A community once-devastated responds to Laura catastrophe

By Christine Bordelon
Clarion Herald

The devastation by Hurricane Laura became real for St. Catherine of Siena parishioners and seminarians from Notre Dame Seminary who traveled Sept. 1 with relief supplies to help out the Diocese of Lake Charles.

“There’s so much destruction,” said Father Tim Hedrick, pastor of St. Catherine of Siena, who led a caravan from Metairie of two 18-wheelers filled with food, water and supplies, 20-plus parishioners and 20 seminarians to Lake Charles with donations for a Catholic Charities warehouse. They also brought along food and equipment to provide hot meals for those in need at three locations.

St. Catherine split up to reach four locations in Lake Charles, all about a mile from Interstate 10, and they began to witness Hurricane Laura’s destruction about 30 miles west of  Lafayette.

“It reminded me of Katrina, minus the water (and without the sludge and mold),” Father Hedrick observed about the damage. “It looked more like a war zone. The trees were shredded; buildings had walls and roofs had  ripped off; 18-wheelers were turned over, mobile home trailers flipped; huge oak trees were uprooted.”

Feeding the hungry 
Father Hedrick said he learned that electricity was cut off and that water supplies and even running water were scarce, so bringing food and water to Lake Charles residents was a priority.

Part of the St. Catherine convoy distributed home-cooked red beans and rice, prepared by the parish’s Men’s Club and Knights of Columbus, and ham and turkey sandwiches and desserts made by the Ladies’ Cooperative Club and others to the church parishes of St. Henry and St. Margaret of Scotland and also to the Lake Charles Auto Auction, centrally located on Broad Street.

Erin Graham, co-president of the school’s Cooperative Club; her husband, Men’s Club president Chris Graham; and seven other co-op members were part of the convoy. She became emotional when she saw the people waiting in cars to get food.

“By 11:45 a.m., people were lined up,” she said. “They looked hungry and exhausted. It was heartbreaking. You could tell they needed the food. I was just so happy to be there.”

She said three or four hours just wasn’t enough to help everyone in need. They served all the hot food and left any chips and desserts at St. Henry’s to give out later. A few truckloads of food also were brought to another nearby parish, St. Margaret.

One aspect of the trip will remain with her forever: A story of faith she heard from Father Joseph Caraway, parochial vicar of St. Henry, who was assisting during the crisis. Graham said Father Caraway mentioned how he’d been walking around the neighborhood, checking on residents who had stayed during the storm and were homebound. 

One resident asked him, “Did you bring me Jesus today?” referring to bringing him the Eucharist. Father Caraway didn’t have the Eucharist on that visit but said he would return with not only the Eucharist but also a hot plate.

“That was a very heartfelt story that touched me,” Graham said. “You’d think he would say he needed water or a hot plate, but he asked for Jesus.”

Erin Graham said this was her chance to reciprocate for the kindnesses shown to her and her family while she was evacuated to Houston for a month after Hurricane Katrina.

“It was close to home,” she said. “Since it was a Louisiana parish (that was devastated), you feel like you need to do your part. We experienced Katrina and were in different cities, and people came to help us. It’s the right thing to do.”

Ready to roll
This being the third time that St. Catherine of Siena has stepped up in disaster situations, the parish has its relief organization down to a science. The first relief effort was bringing two truckloads of supplies to Baton Rouge during the flooding in 2016, and the second was in 2017 when Houston was underwater from Hurricane Harvey.

“When the storm was coming and it wasn’t coming to us, we announced what we were going to do,” Father Hedrick said. “This is our third time, so we knew what to do. We had the tents and the trucks, set up operations, got volunteers and made it happen. Food and water is what they need right now and cleaning supplies,” although not bleach, since there isn’t the mud. 

Bishop Glen John Provost, who was installed as bishop of Lake Charles in 2007 (the diocese was established in 1980), visited the Catholic Charities warehouse to thank and greet the St. Catherine parishioners and 20 seminarians who were unloading the two 18-wheelers. The supplies were immediately brought to parishes, where hurricane victims were collecting what they needed at each site.

“He stopped by to say ‘hi’ and said at least five parishes (in Lake Charles) were a total loss and several others were really bad,” Father Hedrick said. “The chancery is destroyed, and the high school is more or less destroyed.”

Father Hedrick said the St. Catherine relief effort also included contributions from other church parishes, schools and individuals. With access to 18-wheelers, St. Catherine became a “hub of sorts” where anyone could drop off non-perishables and cleaning supplies, he said.

By Sept. 2 – the day after the caravan returned from Lake Charles – 2 ½ additional 18-wheelers had already been filled with donations that included a single donation of 56 palettes of water, necessitating the planning of future trips after Labor Day. St. Catherine’s monetary donations had reached $130,000.

“Since we reached $130,000 in several days, our goal is now to get up to $200,000,” Father Hedrick said. “We’re going to give it to Bishop Provost and let him distribute it. He’s on the ground and knows where it’s needed – to rebuild a home, rebuild a church or rebuild a school.”  

Father Hedrick said the generosity of others is being warmly received in Lake Charles.

“It’s our opportunity to be the hands and feet of Christ to others,” Father Hedrick said. “We know what it is like to be in need, and we’re very blessed we were spared, so we want to help those in need. It’s just a drop in the bucket, what we are doing, but it’s showing them the love of Christ in a small way. Mother Teresa said, ‘You can’t change world hunger, but if you can feed one person, feed them.’ We’re feeding on person at a time.’” 

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