St. Augustine Church cross holds fast to its cupola

(Photo courtesy of St. Augustine Church, New Orleans)

By BETH DONZE
Clarion Herald

The nearly two-century-old cross atop St. Augustine Church in New Orleans is down – but not out – after a one-two punch from Hurricanes Zeta and Ida.

"(The cross) was leaning after Hurricane Zeta, and now it's hanging," said Oblate Father Emmanuel Mulenga, St. Augustine's pastor, interviewed by phone Friday from his evacuation spot in Birmingham, Alabama.

"Hurricane Zeta (in 2020) really hit the cross and pushed it, which has been a major concern that we have been working on ever since, and now it's literally hanging," he said.

To right the cross, the St. Augustine faith community and its network of supporters will have to overcome some tricky and costly logistics.

"We have to establish who can work on it from a distance – meaning, it will require a special kind of crane that will not be too close to power lines, maybe getting at it from the parking lot," Father Mulenga said.

When Father Mulenga, St. Augustine's pastor for the last seven years, returns to New Orleans tomorrow, he will assess if the church is safe enough to celebrate the traditional Sunday Mass at 10 a.m.

The 180-year-old church, located at 1210 Governor Nicholls St., also suffered general roof damage and its adjacent rectory saw water intrusion from either compromised siding, windows or roofing, Father Mulenga said.

Keeping the faith

Despite these unknowns, the priest said his faith and two groups of people have bolstered him throughout the natural disaster and its aftermath. First, he has been inspired by the on-the-ground "presence and leadership" of Archbishop Gregory Aymond.

"He's been checking on all of his priests," Father Mulenga said. "Him staying there and describing what's going on – and just making sure all of us stay safe but are doing what we can – has been really powerful!"

Also fortifying Father Mulenga is the faith and resilience of his parishioners, most of whom have their own damaged homes, loss of power and dwindling fuel supplies to worry about. For example, when a couple of parishioners noticed that two rectory windows had been damaged in Hurricane Ida's category 4 winds, they took it upon themselves to purchase supplies at Home Depot to board them up. The priest also marveled at how groups of parishioners have banded together, through group texting, to share gasoline, food, elbow grease and to generally look out for one another.

When one parishioner called Father Mulenga to see how he was holding up during his first-ever evacuation, the priest confessed to the parishioner that he was "going crazy" with worry about the conditions back home in New Orleans. The parishioner, a hurricane veteran, told Father Mulenga to accept that life would definitely be disrupted for a while, but "we'll pick up together; right now, let's just allow the Lord to guide us."

"Most of the time, these words (of consolation) are coming out of me to serve my parishioners, but now they were coming from a parishioner to calm me down," Father Mulenga said. "That humbled me."

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