Greetings from New Orleans!

Ellen and I arrived yesterday evening. We were greeted by 2 sisters at the airport. Dinner was waiting for us when we arrived at the convent that will be my home for the next several months. The sisters are very welcoming and hospitable.

There are ten sisters in St. Joseph Covent; I will make 11. The convent was an assisted living building prior to the hurricane, where retired Marinaite Sisters of the Holy Cross lived. After the hurricane only two retired sisters returned. The Marinite Sisters closed three of their small houses because they were so badly damaged from the hurricane. Most of the sisters living here now moved in when those houses were closed. This building had a lot of damage to the first floor, some of which has been renovated, some of which has not.

Today one of the sisters took Ellen and I on a tour. Our first tour was of the buildings on the property here. There is another convent, Holy Angels, which is attached to St. Joseph Convent and houses about seven sisters. There is a building which was once a school, but several years ago was renovated into low income housing apartments for the elderly. There are several large meeting spaces, which neighborhood groups and schools use for gatherings. Much of the property suffered water damage on the first floors during the hurricane.

Our next tour was of area neighborhoods. The neighborhood we live in is called Bywater, because it is by the water (the Mississippi river is only about five blocks away.) We also went into the nearby infamous 9th ward, where the devastation was worse and former residents were typically working class or poor prior to the hurricane. Few have returned to that area. The pictures I include in this post show you why. It is one thing to see these sights on television, to hear them described on public radio, or see pictures in the newspaper, but to actually look at places people once called home, that are now falling to pieces is an experience I can not describe.
These are 3 pictures taken today in the Lower 9th Ward. There are great signs of hope as well, as we see rebuilding and hear stories of heroism, sacrifice and groups working together to rebuild.

After having lunch in a little local place, we got a tour of other parts of the city including the French Quarter and Uptown, which had less damage from the hurricane. We had coffee and little fried dough at a famous place (unfortunately I forget the special name of the doughnuts and the French name of the famous place we ate them; I am on information overload, just trying to remember the names of all of the sisters I've met in the last 24 hours.)

This is a picture of the river taken from the French Quarter area. I thought you might want to see something pleasant after viewing the previous photos.


Everyone at home in Philadelphia and Rhode Island, I am thinking of you and hope all is well. (I am fortunate to have so many places I call home and I think I may have found another!) Take care.
Love, Kathleen