Priests' support group rallies to a 'brother' in need

In normal times – can you say “2019”? – support groups for priests provide camaraderie and spiritual nourishment for the men who by virtue of their vocation sometimes naturally might feel alone in dealing with a grieving family, a leaky church roof or a parishioner’s broken relationship.

The front lines of priestly ministry are not for the hard or the faint of heart. 

When the calendar flipped to 2020, the purpose of priests’ support groups pivoted to the challenges of ministering to socially distant and virtual congregations, an evangelizing dilemma brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

But no one other than a distant cousin of Nash Roberts could have predicted with grease-pencil certainty what else 2020 would bring – a Category 4 hurricane that left the Diocese of Lake Charles on its knees just 15 years after it took a direct right to the temple from Hurricane Rita.

Nine priests spread across five dioceses in south Louisiana – five of them who live in the Archdiocese of New Orleans – belong to one of the largest priests’ support groups in the state. Even though they pastor churches located hundreds of miles apart, they meet once a month for lunch and fellowship, rotating the meetings around the state, and annually vacation together.

So when Hurricane Laura devastated southwest Louisiana and damaged dozens of churches on Aug. 27, eight priests bolted into action to aid their ninth “brother” – Father Jeffrey Starkovich of St. Pius X Church in Ragley, just north of Lake Charles.

“It’s the fraternity and camaraderie,” said Father Jonathan Hemelt, pastor of Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in New Orleans, who was part of the relief caravan. “It’s having these brothers who are there for you, and you can be there for them, whether it’s something like this crisis or difficult things going on in the church. You’ve got that group of guys to turn to. It’s wonderful having that brotherhood of guys you can lean on for support and ideas.”

On Aug. 31, priests from the Archdiocese of New Orleans and the Dioceses of Houma-Thibodaux, Lafayette and Baton Rouge arrived in Ragley, driving U-hauls packed with donated water, food, soft drinks, paper goods, diapers, canned goods, ice and gasoline.

The relief help also included hundreds of hot meals – mostly jambalaya and red beans and rice – cooked by the parishioners of Annunciation Parish in Bogalusa, where support group member Father Daniel Brouillette is pastor. Those staples of Cajun cuisine were passed out to more than 1,000 cars with drive-thru service.

“It's simply the gift of the priesthood – people being generous to one another,” said Father Starkovich, the spokesman for the Lake Charles Diocese who was ordained in 2011. “In a very real way, I was moved by the gift of the priesthood, because the priests brought the message to the people, and the people responded. It’s just the beauty of the priesthood.”

Father Hemelt and Father Bryan Howard, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Violet, drove their U-haul trucks 200 miles to Lake Charles, and Father Colin Braud, pastor of Visitation of Our Lady Parish in Marrero, drove his car in the caravan so they could make their way back to New Orleans.

“I’ve never driven any truck like that before,” Father Howard said, laughing. “It got a little hairy at times.”

Father Hemelt said what touched him were his memories of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when he was one of thousands of New Orleanians who needed help.

“I thought about it when I saw that line of people waiting to see all the volunteers,” Father Hemelt said. “Fifteen years ago, I was in one of those lines waiting for supplies. The amazing thing is the people volunteering are the same people who also lost their own stuff. They are unloading trucks, and they are probably in the same position as those coming for help.”

After Laura hit, the support group members reached out to Father Starkovich and contacted their own parishioners about trying to mount a quick collection campaign. In addition to dropping off supplies, Our Lady of the Rosary parishioners donated about $10,000 in direct financial assistance.

The other support group members are Father Daniel Green, pastor of St. Maria Goretti Church in New Orleans; Father Garrett McIntyre of the Lafayette Diocese; Father Todd Lloyd of the BatonRouge Diocese; and Father Andre Melancon of the Houma-Thibodaux Diocese.

Father Hemelt said he hoped Our Lady of the Rosary and St. Maria Goretti parishes could work together on a plan for long-term support of St. Pius X in Ragley.

Hurricane Laura destroyed the St. Pius X office building and religion education classrooms, badly damaged the church roof and damaged the roof of the parish hall. But Father Starkovich celebrated the 8:30 a.m. Mass in the church the Sunday after the storm hit, and 65 people showed up.

People of hope

“What really touched me is the people are so filled with hope and happiness,” Father Starkovich said. “Everyone was joyful. We were short on volunteers (on Aug. 31), and we sent out a text message, and 50 volunteers came to the church in 10 minutes. They all left their own homes, which they were working on, to give food and water and supplies to everyone else.”

Father Starkovich is known among the group as perhaps the most technologically savvy, so it’s been easy for him to stay in touch using group texting and other social media techniques. The St. Pius X Facebook page in Ragley is constantly updated.

But the driving force is Christian fellowship.

“As one my parishioners told me,” said Father Howard, “after Katrina, we were hit so hard, and help was coming from all over the country. Now it’s our turn to return some of that help and support them.”

Father Starkovich said that message is not lost on Lake Charles Catholics.

“Our diocese helped New Orleans during Katrina, and now receiving that gift in return is a beautiful reality,” he said.

pfinney@clarionherald.org