of its destruction finally reached us online. Roofs ripped from buildings, boats capsized and washed ashore, whole homes destroyed. Most striking to me, though, was St. Eloi’s statue of Christ, laid
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It’s the people’s church – honestly, just the kind of church you would expect to find down the bayou: Unassuming, plain, but it holds us and keeps us safe. It’s a haven, much like its parishioners are to their families.
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beneath the rubble of the humble church of my childhood. To see something that stood so strong for so long crumble under Ida’s winds took me aback. The statue of the Risen Lord was buried beneath the bricks that held it high behind the altar. I felt unsettled as I tried to make sense of it all. Gran, however, in all her wisdom, wrote about it: “This is home for our faith community. A place of peace, prayer, music and rest. A place so dear to so many. But we are the church! We celebrate new births and dear ones whose lives have seen their fullness. The community that gathers here and many who have moved here are drawn by God to come together. And now many are being drawn from near and far to help restore our gathering space.” This is what she’s tried to show our family – that God has no hands but ours. We are our faith. Since Ida’s landfall, and out of necessity, the people of the bayous and
volunteers from beyond are showing immense faith through action. A communion is taking place along these bayous, from Dularge to Grand Isle. The blood of Christ runs through them, the heart of the South, beaten but beating.
We are the church, and we will rebuild our home. Our people will rebuild these places of gathering down every bayou. We’ll continue fishing and shrimping, crabbing and frying, sautéing, baking, dancing, talking, sharing. We’re always sharing – our faith, our homes; a hug hello and a hug goodbye; a piece of fresh-baked bread from the countertop, broken with my brother on the swing. My great grandma, herself a member of St. Eloi’s congregation, had an oftrepeated phrase of unknown origin: “All this and heaven, too.” She saw in her family, in the community and in the parishes along the Gulf, the tender embrace of God, the richness of life on the bayou. (Maddy Thibodeaux, a former staff member in the Archdiocese of New Orleans’ Office of Communications, lives in Baton Rouge with her husband and two young daughters.) BC
November 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 33
Special
The days after Hurricane Ida: A long reflection By VERY REV. VICENTE DeLa CRUZ, V.F. Our ordeal began Sunday morning, August 29, with a visit to an evacuation center in town where almost 100 people were gathered to wait for the storm. We met, talked and prayed with our local people, some of whom were known to us. On the way in the shelter, we first encountered a young man nervously pacing outside the building. As soon as he saw us, tears filled his eyes — he was very worried about his wife who was six months pregnant, as well as the rest of his family. Unable to do anything and go anywhere, he was just hoping for the best. Bishop Fabre and I prayed with him and then went inside to visit the young man’s family. After our visit at this shelter, we drove to another shelter located on the other side of our city. However, the wind and rain was already picking up so fast that we had no choice but to return to the rectory; the hurricane is fast approaching. After the Angelus bell rang that night, we hardly did much but to each go to our rooms or our small prayer room to pray, and wait. It didn’t take long before the winds came with the rain — we saw them coming! By evening the whole city was in darkness
and all you heard was the howling of the wind, the pounding of the rain with debris on our rectory walls, and sounds outside that seemed to tell us Ida is here and she’s in full control. We woke up Monday morning, August 30, to sights I hadn’t seen in the 34 years that I’ve been living in my adopted home of Thibodaux, LA. This city and the whole of our diocese covering six civil parishes, with a total population of 220,054, (Catholics 87,050), had just suffered the wrath of Hurricane Ida, a Category 4 storm pounding us with 150 plus mph wind and rain that lasted for 18 hours. The electricity went out, the phone signals disappeared; sirens from ambulances, police and firetrucks were the only sounds you could hear. We immediately took off from the comfort of my rectory, our bishop, the vicar general and I anxious to check on our people and places. We didn’t have to go far to see the immediate effects of the storm, for right there outside the back door of my rectory were broken branches from our century-old live oak trees, parts of the copper roof from the Co-Cathedral church, broken pieces of my rectory and buildings. I didn’t even think of checking our campus for
damages — I just wanted to go out, out there where I knew our people were. As soon as we pulled out of our driveway parking lot, the leaning, bent and fallen electric posts and wires dangling from them were the first things we saw, calamity – pruned trees and debris from houses everywhere littered the roads. People who stayed were already outside their homes, picking up broken pieces of properties they worked so hard to build, throwing away damaged belongings that once held memories, pausing every now and then to look around, look at each other, and with humble submission continue on the clean-up. This scene was repeated at every home and place we passed by. The word “catastrophic” is the best word to describe the scenes around us. There were homes without walls, buildings without roofs, places without people. Some people were desperately driving trying to get to their homes and places hoping to save what was left behind, and for some, not much. We drove as far as we could in the areas surrounding us trying to see people, places and check on our churches. For the next few days we did the same thing, with occasional
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Special
breaks to attend briefings of local Emergency Operations Center (EOC) officials, have meetings with our diocesan leadership, meet donors and organize donations, prepare and distribute meals — over and over again. And each day, we saw people as described above and sights that didn’t change much. The reality of our situation became clear: It will take a long time for us to recover. I spoke with so many grandparents with tears in their eyes, worried parents, and exhausted volunteers. We were slowly being drained of many things: It had been seven long days since Hurricane Ida made landfall. Yesterday, after spending all day down the bayou (Golden Meadow, Galliano, Cut Off, Larose) from 7 a.m. until almost 6 p.m., I finally got to return to my rectory. I started driving down the road watching the now familiar scenery. Caught in a long line of traffic, I turned the radio on but what came out were the same reports and stories about the devastations in NOLA that saturated the airwaves, but not much mentioning the bayou communities who were deeply and mostly affected by the hurricane. I decided to turn the radio off and just listen to some music to give my mind and soul a rest. When I turned on my carplay, I was surprised with the music that came on from one of my favorite artists. I was listening to her long before the storm came and the words of her music brought tears in my eyes; that moment everything came together, and then some. The song is “How Can I keep From Singing” by Eva Cassidy. The traffic very slowly started moving with the music in my car playing along. As I passed by the road, I saw madeup distribution stands and locations organized randomly by people, businesses and churches. There were truckloads of donations scattered everywhere brought about by people from Nebraska, Michigan, Texas — everywhere! Our good neighbors from the Dioceses of Lafayette and Lake Charles sent their Catholic Charities personnel, crews and volunteers to help us, bringing with them food, supplies and “faithful-power”! There were people helping people, neighbors reaching out to neighbors, people praying for and with each other. Smiles and laughter, hugs and kisses were shared. What little they have, they gave and shared without regard or distinction. Seeing all these, “How Can I Keep From Singing?!” And I know more of this will come, I already saw it coming. In the midst of all the devastation and destruction I saw faith come alive and hope slowly trickle in brought about by generous people who gave from the richness of their hearts. In just a few minutes I will celebrate my Sunday Mass — the ultimate gift of God that made all of these things possible. This core of our faith is what made us rise above every situation, endure all things and hope beyond hope. With this in our hearts and minds, even surrounded by tragedies, we have reasons to sing and believe and celebrate. We may have lost roofs, walls, homes and businesses — but we have God who gave us everyone and everything! And God will see us through this as always; just keep on believing and singing his love and praise. (Very Rev. Vicente DeLa Cruz, V.F., is pastor of St. Joseph Co-Cathedral in Thibodaux, and dean of the Upper Lafourche Deanery.) BC
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November 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 35
Damage Assessment
Hurricane Ida’s damages reported to the diocese The Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux reports the following preliminary and partial descriptions of Hurricane Ida related damages provided by Catholic Mutual adjusters and an independent, public adjuster firm hired by the diocese.
