Since Katrina, the pastor of Tulane’s Catholic center said he works to maintain an “open-door” policy to his congregation’s spiritual needs.
He meant it in a literal sense.
Last Christmas, Father José Padilla broke down his office door to retrieve car keys he had left inside. A panel of the door is still missing months later, allowing parishioners to walk in and chat with him anytime. His job as director of the entire center involves serving Mass and orchestrating community outreach efforts, social events, and Sunday suppers.
Community outreach is the backbone of the parish’s post-Katrina rebuilding. Father José’s first mission upon returning to New Orleans was to satisfy his parishioners’ needs as they came back to discover their homes devastated. “The congregation needed a base community to rely on,” he said. “We said, ‘Here is my back, here is your back, we will support each other.’”
The center offered what assistance it could while getting back on its feet and became an unlikely survival resource for the community. When it was the only building in Tulane’s neighborhood with running water, people came to fill buckets for cooking and drinking. Because the office hadn’t flooded in the storm, relief workers and parishioners could set up sleeping bags on the entry room floor.
The center continued to be a spiritual rock for the community as it facilitated physical rebuilding. Father José celebrated the first Mass on Halloween with ten people. The congregation grew as families moved back and recognized faith as a beacon of hope amid overwhelming post-Katrina circumstances.
The present non-student congregation numbers 81 families, down from 350 families pre-Katrina. Tulane layoffs accounted for the biggest drop in number. Faculty families were a large part of the congregation, and as programs were eliminated, they left. “I begged them, ‘No, don’t go!’ but there was nothing for them here. These individuals left to continue supporting their families,” Father José said.
The center has also managed to thrive in its second rebuilding mission: connecting Tulane students with the community. Parishioners reach out by supporting fundraisers like weekend car washes, signing up to cook meals at the center after the evening student Mass, and taking care of students who are far from home through the “Adopt a Student” program.
Tulane sophomore Kayla Bronder is liaison between students and the community. At the end of each student Mass, she approaches the podium to inform her peers about opportunities to “get involved.” She and Father José have led students in gutting local homes, donating Christmas gifts for impoverished New Orleans families, and organizing food, toiletry, and clothing drives for Covenant House, a children’s shelter.
Renewing and rebuilding a storm-weathered community of Catholics is a tall order, but the center has strong leaders and divine inspiration. Father José explained his personal motivation: “How could I be comfortable knowing that these families need me? It is my job to be their shepherd. This is a time when my sheep need me the most.”
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This article was written for a class at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. I interviewed Father Jose in his office, and didn't even notice the broken door until he pointed it out to me as I was leaving. It turned out to serve as a great lead for the story. That's the best part of writing--when your lead or certain great quotes hit you in the midst of an interview and you know a great piece of writing will come out of your efforts.
Feel free to comment on the story and let me know what you think. I'll be posting several articles I've written lately to express the status of New Orleans post-Katrina, from a student perspective, and to inform and entertain.