Cameron churches rebuilding, disaster victims aided

   LAKE CHARLES – The rebuilding of the Catholic churches in Cameron Parish continues at a steady pace, according to reports from the pastors of those faith communities.

Bishop Glen John Provost has noted that “progress has been facilitated by timely donations from generous donors, insurance, and the hard work of parish and diocesan workers, both volunteer and staff.” 

St. Eugene Church in Grand Chenier has been fully restored and Masses have been celebrated there since Jan. 4, the Feast of the Epiphany. Father Vincent Vadakkedath, the pastor, was able to celebrate the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day liturgies there with permission of Bishop Provost, even though final touches remained to be completed at that time.

  “It’s the same church, just a little more pretty now,” Father Vadakkedath said. “Until Epiphany, we were at St. Patrick Chapel in Sweetlake, but since then we are back in Grand Chenier.

   “The people of Grand Chenier have come back,” he continued. “They are fighting people. I don’t think any number of hurricanes can kill them out.”

   Bishop Provost visited St. Eugene on Saturday, Jan. 31 and celebrated the 4 p.m. Vigil Mass. Work on the hall and rectory continue at St. Eugene with a hoped-for completion in March or April, according to Father Vadakkedath.

   At Sacred Heart of Jesus in Creole and Our Lady Star of the Sea in Cameron, the repair and reconstruction forced by last September’s Hurricane Ike continues.

   Father Joseph McGrath, the pastor of Sacred Heart and the administrator of Our Lady Star of the Sea, looks with hope to soon being back in both churches.

   “We have been told by the contractor that Star of the Sea should be ready by Feb. 15,” Father McGrath said. All of the pews in the church were lost. After Hurricane Rita in 2005, the church had been given some wonderful solid oak pews by the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, Penn. who wanted to do something to help the churches ravaged by the storm.

   Unfortunately, the water, which washed through Our Lady Star of the Sea, damaged those pews beyond recovery. “The volunteers worked so hard to restore and save them, but it didn’t work out” Father McGrath continued.

   The seating in the refurbished church will be a little different this time around.

  “Bishop Provost has given us permission to purchase individual chairs,” Father McGrath said. “They will be similar to those found in the Chapel of the Assumption at Tabor Retreat House of Saint Charles Center, padded chairs with kneelers on the back of each chair.

   At Sacred Heart, a June completion of the church is anticipated.

   Father McGrath believes that once Our Lady Star of the Sea is available many of the Sacred Heart parishioners will avail themselves of the weekend Mass schedule rather than driving north to St. Patrick Chapel in Sweetlake.

   “It will really be nice to be back in Cameron,” Father McGrath said. “I thank everyone at St. Patrick for their graciousness after both storms. I don’t know where we would have been without them.”

   The see church of St. Patrick Chapel, St. Mary of the Lake in Big Lake, has also completed its church building refurbishment after Ike’s floodwater damaged the church and all of the other buildings of the physical plant, which had also been ravaged by Hurricane Rita.

   This weekend, Msgr. Harry D. Greig, celebrated the 10 a.m. Mass in St. Mary of the Lake Church for the first time since Ike’s passage in September won Sunday, Feb. 1.

   “We will be back in our Church this Sunday and there is much excitement,” said Msgr. Greig. “We want to make it a very special time being back in the church. The choir has prepared special music and everyone is excited. We will be keeping the Saturday Vigil Mass at St. Patrick until Father McGrath moves back to Our Lady Star of the Sea in Cameron and then the Saturday Mass will come back to St. Mary and the Sunday Mass at St. Patrick will remain at 8 a.m.

   “Our classroom building should be completed in a couple of weeks,” Msgr. Greig continued. “We will be setting up the parish office in one of the classrooms and then reconstruction will begin on the parish hall.”

   Work continues at St. Peter the Apostle in Hackberry. Masses are still being celebrated in the hall while the parish office building, education classrooms, and the Church are being repaired.

  The church office, which had been nearly complete before Ike’s passage, should be ready soon.

   “We are very excited that the work has finally begun on our church,” Father Rommel Tolentino said. “They started on January 12 and the contractor said we would be able to move things in the office building in about two weeks. They will then start on the education building and finally the church.”

   Mass will be celebrated at noon for the Catholic faithful of Our Lady of the Assumption Chapel in Johnson Bayou beginning on Feb. 8 in the Community Center located on Highway 82.

    According to Father Tolentino about 15 Catholic families are back in the Johnson Bayou area. “They are living on their properties in camping trailers.”

Distaster victims aided through Office of Disaster Response and Preparedness

   LAKE CHARLES – More than 400 families affected by hurricanes Gustav and Ike have been aided through the Office of Disaster Response and Preparedness thus far, according to its Director Sandy Gay.

    “We have assisted 405 families up to now,” Gay said. “We have received funding totaling more than $123,000 to provide for those in need following the storms.”
   The office received grants of $10,000 each following the two storms from Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) as well as contributions from individuals of $30,588.89. It also was given two grants of $12,500 from the Family and Youth Foundation, $40,000 from the Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana, $5,000 from the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, and $2,600 in donated Wal-Mart gift cards.

   With those funds the office has purchased and distributed another $2,000 in Wal-Mart gift cards in addition to the donated cards, provided $300 in medical assistance, $153.00 for transportation for victims. It aided in the payment of insurance for storm victims with a $304.20 outlay, provided $20,382.97 for housing needs and paid $32,392.49 for victims’ utility bills.

   “We are now participating in a pilot program of case management for Rita victims in the area through Catholic Charities USA,” Gay continued. “The goal is to help as many families as possible move forward in their recovery by giving them support in the future and providing resources they continue to need order to get back on their feet.”

   The office has received from two additional grants, one from CCUSA, which will help fund the operation of the office two more years. After Hurricane Rita CCUSA provided a major grant of $2,067,000, more than 90 percent of which went to direct assistance to storm victims. The group’s second major grant, which helped establish the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Response, was $1,512,250. Of that amount, $900,000 was spent on direct assistance to those in need, according to Gay.

 “Not only will we be able to continue operation of the office, the funds will assist us in helping fund the new Diocesan Catholic Charities building,” Gay said. “It will also provide some assistance for the establishment of the new immigration office under the umbrella of the Secretariat of Pastoral Services and it will assist some families with money for down payments on homes being built by Project-Build-A-Future.”

   A second grant will be provided through Family and Youth Counseling Agency, which will help Rita victims continue on their road to recovery through low-interest loans.

   “These can be used to purchase automobiles, work equipment, clothing, and tools to help working men and women become more stable in their environment,” she continued. “ They designed to help move those damaged by Rita farther along in their recovery.”