Christopher Homes engages residents’ faith

The idea grew out of a comment Daughter of Charity Sister Anthony Barczykowski received a few years after Hurricane Katrina from a resident at Annunciation Inn, a senior residence operated by Christopher Homes, the affordable housing arm of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

While grateful for her safe, lost-cost apartment, the woman expressed misgivings about feeling isolated from her church parish.

“She was saying that before Katrina she was registered at her church, but after Katrina it was like she didn’t belong anywhere,” said Sister Anthony, the executive director of the archdiocesan Department of Community Services, which oversees Christopher Homes. “That was what really triggered the idea with me. We figured we needed to do something to make them feel spiritually connected.”