Story by Janet Marcel
Hurricane Ida’s catastrophic 150 plus mile-an-hour winds lashed the State of Louisiana as a Category 4 storm for about six hours after it made landfall, damaging several churches, Catholic schools and other facilities in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux as it made its way north through southeast Louisiana. As of press time, of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux’s 39 churches, eight are known to have received major damage; 21 received moderate damage; and 10 are still being assessed for damages. Of the 11 Catholic schools in the diocese, four received major damage; four received moderate damage, and three received little to no significant damage. In addition to the churches and schools, many other church parish facilities sustained anywhere from major to moderate damage including roof damage, shingle loss, water damage, collapsed walls, siding damage, broken mausoleums and tombstones; broken windows, and downed trees and fences. Following is a list of some of the damages sustained in the diocese’s church parishes, schools and satellite locations. Church Parishes Cathedral of St. Francis de Sales, Houma Roof damage to the church, front double doors blown in causing some water damage, missing panels on steeple, wall damage in the day chapel, some damage to the church sign, brick columns and front gate; broken windows and awning blown down on rectory/office, some tombs damaged in Cemetery No. 1
Annunziata, Houma Major roof and water damage to the church, hall and portable classrooms, extensive damage to rectory and garage Christ the Redeemer, Thibodaux Wet carpet and drywall caused by wind driven rain in the church, tree fell on church; electrical pole ripped off, hole in metal roof and wet carpet and drywall in rectory; minor roof, fascia and water damage to other buildings on the church grounds Holy Family, Grand Caillou Water penetrated large stained glass window in the front of the church causing major damage, several support beams were displaced, roof was compromised; multiple windows and doors were blown out of the multi-purpose building; extensive damage to rectory roof
Holy Savior, Lockport Extensive shingle damage and interior water damage to the church; siding damage to the rectory; roof damage to the church administration building; extensive exterior damage to cafeteria/assembly hall Maria Immacolata, Houma Major shingle loss to church – down to the plywood in some areas; minor shingle loss on the parish center Our Lady of Prompt Succor, Chackbay Major roof damage, multiple stained glass windows damaged in church, bell tower has significant structural damage; major roof damage to church hall Our Lady of Prompt Succor, Golden Meadow Broken glass on the front of the church; extensive roof and water damage to the LaSalette Center; severe damage to the roof of the mausoleum and glass doors blown out Our Lady of the Isle, Grand Isle Major damage caused by two sections of roof panels being ripped off of the church, two exterior walls were damaged, extensive water damage Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, Houma Tree fell on the front corner of the church; shingle damage and severe water damage in rectory
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36 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • November 2021
Damage Assessment
Our Lady of the Rosary, Larose Some damage to the church steeple; shingle loss to church administration building and covered canopy; siding and minor roof damage to the rectory Sacred Heart, Cut Off Water damage in sacristy, hallway and south side interior; electronic sign crushed by fallen pole; exposure of crypts Sacred Heart, Montegut Window blown out in church, damage from wind driven rain; flashing and wind driven rain damage to rectory St. Andrew, Amelia Some minor roof damage to the rectory/carport St. Ann, Bourg Roof and water damage to the church; extensive roof and water damage to the rectory
St. Bernadette, Houma Transformer went through the side of the multipurpose building and a tree fell on it, causing extensive damage St. Bridget, Schriever Extensive shingle loss to church, roof damage to the Community Life Annex/church offices St. Charles Borromeo, Pointe-aux-Chenes Wind blew out stained glass window in the church, water damage from wind driven rain; tree limb fell on the rectory roof St. Charles Borromeo, St. Charles Community Major roof damage to the church and rectory/church office
St. Eloi, Theriot Major damage to the church and community center: Exterior church walls collapsed due to wind breach, stained glass window blown in; exterior wall on the community center collapsed; roof damage to the rectory St. Gregory, Houma Part of the church steeple blown off causing water intrusion in the church; minor damage to the rectory St. Hilary of Poitiers, Mathews Shingles missing on school/auditorium/multipurpose building, overhead door on storage building gone; extensive shingle loss on church administration building; large portion of metal siding and roof missing on the youth center; six mausoleum doors fell off
St. Joseph, Chauvin The church’s skylight over the altar broke leaving wet carpet, debris on altar and ceiling damage; rectory has water damage, broken windows and damage to the roof, ceiling, gutters and soffit, the garage doors and fence are gone; extensive roof and water damage to the parish center; missing St. Joseph statue; roof, ceiling and fence damage, and broken windows to other buildings on the church grounds St. Joseph, Galliano Extensive roof and interior water damage to gymnasium; a statue and the Ten Commandments monument were broken St. Lawrence the Martyr, Kraemer Lost skylight over the altar, church was inundated with water; life center has roof and water damage St. James Chapel, Choctaw Major roof and moisture damage St. Louis, Bayou Blue Major roof damage to the church and CCD classroom building St. Lucy, Houma Minor roof damage; rectory is missing siding; insulation in gym sustained water damage
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Damage Assessment
Damages cont. St. Luke the Evangelist, Thibodaux Community center has siding damage; rectory is missing siding and roof shingles St. Mary’s Nativity, Raceland Extensive shingle damage to church; rectory has roof damage, windows on the front porch were blown out and water leaking in several places; loss of shingles, extensive roof and water damage to church administration office
*** Some of the following church parish facilities are still being assessed for damages: St. Joseph Co-Cathedral, Thibodaux; Community of St. Anthony, Gheens; Holy Cross, Morgan City; St. Rosalie Chapel, Morgan City; Sacred Heart, Morgan City; St. Anthony of Padua, Bayou Black; St. Genevieve, Thibodaux; St. John the Evangelist, Thibodaux; St. Lawrence, Chacahoula; St. Thomas Aquinas, Thibodaux; Thanh Gia, Morgan City; Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, Gibson. Schools Holy Savior Catholic School, Lockport Major roof damage, several windows blown out, extensive water damage, east wing lost roof
38 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • November 2021
St. Gregory Barbarigo Catholic School, Houma Extensive roof damage, down to the wood causing water damage in the school, severe window damage Vandebilt Catholic High School, Houma Several windows blown out in main building, roof blown off of the Kolb Center; roof and water damage to the baseball field house, fence destroyed on baseball field, light poles snapped, marquee sign totaled by wind Holy Rosary Catholic School, Larose Extensive damage to the roof of one of the school buildings, bus canopy missing/torn off, water damage to the front K–2 classrooms due to broken windows; large canopy on the other school building collapsed onto the roof causing roof damage and extensive water damage in two of the classrooms
St. Francis de Sales Cathedral School, Houma Several windows broken causing water damage in the classrooms St. Genevieve Catholic School, Thibodaux Roof and water damage to the Family Center and portable classrooms, requiring mitigation St. Joseph Catholic Elementary School, Thibodaux Roof, water and ceiling tile damage to the old band room, requiring mitigation St. Mary’s Nativity School, Raceland Roof, water damage and broken windows in some classrooms; missing canopy on covered walkway; siding damage to the school cafeteria/parish hall *** Central Catholic High School in Morgan City, St. Bernadette Catholic School in Houma, and E.D. White Catholic High School in Thibodaux, received little to no significant damage. Satellite Locations Catholic Community Center, Galliano Total loss of building and contents due to roof failure and water damage Mary’s Manor (Priests Retirement Home), Cut Off Roof shingles missing in many areas BC
Catholic Schools
Ida causes widespread damage to schools By CHRISTINE BORDELON Clarion Herald
Of the 11 Catholic schools in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, no school was left unscathed by Hurricane Ida’s wind and rain, said Catholic schools superintendent Suzanne Troxclair. “All of the schools received some damage – from minor cosmetic to extensive,” she said. Estimated monetary damage cannot yet be made since the school system is still working with insurance adjusters and contractors. As of Oct. 7, all 11 schools, enrolling approximately 5,000 students, had reopened either on their original campus or a nearby campus. Three are not on their original campus and cannot return until enough repairs are completed and the campuses are deemed safe for students, Troxclair said. St. Gregory Elementary in Houma had extensive wind and water damage and had to relocate to St. Ann Parish’s Community Center in Bourg. The same with Holy Savior Elementary in Lockport, which is now on St. Hilary’s campus in Mathews. Vandebilt Catholic High School in Houma is sharing the campus of E.D. White Catholic High School in Thibodaux but will return to a portion of its campus in the next few weeks as it works through mitigation and rebuilding, Troxclair said. Ida worse than Betsy “Hearing from the older priests and older people in our diocese, they said nothing compared to this storm – from the incredible devastation to the mass destruction that happened,” Troxclair said. The eyewall of the category 4 storm sat over Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes Aug. 29 with winds up to 147 mph and pummeled the area for hours with torrential rain. The damage to homes and businesses and the resulting loss of power, water and communications made it impossible for the schools to return to any education for up to five weeks. Troxclair said two schools missed 27
Holy Savior Catholic School, Lockport days of classroom instruction. Since each school devises its own school calendar of instructional days, Troxclair said schools are working to make up the time in a way that suits them best. “Every school calendar will be different, depending on how much time they were out,” she said. “They are combining and utilizing different days, shortening holidays and adding minutes to instructional days.” How you can help Troxclair can’t stress enough that help is still needed in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. Many families within the diocese’s Catholic school system remain impacted by the storm. For example, a large portion of Holy Rosary students are still without electricity at home. “Their families and teachers are dealing with the devastation and destruction of their own,” she said. To help individual schools and families, people can contact the Office of Catholic Schools directly at (985) 850-3114 or go to the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux’s website at https:// htdiocese.org. The Office of Catholic Schools is
partnering damaged local schools with schools throughout the country that have offered assistance. These generous school partners can work directly with a local school to find out exactly what is needed. Troxclair also mentioned that as the Houma-Thibodaux diocese receives gifts, they are distributed to the schools that can use them most. “You can choose a parish or school or make a one-time donation or make a recurring donation,” she said. “If it’s in-kind donations, they can contact our office. Our schools have put together a needs list, and people are working with us to get their needs met.” Troxclair said the school system and the diocese can’t express how much gratitude they feel for the love and generosity they have received since the storm hit. “We want to thank people for the prayers and support they have already afforded to our school family in the diocese and ask them to continue to keep all of our school families in prayer as we move to recovery,” Troxclair said. (Christine Bordelon is the associate editor of the Clarion Herald, the Official Newspaper of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.) BC
November 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 39
Catholic Schools
Ida’s destruction brings E.D. White and Vandebilt schools together in solidarity By Peter Finney Jr. Clarion Herald
E.D. White Catholic High School in Thibodaux and Vandebilt Catholic High School in Houma – the two Catholic high schools of the Diocese of HoumaThibodaux – share the teaching charism of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart and also a healthy rivalry that has spanned generations through the lived experience of thousands of graduates who, perhaps from birth, are schooled to recognize the difference between cardinal-and-white and royal blue-andgold. But when Hurricane Ida slammed into Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes on Aug. 29, compromising the roofs of four major buildings on the campus of Vandebilt Catholic, Catholic solidarity became the rallying cry that brought the two schools together in ways they could not have imagined. On Thursday, Sept. 23, after three weeks of intensive planning between both staffs, 725 Vandebilt Catholic students wearing their blue-and-gold T-shirts walked into the red-decked halls of E.D. White for classes on the Thibodaux campus. At the doors, the Vandebilt Catholic students were greeted by student ambassadors from E.D. White, who provided a hearty welcome and handed out orientation maps to their Houma friends. “This is reflecting the Christ-like attitude we’re supposed to have as Christians and Catholics,” said senior Karishma Nathaniel, E.D. White’s student council president. “We are all called to help out when the need is there and to give what we have because, when Christ blesses us, we’re called to bless others with what he’s given us.” Despite significant winds in the Thibodaux area, E.D. White escaped the worst of Ida. “Our baseball field had some damage – a dugout, a scoreboard – which was
E.D. White students served as ambassadors and greeted the Vandebilt students as they arrived on the E.D. White campus. probably due to a little twister,” said E.D. White principal Michelle Chiasson. “Other than that, we were fine. We have a huge skylight in the school (which towers over the seniors’ sacred space called the Learning Commons), but not a drop came in.” The damage report at Vandebilt Catholic was far different. On Monday, Aug. 30, Vandebilt Catholic principal Ginny Medina-Hamilton was able to tour her campus and actually managed to connect on a one-hour cell phone call with the school’s president, Jeremy Gueldner, who had evacuated with his family before the storm to the Hammond area. “The first thing I saw was the damage to the windows on Hollywood Road and then, on the other side, two completely blown-out classrooms on the second floor,” Medina-Hamilton said. “I walked through the school, and walking on the inside looked very different than walking around the outside. The outside looked bad, but once we walked on the inside, we realized how bad it really was. On the second floor, there was
40 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • November 2021
standing water everywhere.” Gueldner arrived on Tuesday, Aug. 31, and the extent of damage to Vandebilt Catholic’s four main buildings became even more apparent. He launched a drone camera that confirmed substantial roof damage to each building. The roof damage allowed water to infiltrate and pool on the second floor of the main classroom building. Over the next several days, the damage was assessed by insurance adjusters, diocesan building and construction director James Danos, architects and an asbestos consultant, Gueldner said. “Any school built before 1988 probably has asbestos in it in some way, shape or form,” Gueldner said. “The moment we saw standing water on the second floor, that’s immediately where my mind went because this could cause some challenges for us. The asbestos consultant shared the same concerns because, obviously, you have to get water out of the building. Then you have to go through a drying and dehumidification process.
