Beloved New Orleans priest who rode out Katrina presumed dead

Published: 2005-09-28

BATON ROUGE, La. (CNS) -- A much loved New Orleans priest who stayed with his church as Hurricane Katrina took aim at southeastern Louisiana is presumed to have drowned in the storm's floodwaters. Father Arthur "Red" Ginart, known to his flock of worshippers as "Father Red" and considered the "shepherd of Lake Catherine," would not listen to family and friends who appealed to him to leave his church for safety. The priest, pastor of St. Nicholas of Myra Church, tried to assure everyone that he would be safe. He lived on the New Orleans East peninsula. Late on the night before the Aug. 29 storm a volunteer firefighter tried to convince Father Ginart to leave, but he scoffed at the warning. "God will be my shepherd," he said. His nephew, Michael Ginart of Chalmette, phoned the priest at 3:30 a.m. the morning of the storm. He said he told his uncle that it looked like this was "it." A month after the hurricane hit, Father Ginart, 64, remained missing and is now presumed dead, the only resident of Lake Catherine to become a victim of the hurricane.

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