Chicago Catholic Choir Aids Louisiana Catholic Churches Ravaged By the "Forgotten" Hurricane

This story appeared in the current edition of the Catholic Paper for the Diocese of Baton Rouge. It can be downloaded here in pdf form. The story plus a pic is on page 9.

Hurricane Rita is sort of called the forgotten hurricane down here in Louisiana since it was overshadowed by Katrina. However the devastation in some parts of Louisiana was extreme that it left in its path.

We are blessed that this Choir and Catholic Church from Chicago has not forgotten. I located their Choir Web page here. Again the Catholic Church of Louisiana and Diocese of Lake Charles are needless to say appreciative

The Churches they have adopted are St Paul the Apostle Church in Hackberry and its Mission Church. I believe is one of the places that offers the "Latin Mass" in the extraordinary form. Check with the The Lake Charles Latin Mass Society to confirm.

Chicago choir helping La. church performs at Cathedral

BY DEBBIE SHELLEY

The St. Gregory the Great Church Choir, Chicago, Ill., presented a concert on June 16 at St. Joseph Cathedral, Baton Rouge, as part of a Louisiana tour to benefit its sister church, St. Paul the Apostle Church, Hackberry. At St. Paul the Apostle, the St. Gregory Choir gave a concert and presented funds it raised over the past
two years to help the Lake Charles Diocesan church,which along with its two mission chapels, was extensively
damaged during Hurricane Rita.


Among the songs performed during the concert was “Evening Hymn” a piece composed especially for the
Louisiana tour by Patrick Godon, director of music at St. Gregory the Great. Godon was inspired to write the
song after reading a poem at the historic Adams House in South Dakota. Godon said the text reminded him of the loss of lives that occurred during the Louisiana hurricanes.

At the cathedral concert, which was sponsored by the St. Joseph Concert Committee, money was collected and
presented to the St. Gregory the Great Choir to give to St. Paul the Apostle. According to Godon, the choir wanted to help people in Louisiana after hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. St. Gregory Choir soprano Stephanie Demarest’s parents, who live in Lake Charles, told their daughter about the damage caused by Hurricane Rita. The choir asked Demarest’s parents to find a Catholic church in their diocese that needed
help.

Through fundraisers and the concert tour over $3,000 was raised and give to the church in Hackberry.
One of the church’s mission chapels, Holy Trinity in Holly Beach, was destroyed by the storm and will not be rebuilt.

The other mission chapel, Our Lady of the Assumption in Johnson Bayou, was damaged but has been repaired. St. Paul the Apostle is being rebuilt. St. Paul the Apostle staff member Tammy Welch said that the church’s recovery has been a “slow process.” But the congregation was encouraged by the St. Gregory Choir members
assistance. Godon, who was on his first trip to Louisiana, said the 27 choir members making the tour, who paid trip expenses, were very happy that they could help other Catholics.