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“When the water sits in the tile, it swells. Then, when you have this deep humidification, it shrinks, and then you get this cupping effect on the edges. We didn’t want to have a trip hazard. So, the decision was made that it was in everyone’s best interest to go ahead and create an alternative plan for where we would attend school for the short term while an (asbestos) abatement process took place.” By Sept.15, it was apparent that Vandebilt Catholic needed a temporary home. The next day, Chiasson and E.D. White president Tim Robichaux met in the Carmel Conference Room at E.D. White with Medina-Hamilton and Gueldner. “In 48 hours, the plan was done,” Chiasson said. The four administrators used a whiteboard to list the major challenges – classroom time, transportation, lunch, office space, technology, parking, IDs, active shooter protocols – regarding how to create a schedule that would be best for each school. E.D. White has 700 students, and Vandebilt Catholic has 725, but it would have been physically impossible to have both student bodies on campus simultaneously. The administrators discussed the possibility of platooning, with one school holding classes in the morning and the other in the afternoon. But, the more they talked, they felt that wasn’t the best solution. “The most important challenge for all of us was classroom time – academic time,” Chiasson said. “That’s
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The girls’ junior varisty and varsity volleyball teams met inside the E.D. White gym for spirited action. November 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 41
Catholic Schools
E.D. White/Vandy cont. what led to the decision to alternate days and not split the campus. We both have seven-period days, with classes of 50 minutes each. If we were to split time, we would have to be on campus a minimum of five hours, which would have led to 34-minute classes without lunch or recess. If you throw in lunch or recess, you’re down to 31 minutes. And then if you had a special schedule – like our seniors are getting their class rings – you’re into 20-something-minute classes. We all just said, ‘This can’t be for show to say we got to school every day. We really need to do this so that learning is happening.’” Medina-Hamilton wholeheartedly agreed. “There are minutes for minutes sake, and then there are quality minutes,” she said. “If we only came to school for a half-day and we tried to get all our periods in in one day, kids would only be going to class for 20 to 25 minutes. By the time the bell finishes ringing, it would be like, ‘OK, we’re going to read this paragraph,’ and then, ‘Here’s your assignment. See you later!’ We both believed the quality of instruction would suffer. Under the final schedule devised by administrators from both schools, E.D. White’s 700 students attend on-campus classes Mondays and Fridays, and Vandebilt Catholic’s students are on the Thibodaux campus on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The schools alternate oncampus schooling on Wednesdays. The days that either school is not on campus is handled through directed studies and Zoom. After speaking with the construction management team that is handling damages to the Vandebilt Catholic campus, Gueldner said the abatement work to the main classroom building, which began Monday, Sept. 27, would take four to five weeks. If the schedule holds, that might allow students to return by early November. “When we go back, it will be bare, concrete floors,” Gueldner said. “There might be some ceiling tiles missing. A classroom might be usable but have one
window boarded up. But if it’s safe – and it’s usable space – we can use it.” “This is the time frame to make the building safe, not for remodeling,” Medina-Hamilton said. “This is the time for the abatement and making the building safe.” Gueldner envisions that as each space passes air-quality testing, furniture that has been in storage will be moved back in, allowing the workers to tackle another part of campus. “We want to minimize the amount of time we have to be away from our house,” Gueldner said. “Logistics is the word of the day. We’re going to be as efficient as possible. We want our kids back on our campus. We want our kids back in school five days a week.” Administrators from each school chuckle about their traditional rivalry. When E.D. White and Vandebilt Catholic used to compete athletically in the same district, the football game between the two always was held in Week 10. Now that they are in different districts, they schedule each other in Week 1, but that Sept. 3 game was canceled this year because of Ida. However, the girls’ junior varsity and varsity volleyball teams met Sept. 29 inside the E.D. White gym. It was a raucous night that allowed the kids from each school to blow off steam. “By the time the varsity game started, all of our (Vandebilt Catholic) football players got back from practice, and they were cheering on the volleyball team,” Medina-Hamilton said. “E.D. White had a huge cheering section as well, and the kids were going back and forth – ‘We’ve got spirit! Yes, we do! We’ve got spirit! How ’bout you?’ – the whole time. They were playing with each other and you could see the rivalry. Then, the game ended, and all the kids went to the middle of the court and nobody left. They all just talked to each other. You saw this mix of the red and the blue all talking to each other. I sat there with our athletic director and I said, ‘You know, this is pretty cool.’” Let the record show, the red team won.
42 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • November 2021
While Gueldner knew a lot about E.D. White over the years, he did find out something new during his weeks on the rival campus. “When the four of us sat around the table (to discuss the merged schedule), they brought us the famous E.D. White biscuits and a soft drink,” Gueldner said. The famous E.D. White biscuits? “They’re just basically a stick of butter,” Gueldner said, laughing. “Yeah, a stick of butter and a few extra carbs thrown in,” Medina-Hamilton said. “My joke has been, ‘E.D. White lost like one window. Even God loves E.D. White better than us,’” Gueldner said. But, it’s been all good.” Medina-Hamilton said the experience has been a blessing to her, the faculty and the entire Vandebilt Catholic student body. “We are both founded and rooted in the charism of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart,” Medina-Hamilton said. “The collaboration has been wonderful. These challenges have brought us closer. It makes us really know that when we are stretched to the limit, this is something we can make happen. If we can get through this together, then we can get through anything. My biggest takeaway is that it takes all of us to make it happen.” At a Vandebilt Catholic clean-up day after the storm, more than 200 students, parents, teachers and friends of the school showed up to help. “What I said to them when I addressed them was, ‘Vandebilt is not the buildings,’” Gueldner said. “In my job of trying to improve buildings or build new ones, you can get caught up in the idea that everything’s about the bricks and mortar. But it’s not. You see a vibrant Vandebilt community residing on E.D. White’s campus. And that’s proof positive of the idea that we’re not the building. We’re the people – a community of people. Put us anywhere, under any circumstances, and we’ll find a way.” (Peter Finney Jr. is the executive editor and general manager of the Clarion Herald, the Official Newspaper of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.) BC
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Outreach Line In response to the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux is offering an Outreach Line (formerly known as the Child Protection Contact Line). The Outreach Line is an effort to continue the diocesan commitment to support healing for people who have been hurt or sexually abused recently or in the past by clergy, religious or other employees of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. The Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux Outreach Line operates from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. A trained mental health professional responds to the line. Individuals are offered additional assistance if requested.
The Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux Outreach Line Telephone number is (985) 873-0026 or (985) 850-3172
Línea de Comunicación Diocesana
Con el fin de cumplir con las Políticas de Protección de Niños y Jóvenes de la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de Los Estados Unidos, la Diócesis de Houma-Thibodaux ofrece una Línea de Comunicación (antes Línea de Contacto para la Protección de los Niños). La Línea de Comunicación es parte del esfuerzo diocesano de comprometerse con el mejoramiento de aquéllos que han sido lastimados o abusados sexualmente recientemente o en el pasado por miembros del clero, religiosos u otros empleados de la Diócesis de Houma-Thibodaux. El horario de la Línea de Comunicación de la Diócesis de Houma-Thibodaux es de 8:30 a.m. a 4:30 p.m., de lunes a viernes. El encargado de esta línea es un profesional capacitado en salud mental. Se ofrece asistencia adicional al ser solicitada.
Línea de Comunicación de la Diócesis de Houma-Thibodaux Número de teléfono (985) 873-0026 o (985) 850-3172
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Ñöôøng daây ñieän thoaïi Cöùu giuùp Giaùo phaän Ñeå höôûng öùng Hieán chöông Baûo veä Treû em vaø Giôùi treû töø Hoäi ñoàng Giaùm muïc Hoa kyø, Giaùo phaän Houma-Thibodaux ñang chuaån bò ñöôøng daây ñieän thoaïi Cöùu giuùp (luùc tröôùc laø ñöôøng daây lieân laïc baûo veä treû em). Ñöôøng daây ñieän thoaïi Cöùu giuùp laø moät söï coá gaéng cuûa giaùo phaän nhaèm cam keát haøn gaén naâng ñôõ nhöõng ai ñaõ bò toån thöông hoaëc bò laïm duïng tính duïc hoaëc gaàn ñaây hoaëc trong quaù khöù bôûi giaùo só, tu só hoaëc caùc coâng nhaân vieân cuûa Giaùo phaän Houma-Thibodaux. Ñöôøng daây ñieän thoaïi Cöùu giuùp Giaùo phaän hoaït ñoäng töø 8:30 saùng ñeán 4:30 chieàu, thöù hai ñeán thöù saùu. Moät nhaân vieân chuyeân nghieäp veà söùc khoûe taâm thaàn traû lôøi treân ñöôøng daây ñieän thoaïi. Nhöõng caù nhaân seõ ñöôïc trôï giuùp naâng ñôõ theâm neáu caàn.
