< Rev. Andy DeRouen '20 (Lake Charles) stands amid the rubble while assessing damage in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura. Photocredit: Chris O’Brien, WUFT Gainesville
Till the Storms of Destruction Pas R E V. A N D R E W D E R O U E N ’ 2 0, D I O C E S E O F L A K E C H A R L E S
W
e all knew we were signing up for suffering; it’s inseparable from the priesthood. When we boarded the exodus flight home last March after four years in Rome, we realized God was inviting us to begin priestly ministry with abrupt detachment— from things, from friends, and from expectations. And while the isolation leading up to ordination forged hearts of zeal for the Lord and his Church, the detachment he would require of us was far from over. On August 27, exactly two months after my diocesan brothers and I were ordained to the priesthood, Hurricane Laura made landfall in our diocese as
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The Pontifical North American College
a category-four storm, the strongest to hit Louisiana in over a century. After sustained winds of 150 miles per hour lashed and shredded every upright structure for nearly seven of the darkest hours of late night and early morning, we would wake up to the news that it would be years before Lake Charles felt and looked normal again. The Diocese alone took on upwards of $80 million in damage, and several parishes were deemed entire losses. Little did we know that as we began to pick up the pieces, Hurricane Delta would make landfall only six weeks later, twelve miles away from the spot where Laura came on shore. One hurricane is enough to send anyone spiraling into a pit of despair. But
two… in the middle of a pandemic? We are no strangers to hurricanes down here on the bayou, but like many friends, this hurricane season was the first I ever weathered as an adult, much less with hundreds of parishioners entrusted to my care! This year, I have lived in ten different places—if you define “living” as “picking up the things you still have, and moving.” Three of those places have since been destroyed by the storms. Without the sacraments, it would be utterly futile to take on my three priestly assignments. But the flexibility demanded of me since March is something I am only able to offer
