Father Kuruvilla says outpouring of generosity from outside of area made a difference in Chauvin

October 29, 2021

by Janet Marcel

Father Baby Kuruvilla, pastor of St. Joseph Church parish in Chauvin since July 2017, evacuated for Hurricane Ida and says it was such a shock when he returned to the church parish on Tuesday after the storm.

“I have never in my life seen so much devastation,” says Father Kuruvilla. “My anxiety was high as I was driving down Highway 56 toward Chauvin … almost all of the electrical poles were down … almost all of the roofs were gone. When I arrived at the church, I could see that there was roof damage to the rectory, but the church looked okay – from what I could see at the time.”

The parish center had extensive roof damage and broken windows, and the old convent building also had roof and ceiling damage. Upon further inspection, the pastor discovered that the skylight over the altar in the church broke causing ceiling damage, and leaving wet carpet and debris on the altar.

“When I went into the rectory I saw that my room was full of water, but I knew that I had to stay here so I was able to find one dry room to sleep in,” he says.

For weeks after the storm, the church parish’s youth center was used as a donation storage center. There were many organizations and businesses looking for a place to distribute food and supplies, explains the pastor. “A group of people from Ohio who knew one of our parishioners showed up one day with supplies to distribute. People from Texas and Mississippi came with food and water; people with camps in Cocodrie from other states and New Orleans wanted to help here because they knew of the area and had heard about the devastation. St. Bernadette Church parish in Lafayette, LA, adopted us. Supplies and food from all over – some groups brought hot cooked meals, some groups cooked meals here – were being given away almost every day for weeks after the hurricane,” says Father Kuruvilla. “Gas was supplied by Terrebonne Parish and distributed for about 10 days straight. People would wait in line for hours for what they needed. Their houses have been destroyed … but they’re still thankful to be alive. I was there because I just wanted to console the people … I would go car to car and they are appreciative of what the church is doing for them.”

Through the generosity of an anonymous donor, two washing machines and two dryers were brought on site for people to use, as well as a place for those in need to take hot showers.

Father Kuruvilla was featured on Fox8 News out of New Orleans, which he says created some much needed awareness in the area.
The lack of communication was one of the greatest challenges Father Kuruvilla had in trying to help his parishioners who were suffering because of the storm. People are somewhat accustomed to being without electricity for periods of time, but having no running water for weeks presented another very specific set of challenges.

A couple of days after arriving back in the parish, Father Kuruvilla was able to start visiting people in their homes. “Once again, there was a lot of help from outside of the area. Everyone had a lot of damage,” he says. “One of my cousins from St. Louis, MO, came with four people right away on Sept. 2, with equipment to help clean up the rectory, pick up debris around the church and put blue tarps on the damaged roofs; and they stayed for three days. That freed up others to help with supply distribution.”

The greatest blessing throughout the entire ordeal, says the pastor, has been the outside help and support they have received. “It gave me great satisfaction to see this … it brings the community together. It was amazing how many people from so many other areas came to help. There were a lot of people who came through the church parish in one month. I really felt God put me here at this time, and I was supposed to do whatever I could to help.”