Active minds, bodies, spirits at St. Francis Xavier

By Peter Finney Jr.
Clarion Herald

To say members of St. Francis Xavier Parish’s “SFX Sharing Program” are dying to participate in the myriad of activities offered to seniors isn’t far off the mark, says longtime coordinator Carol Pritchard.

Her favorite story goes like this: Metairie Road was blocked by one of its infamous trains one day, creating a dilemma for an elderly female pedestrian who found herself walking on the wrong side of the tracks.

The woman was a Sharing Program member, and she was walking to the parish for her French enrichment class. She was nearly late, and the stalled train was in her way.

“One day, two seniors came into my office and told me, ‘We don’t want you to think we’re tattletales, but we noticed one lady walking and then she crawled under the train,’” Pritchard said. “My heart fell through the floor when I heard that.”

It turns out the woman was taking a French class taught by  Berthe Torrens, and Pritchard was able to quietly persuade the woman not to endanger her life or her limbs in the future.

“I told Berthe, ‘We have a hard time getting people to come to Mass, so I don’t know how you get people to crawl under stopped trains to come to your class.’”

Top-notch instruction
The quality of the instruction, the community of friends and the sharing of faith have been hallmarks of St. Francis Xavier’s senior program for more than a decade, and not even the months-long hiatus caused by the pandemic in 2020 has interrupted its momentum.

The program is open to anyone in the Archdiocese of New Orleans – not just St. Francis Xavier parishioners – and there currently are 240 members, not far off its pre-COVID zenith of 298, Pritchard said.

“You don’t have to be a parishioner, and that’s why we do so well,” Pritchard said. “We have professional teachers, and it’s all totally volunteer. I give the teachers a Christmas gift and things like that, but they give of their time. It’s amazing how they do all of this on their own. They just give it back. They’re giving back their knowledge.”

The program has offerings for seniors to exercise their minds, bodies and spirits. There are 18 classes, pop-up classes, luncheons, social activities and for an annual $55 fee ($45 for renewing members).

The program includes exercise and strength-training classes, French, internet and effective cell-phone use, Louisiana law, senior talks, genealogy, spirituality of the Bible and watercolor painting.

Games include barbu, bridge, canasta, gin rummy and three levels of Mahjongg.

One of Pritchard’s favorite teachers is 102-year-old Louise Ritter, who has been explaining the nuances of bridge to newbies for years.

“She teaches beginner’s bridge,” Pritchard said. “Actually, her family was just put in the Guinness Book of World Records for the having the oldest group of living siblings.”

Since the program began, nearly 200 members have learned how to play Mahjongg.

Genealogy attracts a crowd
Another highly popular class is genealogy, which meets at the campus and also visits various libraries from Metairie to Baton Rouge for individuals to discover their family history.

One class that Pritchard hopes will return in the fall is “Historical New Orleans,” taught by Casey Stuart, president of the Genealogical Research Society of New Orleans. The class focuses on New Orleans architecture.

“Members come with the their pencils and paper to take notes about the neighborhoods and look at every nationality and the architecture,” Pritchard said.

Members also have made regular visits to cemeteries across the archdiocese to learn more about family heritage.  Several tours were offered by Gerard Schoen, outreach director for Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home and Cemeteries.

Another popular class has been taught by Jack Siciliano, who has overseen St. Francis Xavier’s annual St. Joseph altars as well the flowers at the church. He offered instruction on how to create tablescapes for special occasions such as Thanksgiving and other holidays or just regular occasions.

“This just kind of blossomed on its own,” Pritchard said.

Pritchard leans heavily on the expertise and help of a 12-member Events Committee. The Sharing Program has raised money for painting and reflooring projects around the parish plant. Most of the activities take place in St. Joseph Hall (the former church) and in second-floor classrooms of the parish center.

“We need to keep these senior minds moving and get them out of the house,” Pritchard said. “When you walk through our doors, you make new friends. We know whenever a senior has a broken hip or a broken whatever. Everyone is a good companion.”

Contact Carol Pritchard, (504) 835-6809 or [email protected].