FROM THE PROVINCIAL

The Invisible Poor

Dear friends,

May Jesus Christ be praised!

The season of Lent calls us to renewed prayer, self-denial, and acts of charity. For all of us who look to Saint Vincent de Paul for inspiration, “acts of charity” will always mean a more intense turning to and reaching out to the poor, those most in need, those abandoned by society.

In the last year-plus, the Vincentian Family in the United States has been examining how to make the poor more visible, giving them both a face so they can be seen and a voice so they can be heard. I recently encountered a segment of the poor in our country who for me had become invisible by my forgetting about them. In late January I joined a number of other religious leaders for a hands-on workshop in New Orleans with the purpose of raising consciousness about the “after-Katrina” plight of the poor in New Orleans. I went to the workshop not knowing what to expect but also not particularly invested since, like so many others in our country, I had mostly forgotten about New Orleans and presumed that recovery efforts have been successful. True, I had heard reports that rebuilding was going slowly, but then I also had seen pictures of a restored French Quarter and had read in the papers how there had been a Mardi Gras celebration even that first year after Katrina.

I wasn’t ready for the reality that I saw. For openers, I mistakenly had thought the flood damage (the real culprit, more than the hurricane) was restricted to a segment of the city. I had no idea that virtually the entire city (except along the elevated river land) had been flooded. I expected to see a flurry of (re)construction work and was left speechless as we drove through mile after mile of abandoned neighborhoods, blocks with one new construction surrounded on either side by empty shells or by concrete foundations – minus any houses. I found it hard to imagine that only three of the original nine acute hospitals are up and running – and only partly running; that only some 60 of the 119 public schools are operational; that half the firehouses are still not restored; that of the 100,000 applications from homeowners for help from the “Road Home” program of Louisiana, only 300 some checks have been cut. And it goes on.

Of course, there are signs of hope as well. In the face of such slow government action, many grass roots projects have found funding and are making a positive difference – housing services, counseling for first responders who are suffering from depression, outreach to the jobless and homeless, and more. We ate lunch one day at Cafe Reconcile, one of a growing number of restaurants starting to open. It is a unique New Orleans response to Katrina: it hires young adults to wait and cook, teaches them life skills and even the culinary business, and then helps them land jobs. And there are many such independent, successful, and inspiring grass roots projects as well as systemic responses from agencies like Catholic Charities.

Whether all or most of New Orleans can or even should be rebuilt, how effective the government’s response has or has not been and why – these are important and necessary conversations that need to take place. But they are not mine, not ours as Vincentians. Others more knowledgeable and experienced need to address these matters.

For a Vincentian, the first and most important reality are the poor of New Orleans themselves, those who probably had little before Katrina, those who have next to nothing after Katrina. The poor simply are. And because they are, they deserve our respect and outreach – whether directly or systemically.
One of our own Vincentian priests, Father Perry Henry, CM, pastor of St. Joseph Parish just a few blocks from the infamous Super Dome, has partnered with other Catholic and faith-based organizations to establish a multi-service recovery center on the grounds of the parish church. “Rebuild Center” will serve people made homeless by Katrina, as well as the chronically homeless and the immigrant workers from Mexico and Central America who are pouring into the
city seeking work in rebuilding New Orleans. Immigration services, pastoral services, mental health assistance, job services, lunch, groceries, clothing, vouchers for housing, laundry, showers, and health care services – these are the focus of the Vincen­tians, the Daughters of Charity, the Presentation Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Jesuits, the Arch­diocese, the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, the Ladies of Charity, Provi­dence Community Housing, DePaul University’s institute for urban planning, United Church of Christ, Salvation Army, and more.

Like every other outreach in the city, it is a modest effort compared to the breadth and depth of devastation in the city, and the personal despair and sense of being forgotten among the poor and others in New Orleans. But as the saying goes, “It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness,” and the Rebuild Center is making a positive difference.

As we conclude the season of Lent given to more intense charity and outreach to the poor, I hope my message in this newsletter helps make more visible for you this segment of the poor. I am conscious of how as a nation we reached out in so many ways to New Orleans in the weeks and months immediately after Katrina, but perhaps, like me, you have forgotten them since. I invite you to make
a donation to Rebuild Center. You may do so by using the envelope provided with this newsletter. Simply mark the box titled “Rebuild Center.” The Congregation of the Mission Midwest Province will forward your contribution. I promise you that every penny you send will go to Rebuild Center and its work.

I hope you enjoy this issue of The Vincentian, which continues our series on Vincentian parishes in the Midwest. This issue highlights St. Catherine Labouré Parish in St. Louis, including on the back page a brief article about “A Cow and a House” project to raise money for our mission in Kenya. I am proud of our parishes for the many ways their parishioners put into action the values given us by St. Vincent de Paul.

A special word of thanks to so many of you who have responded to our new Prayer Ministry program. Our senior priests and brothers at Perryville are happy to pray for your intentions. I am conscious of how much we depend on your prayers too, and of course, I am most grateful for your financial generosity in supporting our mission. Thank you for all you do for the Church and Congregation. May the rest of your Lent be blessed, and may the joy of the risen Lord be with you and your loved ones this coming Easter.

Blessings.

James Swift, C.M.