Ñöôøng daây ñieän thoaïi Cöùu giuùp Giaùo phaän Soá ñieän thoaïi: (985) 873-0026; (985) 850-3172
November 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 43
Catholic Schools
Assistant football coach Charlie Cryer left students, faculty and staff smiling through the tears By Peter Finney Jr. Clarion Herald
In the midst of being displaced from its Houma campus by Hurricane Ida, Vandebilt Catholic High School suffered the shocking loss of assistant football coach Charlie Cryer, who died of a heart attack after falling ill before afternoon practice on Sept. 28. Cryer, 59, a veteran coach who had served most recently as the head football coach at Pope John Paul II High School in Slidell, had just joined Vandebilt Catholic’s coaching staff in June as defensive coordinator. Tommy Minton, Vandebilt Catholic’s head coach, said Cryer had driven from E.D. White’s campus in Thibodaux, where school had been held for Vandebilt Catholic students on their rotating schedule with E.D. White, to the Terriers’ practice field in Houma. “He pulled up in his truck and he was sitting there,” Minton said. “It just so happened that our trainer pulled up at the exact same time and Charlie told him, ‘Man, I feel really bad. I had to pull over to the side of the road and throw up.’ He told the trainer he had a really bad pain. He said it was shooting through (his chest) all the way to his back.” After checking his vital signs, the school’s training staff decided to take him to the emergency room of Terrebonne General, but it took Minton 12 to 15 minutes to convince Cryer to go. “The last words he spoke to me were, ‘Coach, I do not want to go to the emergency room. It’s a big game this week (against St. Charles Catholic), and I’ll be darned if I’m going to be a distraction,’” Minton said. As soon as Cryer arrived at the emergency room, doctors did an EKG and determined he was having a heart attack. Because Terrebonne General was not fully operational due to Ida, doctors decided to transport Cryer by ambulance to Thibodaux Regional. “On the way to Thibodaux Regional,
File photo of Coach Charlie Cryer on the sideline working with some players he had a massive heart attack and he passed away,” Minton said. “The paramedics worked on him the whole time, and once he got there, the emergency room doctors worked on him for another 20 to 25 minutes. They never got his heart revived.” The Vandebilt Catholic team completed practice under the supervision of other assistant coaches. Minton notified his players’ parents of Cryer’s death that evening via email. The players met the next day for a prayer service and then joined the entire student body on Sept. 30 for another prayer assembly in the E.D. White gymnasium. The prayer service was attended by Bishop Shelton J. Fabre and Vandebilt Catholic principal Ginny MedinaHamilton, president Jeremy Gueldner and dean of students Jason Daigle. Daigle urged students to go to any faculty member if they felt overburdened. “I love you, and I’m proud of you,” Daigle told the students. “You keep doing everything we ask you to do. We are sitting in a gym, 20 miles away from home, having a prayer service for one of our faculty members just weeks after suffering the largest hurricane to ever hit us. And here you are, tougher than you realize. I am proud of you. You are
44 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • November 2021
more resilient than you realize.” Daigle said even though Cryer had been at Vandebilt Catholic only a few short months, students had grown fond of his outgoing, kind nature. “After you got finished talking to him, you would smile and he would smile,” Daigle said. “He had an incredible, positive attitude. The last time I talked to him, he had just finished eating lunch here (at E.D. White), and he wanted to know if we were going to have the same red beans and rice next year at Vandebilt Catholic.” Cryer suffered through medical issues in his previous position as head coach at Pope John Paul II from 2018 to 2020. He had a liver transplant in 2019 and even monitored a few games in 2019 from a golf cart in the end zone. “It was ‘the kids first,’ and really getting them from being boys to men and having pride in themselves and pride in their school,” said Doug Triche, former principal at Pope John Paul II, of Cryer. “He was kind of an old-time coach and pretty no-nonsense. His work was everything to him. He had always been successful, wherever he was. I felt eventually he would be more successful at Pope.” Cryer also was a head coach at St. Louis Catholic in Lake Charles (201417), St. Mary’s in Natchitoches
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(2009-13) and Vermilion Catholic in Abbeville (2002-04), where he won the Class 1A state title in 2003. Cryer and Minton had been colleagues for more than 30 years but had never served on the same staff until this year. “We’ve been at clinics together and competed against each other,” Minton said. “It’s the coaching fraternity. We set out on weekends and during the offseason and talked football. We were both excited to work together for the first time in our lives. I was very blessed to have him on my staff because of his experience and the things he has done in his career.” Minton said Cryer was someone whose priority was the kids, not exclusively football success. “If you ever stood with Charlie at a school function when he was on duty, every kid who passed – whether it was male, female, football player or not – was going to stop to talk to him, because when they walked away, they were either laughing or smiling,” Minton said. “That’s the way he made people feel.” Cryer is survived by his wife Kristie and their three adult children, Kacie Cryer, the assistant women’s basketball coach at Houston Baptist University; Cody Cryer, a chiropractor in Baton Rouge; and Chris Cryer. (Peter Finney Jr. is the executive editor and general manager of the Clarion Herald, the Official Newspaper of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.) BC
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November 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 45
Catholic Schools
St. Ann Church parish opens its arms to St. Gregory Catholic School By CHRISTINE BORDELON Clarion Herald
Driving through a cheerful pumpkin patch Oct. 7 brought smiles to students from St. Gregory Barbarigo Catholic School as they arrived – for the first time since Hurricane Ida – 15 minutes down the bayou from their old campus to St. Ann Parish in Bourg. The sign of a new season was what the students needed to ease their anxieties of being relocated. “It was so good this morning to be together,” principal Cindy Martin said. “We were anxious about the logistics of getting started, but it went well. We are grateful and so blessed.” The physical setting and school location might have changed, but students from St. Gregory were definitely at home and in a learning mode on their first day back since Hurricane Ida walloped their campus in Houma Aug. 29. “We gathered together for the first time with prayer, and it was beautiful,” Martin said about her faculty and students. Martin was delighted to see that the majority of her 187 students and faculty returned after Hurricane Ida made their Houma school nonoperational. “I know I lost a couple of families that I am aware have relocated,” she said. Damage extensive Martin, who evacuated to Thibodaux for the storm, said she managed to return to St. Gregory Aug. 30 to assess the school buildings. She found significant wind and water damage, including roof problems over the cafeteria, which took in water, classroom windows that were pushed in and fences blown down by high winds. “We can’t go to it now, because we won’t know the amount of damage until the inspection is complete,” said Martin, now in her fifth year as principal at St. Gregory. Not knowing what she was going to
CHRISTINE BORDELON/CLARION HERALD
St. Gregory students who are in second grade open homemade school bags with school supplies while attending school at St. Ann in Bourg. do, she said Father Cody Chatagnier, St. Ann pastor, offered his parish community center for the school, even though his church was damaged in the storm and he also needed the space to celebrate Mass. “At 7 a.m., it’s a church for Mass Monday through Thursday, and at 7:30 a.m. it becomes a school,” Father Chatagnier said. “After 6 p.m., it becomes a parish hall for parish meetings.” It’s also home to Bible studies, weekend Mass and deanery meetings. While St. Ann Parish doesn’t have a Catholic school, its robust religion education department, with 381 students, uses the two-story community center. It already had nine classrooms with smart TVs and has two rolling audio-visual carts, so he knew it could be shared with another parish or school. Once St. Ann Parish finished its
46 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • November 2021
role as a disaster supply response center the first two weeks after Ida, Father Chatagnier said he called the diocese to inquire if any school needed classrooms. “My vision was we could house a smaller Catholic school,” Father Chatagnier said about offering the space to Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux’s school superintendent Suzanne Troxclair. “Suzanne came and looked at the building and said it would be perfect for St. Gregory,” Father Chatagnier said. “We’re happy to have St. Gregory here. It does present challenges, but these are challenging times.” Community center works well With one classroom per grade from Pre-K3 to seventh, Martin said St. Gregory made use of all nine upstairs classrooms and created a makeshift space for three-year-olds downstairs in the main community center.
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Some, like the third graders, have unconventional classrooms, with students using wood benches as desks and sitting on the floor. Martin found it amazing that the rooms were already equipped with Smart televisions. Teachers quickly adapted their lesson plans on computers – which most took with them when they evacuated. Martin and her secretary/ bookkeeper had taken backup hard drives for the computer’s server to enable the school to quickly get up and running. While internet was spotty at St. Ann, Wi-Fi came on unexpectedly Oct. 7, courtesy of a device provided by Elon Musk that the school received from a military storm relief installation composed of the Cajun Commissary and Third Wave volunteers at a former American Legion Hall nearby, Martin said. It was being set up by Bernie Boudreaux, husband of teacher Angela Boudreaux. This wasn’t the only charity the school received. She also mentioned the altruism of students at Central Catholic High School in Morgan City who decorated bags that were filled with school supplies and other items donated by the United Methodist Church. “Everybody has been extremely generous, especially the schools (not affected by the storm) in the HoumaThibodaux Diocese,” Martin said. “They adopted a grade level, our teachers made a list and got what they needed to start the school year over.” Second graders were pulling out the school supplies in their newly acquired school bags. “I’m really excited,” said seven-yearold Jase Coleman, who proudly held up his new scissors with a protective covering on the tip. “I want to be an undercover policeman and get a big dog.” Businesses from Texas have also adopted the school and are sending gift cards and other needed items. St. Francis de Sales Cathedral School in Houma quickly stepped in to provide breakfast and lunch for St. Gregory students once they learned that Vandebilt Catholic High School in Houma – from whom St. Gregory had previously ordered meals – was out of
commission due to having to relocate to E.D. White Catholic High’s campus in Thibodaux. Martin said St. Gregory’s cafeteria workers and custodians are retrieving and bringing the food to the St. Ann campus. Brotherly love Martin said her house miraculously was spared from the storm, as were the houses of some of her teachers, but she didn’t have running water for three weeks or electricity for a month. Others didn’t fare as well. “My family and friends are not so fortunate, so I have people living with me,” she said, including her 91-yearold mother and her brother who had lost homes. Many others she knew, including her mother’s 94-year-old sister, several neighbors and teachers, also had battered homes. Fourth-grade teacher Jaime Renfroe made it to class Oct. 7, leaving her storm-destroyed house for a few hours while contractors were demolishing it. With only one room livable and using the bathtub to wash things, she joked that at least she had air conditioning at the Bourg campus.
“The things you take for granted,” she said. “It’s nice to have normalcy and a routine back, and it’s good to see everybody.” A bright spot came during the day when Father Alexis Lazarra, pastor of St. Gregory, visited the students and told them he planned to celebrate Mass weekly at St. Ann. “He asked them how they were doing and said St. Gregory was working really hard to fix the school,” Martin said. With power only recently restored to St. Gregory’s campus and such extensive damage, Martin doesn’t know when they will return to their Houma campus. Right now, she’s just grateful that school reopened for her students, teachers and herself. “I’m so excited to have all these kids back,” Martin said, holding back tears. “It’s a blessing. You just don’t know how much you miss them until they arrive. Students are happy. They’re going to be fine. We have each other.” (Christine Bordelon is the associate editor of the Clarion Herald, the Official Newspaper of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.) BC
CHRISTINE BORDELON/CLARION HERALD
Bernie Boudreaux, husband of teacher Angela Boudreaux sets up a Wi-Fi booster at St. Ann courtesy of a device provided by Elon Musk that the school received from a military storm relief installation composed of the Cajun Commissary and Third Wave volunteers at a former American Legion Hall nearby. November 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 47
Catholic Schools
Community support helps Holy Rosary students return to school By CHRISTINE BORDELON Clarion Herald
While there might have been a tear or two from little ones as they got out of their parents’ cars, the vast majority of students from Holy Rosary School in Larose had a skip in their step Oct. 7 as they walked the balloon- and bannerdecorated breezeway at their reopened school. “We’re so excited that you are back, sweetie,” principal Cathy Long said as she hugged eighth-grader Emma Guidry. The carline bustled for almost 35 minutes as parents dropped off their children for the first time since Friday, Aug. 27. Everyone was overjoyed to return. “We’re so glad to be back in school,” said Cullen Rebstock, once his daughter Taylor exited his car. “We love our Holy Rosary.” “We are so glad to be back, too,” replied Long, who came out of retirement four years ago to lead the school as principal. She has been in education for a total of 36 years in public elementary schools and at the community college and university level. Long greeted students by name alongside middle school science/prekindergarten teacher Suzie Douget (wearing a “Blessed” T-shirt), middle school English/Language Arts teacher Collette Williams and Our Lady of the Rosary’s pastor, Father Duc Bui. “It’s been a long time,” Father Bui said about having students back on campus since Hurricane Ida rocked their community Aug. 29. Father Bui said the church and parish office suffered damage to the A/C units, the church bell tower, siding and roof, but he managed to celebrate Mass outdoors a week after the storm. Once power returned three weeks later, weekday and weekend Masses resumed inside the church. It was the school that sustained the most damage, he said.
