The Blessed Seelos Catholic Church Restoration in New Orleans, Louisiana – June 2006
Blessed Francis X. Seelos Catholic Church on 3053 Dauphine Street is located in the Upper Ninth Ward and is above sea-level. Opening in 1865, the church had a fire in 2003 and was under construction when Katrina hit. The winds of Katrina ripped off the roof and hours of rain poured into the church. The staircases became waterfalls as the water pounded down the stairs causing extensive damage.
Seelos’ has a congregation of 200 people comprised of a third African-American, a third Hispanic, and a third deaf and led by Father Joseph Benson from Belfast, Ireland. Somehow a question came up about people from around the US coming to volunteer and Father Benson said, “Why, you ask? The bottom line is, you CAN and WE CANNOT muster all that is needed to put this church together again.” He looked tired when he said that, rebuilding his own flooded home, and caring for his flock was overwhelming.
The restoration for this 15,200 square foot, three-story, 40 room project was done within a compressed time frame of three weekends. Jack vanHartesvelt of Seattle was the mastermind behind this daunting plan. For this project to be affordable both skilled and unskilled workers had to volunteer. I was delightfully assigned to help the carpenters. Materials and equipment needed for repairs would be donated as well. Having all the materials, equipment, permits, and labor on-site to accomplish the scope of work for each weekend made it all possible.
The first weekend of demolition was on time. The second weekend of kitchen installation, new wiring, plumbing, and walls got a little behind. I participated in the third and last weekend. Our goals were to: paint all the walls and ceilings, install and paint all the trim, install drop ceilings and light fixtures, and install A/C units and add carpeting.
We weren’t able to complete the list but got about 90% of it finished. The unfinished work and the carpet were installed by local workers in the upcoming weeks.
Bridget Maruigi from Bay St. Louis. Bridget lost everything after Katrina but she stayed and helped everyone she could find. She took strangers walking down the street with no shoes on to the temporary hospital. Took ice and water to people sitting in front of their houses that were no longer there. In Bridget’s own yard there were 10 dead bodies found. Bridget met up with Benny at the soup kitchen and made a commitment to the Lord with Benny. She then began working with First Presbyterian Church in Bay St. Louis. She is now on staff helping Sam Thompson with scheduling volunteers. She started to travel around the states to tell others about Katrina and how help is still needed.
