Archivist aids archdiocese still devastated by Katrina

By Gina Keating, The Catholic Sun
December 7, 2006

It will take years of cleanup and decades of rebuilding before the scars from 2005’s Hurricane Katrina have healed from New Orleans, but optimism is high and Phoenix Catholic Jim Neal is committed to help.

Neal, the Phoenix diocesan archivist, was one of 30 experts from around the country invited to the hurricane-ravaged city in the first week of November to assist in the inventory and recovery of sacred Church objects in parishes devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

His area of specialty is the preservation and conservation of book and paper collections material.

The Archdiocese of New Orleans has been knee-deep in the project for the past 15 months, permanently closing six parishes and temporarily closing 20 more.

The destruction left behind by the deadly storm was “unimaginable.”

“The field work was emotionally taxing trying to comprehend the kind of damage and destruction wind and rain can do,” Neal said. “It’s pretty heartbreaking.”

He compared his experience to being in a ghost town, and the stories he heard were just as terrifying.

In the hardest hit areas, the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi River were both visible. Even more than a year later, entire neighborhoods are missing. In other areas, homes are still uninhabitable.

Travel a half-mile in any direction and there are only one or two buildings that can be restored, he said.

Neal saw a church that was blown off its foundation, pushed 100 feet and rotated 90 degrees on the ground.

“Wooden structures got the worst of the wind and storm surges,” he said.

He met a woman who had 300 head of cattle, but could only locate 50. She had to shoot the ones that were alive because they were stuck 25 feet up in the trees.

Another story involves a brick church where Neal found a watermark reaching higher than 20 feet, up to Christ’s chest on the crucifix. Though the church was engulfed inside and out by the storm surge, the crucifix never fell off the wall.

The scope of the recovery effort involved three teams of experts assigned to three affected parishes.

They used digital cameras, inventory sheets and computers to document the condition of churches and inventory sacred objects. They also transferred anything they could salvage to storage areas, interviewed pastors and provided a detailed assessment of the properties.

“They are making a concerted effort and did an incredible job to reopen schools and churches,” Neal said. “Almost 2,000 people were helped to gain access to sacramental records. That is crucial.”

The task is enormous and much remains to be completed, he said.

All of the sacred objects in the churches must be removed, in many cases cleaned and inventoried in order to ensure the proper care, storage and provenance of the objects.

Existing structures need to be photographed and described to document the extent of the destruction as well as to make a record of immovable objects, such as stained glass windows and heavy furniture.

The New Orleans archdiocese faces tough decisions as it determines if surrounding neighborhoods are viable.

The good news, according to Neal, is the flooding didn’t reach the French Quarter.

“It’s possible to go and visit,” Neal said, which is vital to the economy and would help secure needed resources to rebuild infrastructure.

Despite the loss and the remaining hazards, Neal was inspired by volunteers and residents who continue to persevere and come back each day.