CHRISTINE BORDELON/CLARION HERALD
Holy Rosary teacher Suzie Douget was one of many faculty members who greeted students as they arrived on campus after the school reopened. Resilient spirit Long returned to campus two days after the storm to see how it fared. She found roof damage throughout, with the worst to her front building housing kindergarten, first and second grade, ancillary programs and her office. “The roof came in, we got a lot of water and teachers lost a lot of their supplies,” she said. “The corner of my bookroom was destroyed, so all my books there were destroyed. My library was also completely destroyed.” While the cafeteria had some issues, water didn’t come in from the ceiling. It seeped in through the doors, but not in the cooking area, so Holy Rosary was able to clean and sanitize the space so it was ready to use. Something unexpected happened to Long while sitting in her office making a list of the damage. While thinking her office was basically OK – since only one ceiling panel was missing – the ceiling suddenly came down. She said she was fortunate she wasn’t hurt, but the close call didn’t deter her from getting back to her task of restarting school. “I was working seven days a week, putting in 10 hours a day to get this
48 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • November 2021
school ready,” she said, adding how work was still being done on Oct. 4. Luckily, the school salvaged much of its electronics, including all of its interactive whiteboards, and repurposed enough of the campus to welcome back the majority of the 137 students on Oct. 7. The exceptions were the preschool classrooms that were being remediated and awaiting necessary safety approvals. Kayla Danos drove two of her three children through the carpool line Oct. 7. Her youngest had to wait. “My 3-year-old John was crying to wear his uniform because he wasn’t coming back to school today,” she said. Grateful to be back “Good morning,” Long bellowed to students and faculty at morning assembly Oct. 7 as they prayed a Hail Mary, Our Father and recited the Pledge of Allegiance to an American flag flying while under the roofed play area. “We are so excited to see all the smiling faces this morning and delighted to see everyone here,” she said. Some school families lost homes
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and much of their belongings to Hurricane Ida – as evidenced by several students not in uniform on the first day, which was declared a dressdown day. Long said Holy Rosary is stepping up its efforts to help them. “All they have to do is reach out and let us know what they need,” she said. “We have some assistance from generous grandparents who want to help, and several Catholic schools in New York and Mississippi have reached out as well as businesses in Baton Rouge that are having a drive to collect things for them. The Academy of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans is also having a drive.” Valerie Callais, mother of four students ranging in age from four to her twins in sixth grade, was one of them. Her older daughter, a Holy Rosary graduate, now attends the relocated Vandebilt Catholic High School at E.D. White’s campus. “The kids were excited to come back to school and see their friends,” she said. “They needed some kind of normalcy in their lives with their friends and teachers, considering we lost our home and are living with my parents. … We do have a roof over our heads, but it’s not their home. But, we’re still alive. They were excited to come back to ‘their’ school. … We’re doing fine, all in all.” Long said reopening the school as soon as she could was gratifying, knowing she was bringing a sense of routine back into the lives of her faculty, her students and their families who had lost so much. The storm also cemented her assurance that her school and faith family, as well as her community, always pull together when times are tough. “I’ve gotten so many emails and phone calls about what they needed to do and how they could help,” she said. “The backing of this community as a whole is tremendous. We are so excited because of the prayers and what we’ve received from the community. Without them, I don’t know where we would be right now.” (Christine Bordelon is the associate editor of the Clarion Herald, the Official Newspaper of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.) BC
CHRISTINE BORDELON/CLARION HERALD
In photos above, students gather for a morning assembly; and Father Duc Bui, pastor of Our Lady of the Rosary, and faculty members greet students returning to school as it reopens. November 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 49
Catholic Schools
St. Hilary welcomes faculty and students from Holy Savior Catholic School in Lockport By BETH DONZE Clarion Herald
The floor-to-ceiling banner inside the lobby of the former St. Hilary of Poitiers School in Mathews portrays a scene of childhood abandon, depicting a red-robed Christ watching over a trio of kids doing the hula hoop. Overarching the joyful tableau is a simple, yet powerful, prayer: “Thank you, Jesus, for loving me.” On Sept. 29, gratitude for God’s loving protection was in the air as students from Holy Savior School in Lockport arrived at St. Hilary’s campus for what some of their parents were calling the “second first day of school,” thanks to Hurricane Ida. St. Hilary, which closed its school in 1994 and had been using the building for CCD classes and parish gatherings ever since, has become the temporary haven of Holy Savior’s 130 students – probably for the rest of the school year – after their Lockport campus was rendered uninhabitable by Ida’s Category 4 winds. “God will provide; he always does!” said a jubilant Tricia Thibodaux, Holy Savior’s principal, hugging and highfiving her returning students during morning drop-off and giving thumbsups to their storm-weary parents. To mark the resumption of classes at the new venue – and to thank those who made it possible – Thibodaux invited her students and staff to dress as their favorite superheroes, drawing a cast of pint-sized Spider Men, Bat Men, Bat Girls, Incredible Hulks, first responders and military personnel. One brother-and-sister duo disembarked from their car in blue smocks – to pay tribute to the tenacious employees of their local Walmart. “Good morning, Sweetpea!” said Thibodaux, greeting a Holy Savior fourth grader dressed in an aqua surgical bonnet, scrubs and matching stethoscope. Thibodaux’s own costume for the day – a white hard hat and neon-
BETH DONZE/CLARION HERALD
Father Jean-Marie Nsambu, pastor of Holy Savior, and Tricia Thibodaux, Holy Savior’s principal greeted students as they arrived at St. Hilary of Poitiers in Mathews. green vest – conveyed her appreciation for those who are still working on cranes to restore electrical power in hard-hit Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes. “Linemen are superheroes, too!” Thibodaux said. Children breathe new life into campus If not for the costumes and the change of location, the day looked like any other at Holy Savior School, established in 1879 to serve families living on Bayou Lafourche. Cafeteria staff inside St. Hilary’s auditorium-size multi-purpose room served a breakfast of waffles and sausage to Holy Savior students who had arrived for beforecare as early as 6:30 a.m.; sixth graders dutifully carried in social studies projects they had been assigned before the storm; and Holy Savior’s fouryear-olds chose their favorite “center time” activity from an assortment of educational puzzles, games and blocks. “I’m so happy that y’all are here!” said Father John David (J.D.) Matherne, St. Hilary’s pastor of three years,
50 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • November 2021
welcoming the young guests from Holy Savior at the morning prayer service and Pledge of Allegiance. “St. Hilary School has been closed for almost 30 years and the building has been missing something, and that’s you,” Father Matherne told them, challenging each youngster to be the “best possible student” he or she could be in the new environment. “It’s been missing some kiddos, it’s been missing some energy, some excitement, some learning and some praying. “The church is not just the building – we learn that in religion – the church is its people,” Father Matherne reminded them. “In the same way, a school is not just a building; the school is you! The fact that you are here, the fact your teachers are here, the fact that you’re able to be here as Holy Savior School – it doesn’t matter what building you’re in! What matters is that you’re here together, as a community.” Feeling Ida’s wrath The necessity to temporarily relocate the school was never in doubt, said Thibodaux, recalling her
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heartbreak at seeing the devastation at Holy Savior’s 1962-built school building, her workplace since becoming a first-grade teacher there nearly 30 years ago and its principal in 2013. Nearly every window had been blown out in the three-winged, brickand-cinder block structure, and massive chunks of ceiling, insulation and roofing materials had caved into hallways, ushering in rain. Other parts of campus fared a bit better. The gym sustained three broken windows, and the cafeteria, which had double-paned, tempered glass installed after Hurricane Katrina, lost only one window. At press time, only the gym and cafeteria had regained power. Father Jean-Marie Nsambu, Holy Savior’s pastor, rode out Hurricane Ida in his rectory to be near the Blessed Sacrament and to minister to his parishioners in the aftermath. During the calm period in which the eye of the hurricane loomed over Lockport, he ventured outside to assess damage at the church. “Our church had already taken a beating (after the first phase of the hurricane), but after the hurricane passed it was even worse,” said Father Nsambu, recalling the surreal scene of downed ceiling tiles and water-soaked walls and pews. “I had left the Blessed Sacrament in the church, so after the hurricane I consumed Jesus and prayed,” he said. He said his melancholy lifted when he celebrated Saturday Vigil Mass a week later in Holy Savior’s mausoleum chapel for about 40 faithful. “When I told them I would be celebrating Mass, they said, ‘Yes, Father. We want God at this time,’” Father Nsambu said. “That has been my thing through all of this: ‘God is still among us; God is still present.’ My spirits were lightened.” Freshening their new space The idea for Holy Savior School to temporarily relocate to St. Hilary’s campus was broached just days after Hurricane Ida stalled over Lockport for more than five hours. Upon ascertaining that his own parish plant had come through the storm relatively unscathed, Father Matherne contacted Thibodaux,
who had evacuated to her sister’s home in Florida, to offer her the use of St. Hilary’s 10 CCD classrooms, administrative office and the parish’s multi-purpose space – the latter which functioned as the 1965-founded parish’s original church. Father Matherne said his thought process was simple: “I want to make sure y’all have a school year, and we have an old school that survived.” “Roughly half of the (Holy Savior) school population are our parishioners,” he noted. “They know the area; they know our church.” Thibodaux assembled her troops – her faculty of 15 teachers who also were dealing with their own stormrelated issues. “We mopped, we swept, we vacuumed, we dust-bunnied and we salvaged anything that didn’t get wet (at Holy Savior),” Thibodaux said, marveling at the long caravan of parents, grandparents and other helpers who responded to Holy Savior’s Facebook call-out for trailers and trucks to move the materials from Lockport to Mathews. In addition to school supplies that had been brought home by teachers in advance of Ida, more than 100 Chromebooks survived the hurricane because they were tucked away in a windowless room at Holy Savior School, the principal said.
