SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 • ARCHGH.ORG/TCH
SHARING CHRIST WITH OTHERS
1
Society of St. Vincent de Paul National Gathering unites groups, ministers
Deaf ministry brings Light of Christ to all ▪ SEE PAGE 10
SEPTEMBER 14, 2021
texas catholic herald
CHARITY IN SERVICE
▪ SEE PAGE 11
Proclaiming the Good News to the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston since 1964
‘YOU ARE MY REFUGE AND SHIELD, IN YOUR WORD I HOPE’
VOL. 58, NO. 7
SERVICE
Catholic Charities brings hope to Afghan refugees Special to the Herald HOUSTON — Afghan refugee Samira*, now a Refugee Resettlement case manager for Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, was 6 years old when the Taliban first came to her town in Afghanistan. Her father was selling car parts in his shop when Taliban members grabbed him and beat him so badly that the family fled to Pakistan until Samira was 12. “We returned to Afghanistan at that time because we thought we could have a normal life after living as refugees in Pakistan,” Samira said. “After I graduated from high school, I worked four years in information technology for a U.S. corporation that had a contract with the See REFUGEES, page 5
MINISTRIES PHOTO COURTESY OF THE DIOCESE OF HOUMA-THIBODAUX
Bishop Shelton Fabre of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux surveys damage to a church structure at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church in Larose, Louisiana. Larose was one of many small communities that beared the brunt of Hurricane Ida, a category 4 storm that devastated millions in Louisiana.
Houston Catholics step up to help Louisiana neighbors still struggling after Ida BY JAMES RAMOS Texas Catholic Herald HOUSTON — As soon as the wreckage from Hurricane Ida cleared, Houston parishioners rushed to the aid of struggling neighbors across the Sabine River. They went individually and in groups, sharing relief aid with Louisiana evacuees who fled to Houston when the Category 4 storm pushed into the Cajun Gulf Coast. It was often by chance, a meeting at a gas station, bumping carts at the grocery store or just even noticing the Louisiana license plates in a McDonald’s parking lot. Houstonians opened their hearts and led with faith, just as many Louisiana natives did for Texans
when Hurricane Harvey flooded Texas in 2017. A Rosharon family who attends St. Angela Merici Catholic Church raised more than $2,500 to fill up their animal trailer with relief items. With the goal to reach the hardest-hit communities, they made their way past Houma and arrived in LaPlace, where they saw hundreds of snapped power poles, downed trees and shattered buildings. Catholic parishes mobilized to support Louisiana evacuees, welcoming many at weekend Masses, offering
HURRICANE IDA RELIEF
A SHEPHERD’S MESSAGE † 2
|
Catholic Chaplain Corps responds to the sick, dying when family can’t BY SEAN O’DRISCOLL Texas Catholic Herald
goods and resources for those families homebound after the storm left. Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston quickly opened a fund to support Louisiana evacuees, which offered $50 payments to Louisiana residents who were affected by Hurricane Ida. In the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, Bishop Shelton Fabre celebrated an outdoor Mass for communities along the furthest bayous. In Larose, he surveyed damaged church structures, many that housed hundreds of parish prayer vigils, gatherings and events for years. Now those buildings were reduced to piles of brick, concrete and metal.
HOUSTON — As Father Ryan Stawaisz lay dying of cancer in a hospital bed, the young priest and his family were ministered to by members of the Catholic Chaplain Corps. “MD Anderson [Cancer Center] was not allowing anyone in,” said Denise Foose, director of the Catholic Chaplain Corps. “However, Father Arnel B. Barrameda was on-site, and he did accompany Father Ryan, had long conversations with him and talked to his parents.” Having battled cancer before, Father Stawaisz’s latest diagnosis came in April 2019 as he was preparing for his ordination to the priesthood. “For me to have that news right at the time of my ordination, right when I felt like my life was really picking up, when I was really going to be able to do
See IDA, page 4
See CHAPLAINS, page 6
COLUMNISTS † 13 - 14
|
ESPAÑOL † 17 - 18 |
MILESTONES † 20