New Orleans Archdiocese establishing satellite office in Baton Rouge

Published: 2005-09-06

BATON ROUGE, La. (CNS) -- In the wake of the massive destruction of Hurricane Katrina, the Archdiocese of New Orleans has decided to launch a satellite office in Baton Rouge to make key decisions about restoring social services and rebuilding schools and churches, Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes said after a meeting of archdiocesan officials at Our Lady of Mercy Parish. "This is very important because we need to begin to organize both our immediate short-term response and our more long-term response," Archbishop Hughes said Aug. 31 "Obviously, we face extreme devastation, the likes of which we have not felt in this country apart from the Civil War." The location of the satellite office had not been determined, although archdiocesan officials were considering space that has been offered at Our Lady of Mercy and at the closed St. Pius X School. The archbishop said he plans to meet daily with a small group of key archdiocesan personnel to determine how best to respond to the crisis and to assess damage reports, which have not yet come in because of sporadic communications.

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