Creating a spirit of ‘normalcy’ On Sept. 29, 107 of Holy Savior’s current enrollment of 130 students ages one through sixth grade returned to school, and more were expected to come back once state licensing procedures were finalized to allow Holy Savior to resume its nursery program at the St. Hilary site. Although it is currently following a regular school day of 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (with aftercare available through 5:30 p.m.), Holy Savior is working with the state and the Diocese of HoumaThibodaux to determine how students will make up their four weeks of missed class time, Thibodaux said. Meanwhile, one of the changes teachers are experiencing is having to return to some “old-school” ways of teaching. Although most of Holy Savior’s Promethean Smart boards survived Ida, detaching them from the walls proved to be too difficult. So, St. Hilary’s chalkboards – vestiges of a school that closed 27 years ago – would have to suffice for now, Thibodaux said. “Our teachers are very technology savvy, but they’re going to do fine,” she said. “My faculty – the way that they came together – we always were a family, but just the way that they cohesively came together even stronger has been amazing. There was no negativity; there was no
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BETH DONZE/CLARION HERALD
Father Rusty Bruce, associate pastor of St. Hilary of Poitiers in Mathews, greets students from Holy Savior School. November 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 51
Catholic Schools
Holy Savior cont. animosity toward moving; there was no question in their mind that we’ve got to do this, and we’re going to do this the best we can. I think that’s what made my job easier.” With the goal of making life as normal as possible for the transplanted Holy Savior pupils, teachers decorated their classrooms with “We Are God’s Masterpiece,” Holy Savior’s 2021-22 school theme, and Father Nsambu celebrated the school’s first postIda Mass on Oct. 6 inside St. Hilary Church. Traditional activities, including an Oct. 28 Living Rosary led by first and second graders, will proceed as usual, as will after-school activities such as 4-H, the Art/STEM Club and the Christian Leadership Club, Thibodaux said. Band, a beloved component of Holy Savior’s regular curriculum, is also going strong, despite the loss of about
half of the school’s instruments. “Everybody goes (to band) from kindergarten through sixth grade, whether they play a musical instrument or not,” Thibodaux said. Father Matherne pledged to do everything he could as St. Hilary’s pastor to ensure that Holy Savior maintains its school identity and to correct any potential misunderstandings that Holy Savior School has been “replaced” or that the former St. Hilary School has been “reopened.” He said that St. Hilary parishioners are also on board to assist in the school’s long-term recovery, having embraced the message of their pastor’s first postIda homily: If you have experienced loss, then be ready to receive help; if you have not suffered a loss, then be ready to help. “The goal is that we will host (Holy Savior School) for a time – the same way that if you have a family member who lost a house, you might take them in, but never with the intention of them staying,” Father Matherne explained.
BETH DONZE/CLARION HERALD
To mark the resumption of classes, teachers and students dressed as their favorite superheroes. 52 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • November 2021
“We want you to go home. We want your house to be repaired, fixed, safe, so we can then send you back home.” Silver linings galore In Lockport, hope is already making itself known. Dr. Lindsay Mayet Lasseigne, a neurologist who taught science at Holy Savior for two years before enrolling in medical school, joined with parishioners and students from Nicholls State University to coordinate Sept. 10 and Oct. 3 drivethrus in Holy Savior’s cafeteria parking lot. Gift cards, supplies and more than 3,000 plates of food were distributed to anyone in need as a reminder that “Holy Savior is still standing and ready to help,” Thibodaux said. Other examples of radical generosity include the outreach of a Lockport woman who was forced to close her business after losing her roof in Hurricane Ida. Adamant that Holy Savior’s teachers would have a place to unwind on their new campus at St. Hilary, the woman helped them furnish a “home-away-from-home” faculty lounge, donating a new microwave, toaster-oven, table and chairs to replace items lost at their Lockport campus. Thibodaux said her habit of opening up the Bible to a random passage – and then journaling about it – keeps her going, especially as national and even local media seem to have forgotten that some residents of southern Lafourche and Terrebonne are still living in tents. “Some people would call it resilient, others would call it stubborn,” she said, smiling. “They’re gonna build back better, and they’re serious about it.” The principal was reminded of that self-reliance during a recent homily on Matthew 5:30: “If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.” “The priest tied it all into being a humble person, being that giving person and that person who is there for other people,” Thibodaux said. “That resonated with me, because that’s who we are.” (Beth Donze is the Kid’s Clarion Editor of the Clarion Herald, the Official Newspaper of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.) BC
Pastoral Response
Priests of the diocese are facing many difficult and unprecedented challenges in the wake of Ida Story by Janet Marcel Hurricane Ida left behind an unbelievable trail of destruction throughout the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux after making landfall on Sunday, August 29 at Port Fourchon, LA, as a category 4 storm and moving north through southeast Louisiana. The priests of the diocese are facing many difficult and unprecedented challenges that have been brought about as a result of this powerful hurricane, the likes of which has not been experienced in this diocese since Hurricane Betsy in 1965. Some chose to remain in their parishes during the storm and some evacuated to safer places. But all of them are currently dealing with Hurricane Ida’s aftermath, in ways big and small, whether it is … working with their parishioners to distribute much needed supplies or hot cooked meals to those who were suffering immediately after the storm passed; … ministering to the people of their church parishes who may have lost everything or even just sustained minimal damage from the hurricane; … meeting with diocesan officials, contractors and/or roofers to discuss the damages to their parish’s facilities; … trying to return to some sort of normalcy in the celebration of weekday and Sunday liturgies in their parish; … collaborating with Catholic school personnel in those schools that were damaged and/or reaching out to offer their facilities to help damaged Catholic schools return to insession learning; … or just balancing their own personal storm-related needs with that of their parish and parishioners. BC
St. Mary’s Nativity Church, Raceland
Tarping a home in Golden Meadow
Holy Family Church, Grand Caillou November 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 53
Pastoral Response
Father Kuruvilla says outpouring of generosity from outside of area made a difference in Chauvin Story by Janet Marcel Father Baby Kuruvilla, pastor of St. Joseph Church parish in Chauvin since July 2017, evacuated for Hurricane Ida and says it was such a shock when he returned to the church parish on Tuesday after the storm. “I have never in my life seen so much devastation,” says Father Kuruvilla. “My anxiety was high as I was driving down Highway 56 toward Chauvin … almost all of the electrical poles were down … almost all of the roofs were gone. When I arrived at the church, I could see that there was roof damage to the rectory, but the church looked okay – from what I could see at the time.” The parish center had extensive roof damage and broken windows, and the old convent building also had roof and ceiling damage. Upon further inspection, the pastor discovered that the skylight over the altar in the church broke causing ceiling damage, and leaving wet carpet and debris on the altar. “When I went into the rectory I saw that my room was full of water, but I knew that I had to stay here so I was able to find one dry room to sleep in,” he says. For weeks after the storm, the church parish’s youth center was used as a donation storage center. There were many organizations and businesses looking for a place to distribute food and supplies, explains the pastor. “A group of people from Ohio who knew one of our parishioners showed up one day with supplies to distribute. People from Texas and Mississippi came with food and water; people with camps in Cocodrie from other states and New Orleans wanted to help here because they knew of the area and had heard about the devastation. St. Bernadette Church parish in Lafayette, LA, adopted us. Supplies and food from all over – some groups brought hot cooked meals, some groups cooked meals here – were being given away almost every day for weeks after the hurricane,” says Father Kuruvilla. “Gas was supplied by Terrebonne Parish and distributed for about 10 days straight. People would wait in line for hours for what they needed. Their houses have been destroyed … but they’re still thankful to be alive. I was there because I just wanted to console the people … I would go car to car and they are appreciative of what the church is doing for them.” Through the generosity of an anonymous donor, two washing machines and two dryers were brought on site for people to use, as well as a place for those in need to take hot showers. Father Kuruvilla was featured on Fox8 News out of New Orleans, which he says created some much needed awareness in the area. The lack of communication was one of the greatest challenges Father Kuruvilla had in trying to help his 54 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • November 2021
Father Kuruvilla is shown filling up gasoline cans for residents of the Chauvin community. parishioners who were suffering because of the storm. People are somewhat accustomed to being without electricity for periods of time, but having no running water for weeks presented another very specific set of challenges. A couple of days after arriving back in the parish, Father Kuruvilla was able to start visiting people in their homes. “Once again, there was a lot of help from outside of the area. Everyone had a lot of damage,” he says. “One of my cousins from St. Louis, MO, came with four people right away on Sept. 2, with equipment to help clean up the rectory, pick up debris around the church and put blue tarps on the damaged roofs; and they stayed for three days. That freed up others to help with supply distribution.” The greatest blessing throughout the entire ordeal, says the pastor, has been the outside help and support they have received. “It gave me great satisfaction to see this … it brings the community together. It was amazing how many people from so many other areas came to help. There were a lot of people who came through the church parish in one month. I really felt God put me here at this time, and I was supposed to do whatever I could to help.” BC
Pastoral Response
In photos above, some of the many homes and businesses along Bayou Petite Caillou from Chauvin to Cocodrie that sustained heavy damage. November 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 55
Pastoral Response
‘St. Mary’s parishioners are resilient when they work and pray together,’ says Father Mahler Story by Janet Marcel Father Clyde Mahler, pastor of St. Mary’s Nativity Church parish in Raceland since July 2019, says he chose not to evacuate for Hurricane Ida for a number of reasons. His thinking was that there may not be enough hotel rooms available for families who would need a room for several people rather than for just one person. His immediate family in Kraemer did not evacuate so he had some concerns and wanted to stay close to them. And the last reason, he says, is where do you go with the number of COVID-19 cases on the rise? So, he ended up staying in the church parish rectory. “My thinking process during the hurricane was making comparison ‘flash-backs’ to what I had experienced as a little boy for Hurricane Betsy. I felt the anticipation of wondering if I was prepared enough for what was about to happen. I felt a sort of helplessness and vulnerability seeing the power of nature; however, I also felt a calmness and peacefulness knowing that God and Our Lady was very present with me,” says Father Mahler. The parishioners at St. Mary’s Nativity are amazing, Father Mahler says. “Immediately after the storm, parishioners gathered together to clean the grounds, the school and the cemetery. St. Mary’s Nativity staff directed a number of drop-off supply trucks to Catholic Charites of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. We also had parishioners, school parents and students gather for a parish clean-up day.” Father Mahler collaborated and sponsored, along with Christ the King Church parish in Lake Charles, and Holy Cross Church parish Morgan City, about 300 hot lunch meals, and they distributed cleaning and household supplies in front of the church. “Communication has been most difficult during the aftermath of the storm … being without phones and email has been a challenge for us,” says the pastor. “Nevertheless, by celebrating Masses outdoors as soon as possible, we were able to share news and information as in the ‘good old days,’ in person.” The greatest blessing I have experienced as pastor and priest during the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, says Father Mahler, “is the tremendous faith of our people and how resilient we are, especially when we work together and pray together. We are ‘one body in Christ.’” BC 56 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • November 2021
In photos above, Bishop Shelton J. Fabre meets with Father Clyde Mahler, pastor of St. Mary’s Nativity, inside of the church. In addition to the church, the church administration office sustained extensive roof and water damage.
Pastoral Response
Father Kuriakose is grateful for help from diocese and community following wrath of Ida Story by Janet Marcel Father Thomas Kuriakose, pastor of St. Lawrence the Martyr Church parish in Kraemer since July 2017, says he evacuated to Gonzales for the hurricane. Trying to get back to the parish after the storm was not easy as the roads were not fully open. “The devastation I saw was heartbreaking. There was water everywhere, trees on the roads, in yards and on housetops. People were panicked and in a turmoil. There was a hopelessness on hope. One blessing was that nobody in my parish was hurt or died,” says Father Kuriakose. The church, however, received major damage when the skylight over the altar broke flooding the church with water. On the second day after Hurricane Ida passed, more than 50 volunteers from near and far gathered together at the available premise, the Bayou Boeuf Volunteer Fire Department’s fire station, to help. In the weeks following the storm, the fire department was the site of many hot meal distributions, as well as having other supplies such as water, ice and gas available for the small community. “We received help from so many sources here. Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux helped a lot. Bishop (Shelton J.) Fabre visited many times. The National Guard helped to avail Wi-Fi and telephone services. The community really came together,” says the pastor, “it was great to see.” Father Kuriakose says the parish’s Matthew 25 team was of great help during this challenging time. The members visited the homebound and took care of their medical needs. “The greatest blessing throughout this entire ordeal was that people of all ages came together helping one another to provide the necessities of life,” says Father Kuriakose. “We could turn to the diocese for any help we needed. Everyone here is thankful to God for his help and protection.” BC
St. James Chapel, Choctaw
St. Lawrence the Martyr, Kraemer
The sanctuary of St. Lawrence November 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 57
Pastoral Response
‘We are all alive ... we will recover and rebuild,’ says Father Nambusseril Story by Janet Marcel Father John Nambusseril, V.F., pastor of Our Lady of Prompt Succor Church parish in Golden Meadow since July 2019, evacuated for Hurricane Ida, but says he was in communication with town officials before returning to the parish, so he knew that Golden Meadow was badly hit by Hurricane Ida. “It was heartbreaking to see the damages,” he says. “After the storm, me and some of my parishioners who were able went to the streets to see how we could help those in need. We made flyers asking people what their needs were, and we continue to reach out to the people in need each day.” During the weeks following the hurricane, the church parish, with the help of many outside sources, was able to distribute hot meals, cleaning supplies, tarps, nails, baby items, yard cleanup items, toys, snacks, fans, etc., as well as providing free medical care for the community. Father Nambusseril says the greatest challenge in helping parishioners who were greatly affected by the storm was that they weren’t able to meet everyone that they went in search of. “Some of them hadn’t even returned, as there was no power and no running water. They are stressed and upset. Many say they have never seen anything like this hurricane in their entire life. Those who stayed said they will never again stay. They were very much scared and say if they are asked to evacuate they will.” There are so many blessings to be thankful for, says Father Nambusseril. “We are all alive … we will recover and rebuild … slowly but surely we will overcome. My dedicated and committed volunteers … and so many generous people have helped those affected by this terrible disaster and still continue to help.” BC
Hurricane Ida set its path for Southeast Louisiana. Golden Meadow and other communities along lower Bayou Lafourche took the brunt of the storm. 58 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • November 2021
Pastoral Response
‘St. Ann is grateful to those who helped them get back on their feet,’ says Father Chatagnier Father Cody Chatagnier, pastor of St. Ann Church parish in Bourg since July 2019, says he celebrated the 4 p.m. Mass on Saturday, Aug. 28, then evacuated to St. Benilde Catholic Church in Metairie. “I first came back to the parish on Monday after the storm. I didn’t have much time since I needed to get out before curfew. I had heard reports that the roof was damaged on the church, but the destruction I saw when I came back was unimaginable. The church’s roof was ripped off. There was standing water in the church. The roof and the back walls of the rectory were gone. Basically the majority of my possessions were destroyed. I went from planning to go back to the rectory to trying to find another place to live. I think during that initial visit I was still in shock. From time to time over these last few weeks, the reality of the situation has hit home. I broke down when I pulled a soaked picture of my deceased mother out of a storage bin last week. Insurance claims can’t replace some things … “ Many of St. Ann’s parishioners were heavily affected by Hurricane Ida. Father Chatagnier says St. Ann is a parish that normally comes to the aid of others, but this time they were certainly the ones in need of help. “Less than a week after the storm, we were able to help our community in small ways,” he says. “People began calling from Florida, Texas, Missouri and other parts of
Louisiana asking to come here to help. We opened our parking lot to those generous people. Instantly, we became a distribution hub for supplies and hot meals. After a week went by, some of my parishioners began to organize into distribution teams that helped to package meals and hand out supplies. I’m extremely grateful to my DRE Lisa Lapeyrouse who coordinated and scheduled all of the different groups.” Father Chatagnier says for him personally, the greatest challenge has been balancing his own personal needs with his role as pastor of St. Ann: Trying to find a place to live versus being in the community; being able to have the basic necessities to function like gas, food and water, while also trying to obtain those items for other people in need; and caring for the spiritual needs of the community versus caring for the material needs of the parish. “There are only so many hours in a day,” says the pastor, “and many days I’ve felt that I couldn’t accomplish what was needed.” Father Chatagnier says the greatest blessing throughout this disaster has been the wonderful generosity of the different communities that have come to their aid. “St. Ann is used to serving and not being served. We would rather stand on our own feet, but we certainly needed the assistance this time. I’m incredibly grateful to those communities that have donated and helped us get back on our feet. We hope to one day pay those blessings forward.” BC
Many of Father Chatagnier’s personal possessions were destroyed beyond repair. Upon opening a storage bin he found a water-soaked picture of his deceased mother among the contents.
St. Ann Church, Bourg
Story by Janet Marcel
November 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 59
Pastoral Response
Hard-hit Dulac community gets much needed donations from across the country Story by Janet Marcel Father Antonio Speedy, administrator of Holy Family Church parish in Grand Caillou since January 2019, stayed at the rectory of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary in Houma during Hurricane Ida’s landfall, with members of the Poor Friars and Poor Nuns of Jesus and Mary. “We blocked doors with couches and tables to reinforce them from bursting open. We consumed all but one consecrated host and huddled on the ground around the tabernacle in the corridor central to the strong brick building,” says Father Speedy. “Our experience was strengthened by our unity in Christ and while trees came crashing down onto parts of the rectory, we were still confident to get through alive. My biggest concern was for our many people I knew had stayed down in Dulac. I was most concerned that we would lose lives through flooding.” Father Speedy returned to the church parish the morning after the storm. “I looked up at the church and saw the 12 x 19 foot large gaping hole in the wall where our stained glass window used to be and I saw that there was water in the church. I had heard of the damage through a phone call from one of our parishioners, so I was not shocked. What shocked me was that one of the little model shrimping boats, ‘Mr. Stanley,’ that sat for decades high on the back wall of the church, had been preserved from any damage, even though the mammoth window above it had been pushed by the strong winds completely clear over it in one whole piece and had crashed down into the church over the pews midway down the aisle.” Father Speedy says he noticed a strange flurry of people around the church with some strangers having driven through the front yard. Later it became clear to him that the road had been blocked by electrical poles and because the church was at the “end of the road” people trying to get back to their houses were using the parking lot and then walking the rest of the way down the street. Upon returning to the community, he and the nuns, as well as countless volunteers hit the ground running to assist the people in need. “Dulac got hit very hard by Hurricane Ida; some of our parishioners lost their homes entirely,” says Father Speedy. “Our Holy Family Church parish has received copious supplies and support from so many generous communities! So many volunteers have assisted us and so many good people have contributed manpower, food and much needed supplies that there is no way to thank them all by name. Our whole community is so grateful; may God bless all of those who contributed financially and personally with their service to help us get through a very difficult time.” 60 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • November 2021
Through the generosity of others, in the weeks following Hurricane Ida, the parish was able to have almost daily distributions of supplies including hot food, water, generators, gas, room air conditioners, fans, cleaning supplies, diapers, toiletries, and more. “As the amount of incoming supplies increased, we set out tables down the aisles of our damaged church and began using it as a ‘warehouse.’ The generosity of people from all over the country became overwhelming, so Sister Clara, Sister Eliora, Sister Caterina and Sister Jacinta tirelessly worked to maintain order as they sorted the goods that were to be distributed.” Through the generosity of an anonymous donor, the church parish was also able to offer free laundromat services onsite with two washing machines and two dryers. Two hot showers were also available for people to use. A Town Hall Q&A session with four professional attorneys available to answer any questions community members had regarding house insurance claims was also sponsored by the church parish. Coordinating the needs of the people with the benefactors who want to help is what Father Speedy says has been the greatest challenge he has faced thus far in the efforts to help his parishioners who have been most affected by the storm. “First of all, thanks be to God for our parishioner Jimmy Richard who immediately set us up with some fishing friends of his throughout the country to enable us to respond early on getting help and supplies to our people. Secondly, thanks to my administrative assistant Erin Ray who has been doing an amazing job by helping me every step of the way. Given that all resources in the church parish were down, we planned a Venmo mobile electronic giving hurricane relief program through local camp owner Frank Cardinale who lives in Lafayette. He would receive the donations and each night we would communicate our needs to him. He would then make the purchases and have the supplies delivered to us the following day.” Father Speedy says the greatest blessing throughout this entire ordeal has been seeing the people working together for the good of all. “As Jesus says that the good seed of his Word struggles to enter the soil choked with the thorns of the worries of this world, Ida has ripped many of those thorns away with her winds. We are seeing many families reconciled, many people return to church, and many people unite in Christ to get through this ordeal together,” says Father Speedy. “As Friar Nathaniel quoted one of our people during his homily, ‘It took a hurricane to reconcile me to my wife!’” BC
Pastoral Response
Supplies came into the Dulac community from all across the country. Photo at right, Father Antonio Speedy prays with disaster relief workers.
We will get through Ida together!
BAYOU
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Adolfo J. Cuadra, M.D.
Mimi Wilson OT, PA-C
Jimmy N. Ponder, Jr., M.D.
answertopain.com • 985.580.1200 November 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 61
Seminarian eDucation burSeS Seminarian Spotlight Davis Ahimbisibwe n What church parish are you from? St. Bridget, Schriever n Where are you studying and in what year of your studies are you? I am in my second year of theology at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans. n Where are you from (born and raised)? I was born and raised in Kabale, Uganda. n What are you looking forward to most about priesthood? Teaching and preaching n Who is your favorite saint and why? St. Faustina, apostle of divine mercy; she taught me obedience to God’s will. n What is the best advice you’ve ever gotten? “If you kneel before God, then, you will stand before any man.” n Which superpower would you choose? Reading people’s minds n If you could travel to any point in history, to what point would you go? I would go to the time when Jesus was physically on earth.
DiD you know? Seminarian eDucation coStS on average $45,000 a year for eight yearS Seminarian enDowmentS can be nameD enDoweD funDS/burSeS. each year intereSt earneD from the enDowmentS are granteD to the DioceSe to cover annual coStS of their eDucation. catholic founDation of South louiSiana manageS Seminarian enDowmentS for the DioceSe.
all completeD Seminarian eDucation burSeS can be vieweD online at www.htDioceSe.org/vocationS For more information contact the Catholic Foundation at 985-850-3116 or aponson@htdiocese.org 62 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • November 2021
Disaster Response
Hurricane Disaster Response Team mobilizes after Ida devastates diocese Story by Janet Marcel Just days after Hurricane Ida devastated most of the area that comprises the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, Bishop Shelton J. Fabre invited all diocesan employees to a meeting – which some attended in person and those who had evacuated attended via zoom – to discuss the diocese’s response to one of the most damaging and intense hurricanes on record to make landfall in the State of Louisiana. More specifically, Hurricane Ida is the worst storm to directly impact Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes since Hurricane Betsy, 56 years ago in 1965. Bishop Fabre announced that Very Rev. Mark Toups, V.G., had agreed to return from his sabbatical early to serve as the diocesan disaster response coordinator during this time. The following week, Mark W. Bolton was named as coordinator of the diocesan Hurricane Disaster Response Team. Very Rev. Mark Toups, V.G., developed the diocese’s
overall disaster response plan, dividing it into three phases: Respond. Reopen. Recover. The goal of Phase I: Respond is to make sure that the basic needs of the people are met, including safety, shelter, food, pastoral care, human interaction, basic healthcare, hope and confidence. The goal of Phase II: Reopen is moving toward long term solutions, such as “livable housing,” reliable food sources, students at “a” school (may not be at their building), church parishes reopen with essential services, diocesan entities reopen with essential services, basic healthcare, hope and confidence. The goal of Phase III: Recover is to establish an environment where the people of the diocese are stable and self-sufficient, which includes long-term housing solutions, long-term food sources, long-term educational solutions, long-term spiritual and pastoral care, and honorable closure. According to Bolton, the diocese has received a
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November 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 63
Disaster Response
Disaster response cont. tremendous amount of support from many outside agencies. One day after Hurricane Ida made landfall, the Diocese of Lafayette’s Catholic Charities of Acadiana staff were already here providing hot meals to the people of the diocese, as well as giving diocesan officials recommendations on disaster response organizational and support efforts. They also offered us use of a warehouse in their diocese to store supplies and materials, and they took care of some of the logistics of the recovery process, says Bolton, adding that since then they have also been assisting the diocese with cleanup efforts and supplies distributions. Staff from the Diocese of Lake Charles’ Catholic Charities of Southwest Louisiana also responded early on with initial guidance based on what they had learned from their response to last year’s devastating hurricanes in their area. They also distributed supplies and hot meals to some of the hardest hit church parishes of the diocese. Bolton says that Jennifer Dyer, director of Disaster Response for Catholic Charities USA, spent a week with
diocesan leadership, offering valuable recommendations for the “road ahead” during the diocese’s transition from Phase I: Response to Phase II: Reopen. Dyer also put them in contact with other organizations that had valuable resources to offer aid. Kim Burgo, vice-president of Disaster Operations for Catholic Charities USA, also spent a few days here assisting with the diocese’s support efforts during the beginning of Phase II of the disaster response plan. “The people from Catholic Charities USA were a phenomenal support group for us from early on, sharing with us their best practices and lessons learned while responding to a disaster such as this one,” says Bolton. Some of the other groups from outside of the diocese that assisted during the response phase are the American Red Cross, the United Way, World Central Kitchen/Dickie Brennan’s Restaurant Group (provided over 30,000 hot meals); Hands On New Orleans; multiple other groups of businesses, groups of friends, or groups of parishioners from other parts of the country organized themselves and traveled to different church parishes throughout the affected area to cook hot meals for those in need; Cajun Navy Ground Force (provided general supplies,
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LAWRENCE CHATAGNIER/BAYOU CATHOLIC
Disaster relief workers along with Bishop Shelton J. Fabre package meals from World Central Kitchen/Dickie Brennan’s Restaurant Group to be sent out to devastated areas. 64 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • November 2021
Disaster Response
including gas, and helped distribute these supplies to various areas). They were also very involved in cleanup and rebuilding efforts in some of the hardest hit areas of the diocese. Premier Catering and Events, a local company owned by Grady Verret, recently began providing two meals daily in four of the hardest hit areas of the diocese including Dulac, Theriot, Montegut and Pointe-aux-Chenes. Numerous entities from near and far donated much needed supplies to the diocese including: Goodwill Industries: 1,000 tarps and 20 pallets of water; Second Harvest Foodbank: canned goods; Cross Catholic Outreach: 40 pallets of mixed supplies – disaster blankets, hand sanitizer, canned goods, etc.; Food for the Poor: 20 pallets of non-perishable food items and water. Kenny Wood, of K&B Industries, donated a 25,000 sq. ft. warehouse and forklift for the diocese to store and organize incoming supplies, as well as offering logistical support. In addition to collaborating with other organizations and organizing relief efforts, some of the ways Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux (CCH-T) responded to the immediate needs of the people following the hurricane, reports Bolton, was by delivering hot meals beginning the day after the storm, roof tarping coordinated through crisis response efforts and Catholic Charities of Acadiana; and daily deliveries of clean up supplies (rakes, brooms, shovels, trash bags, bleach, clean up kits and hygiene kits) to various church parishes. To better meet the needs of individual church parishes, Point of Distribution (POD) liaisons were assigned to the Disaster Response Team. These POD liaisons began meeting daily with Office of Parish Support staff to assess storm related needs in each church parish. As part of Phase II of the diocese’s disaster response plan, Parish Recovery Assistance Centers (P-RACS) were established and positioned in certain church parishes throughout the diocese. Case workers were assigned to these centers to meet with people who have been affected by the hurricane and document their damages, assist them in registering for federal and state programs,
Volunteers prepare food boxes for storm victims. and connect them with vital community resources. P-RACS are located in the following church parishes: Holy Savior, Lockport; St. Joseph, Chauvin; St. Eloi, Theriot; Our Lady of Prompt Succor, Golden Meadow; and Holy Family, Grand Caillou. Bolton says the greatest need that the people of the diocese are facing at the moment is the need for temporary housing, which will be a major part of what will be addressed in Phase II of the diocesan disaster response plan. As of press time, CCH-T has coordinated the distribution of 150,000 hot meals (does not include meals that were cooked in parishes that did not coordinate through Catholic Charities); 5,000 tarps; 250 cleaning kits (ongoing); 3,000 cases of water; 5,000 gallons of gas, as well as distributing other supplies such as hand sanitizer, DampRid (mold remediation), over 400 mops/brooms/flat-head shovels, canned food, diapers, paper towels, toilet paper, muck and gut kits, cleaning supplies, hygiene kits, bleach, other mold remediation supplies and generators. BC
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Not FDIC Insured • No Bank Guarantee • May Lose Value • Not A Deposit • Not Insured by Any Federal Government Agency November 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 65
Disaster Response
Diocese receives thousands of donations Story by Janet Marcel In response to Hurricane Ida’s destruction in this area, the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux and Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux have been the recipients of thousands of in-kind donations from donors both locally and across the country, reports Amy Ponson, executive director of the Catholic Foundation of South Louisiana. The in-kind supplies were distributed at numerous sites across the diocese in the weeks following the storm. In addition to supply donations, Ponson says monetary donations were received from across the state and as far west as California and as far East as New York and the Carolinas. “People, businesses, foundations and dioceses from across the country have supported our disaster relief efforts and are continuing to do so each day,” she says. “Gifts received are being used to purchase supplies needed, assist with rent/hotel bills for displaced residents, for food and sheltering, and to support the case management work as we enter into Phase II of the diocesan disaster response plan.” To support Catholic Charities of Houma-Thibodaux’s disaster relief effort, go to https://catholiccharitiesht.org/ disasterrelief; to adopt a school, go to https://htdiocese.org/ support-a-school; to adopt a parish, go to https://htdiocese. org/church-parish-giving. To speak to someone about supporting Catholic Charities, the diocese, a school or a parish, contact Ponson at (985) 850.3116 or by email at aponson@htdiocese.org. BC
Volunteers clean up and remove debris from storm damaged homes. 66 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • November 2021
Rebuilding Stronger
Terrebonne General Health System is committed to rebuilding stronger to serve the bayou region. Although our facility received catastrophic damage due to Hurricane Ida, and had to evacuate patients, we have remained committed to serving our community. Emergency Services were restored in a matter of days, and we are now able to provide essential healthcare services including cancer care, cardiology and obstetrics. Our team is working around the clock to restore our physical buildings, but we are more than bricks and mortar. We are hearts united in continuing to provide exceptional healthcare with compassion. Like our community, we are resilient, and remain ready to serve when you need us.
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For the latest updates visit tghealthsystem.com
Spinal Implant Procedures including • INTRATHECAL PUMP IMPLANT • SPINAL CORD STIMULATOR IMPLANT • VERTIFLEX -
(MINIMALLY INVASIVE TREATMENT FOR SPINAL STENOSIS)
DR. HAYDEL IS 1 OF ONLY 3 PHYSICIANS IN THE STATE OF LOUISIANA & IS 1 OF ONLY 20 PHYSICIANS IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY THAT HAS EXCEEDED OVER 100 VERTIFLEX PROCEDURES
Interventional Pain Procedures including: • EPIDURAL STEROID AND OTHER SPINE INJECTIONS • PERCUTANEOUS DISC DECOMPRESSION • RADIOFREQUENCY ABLATION • KYPHOPLASTY FOR COMPRESSION FRACTURES • DISCOGRAM
Wellness/Osteoporosis Clinic Lafayette Location:
Houma Location:
Thibodaux Location:
1101 S. College Road, Suite 202 Lafayette, LA 70503 Phone: (337) 233-2504
1022 Belanger St. Houma, LA 70360 Phone: (985) 223-3132
2100 Audubon Avenue Thibodaux, LA 70301 Phone: (985) 223-3132
www.painspecialty.net
Michael S. Haydel, M.D. FIPP, ABIPP Fellow of Interventional Pain Practice American Board of Interventional Pain Physicians American Board of Anesthesiology