Reopening process begins for Catholic schools in Gulf Coast region

Published: 2005-10-03

METAIRIE, La.(CNS) -- Thirty-two Catholic schools in Jefferson Parish, a civil entity next to New Orleans, reopened Oct. 3 after being closed since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast Aug. 29. The schools include 26 elementary schools and six high schools. The Catholic Schools Office of the Archdiocese of New Orleans also opened Oct. 3 at a site on the Archbishop Rummel High School campus in Metairie. The Web site for the Archdiocese of New Orleans lists two schools elsewhere in the archdiocese that are closed for the year and two that are closed for an undetermined amount of time. Some schools have already reopened; many have projected opening dates and some have opened satellite schools in other locations. Three Josephite-run high schools in New Orleans were considering joining together to form a coed satellite high school on the Xavier University Preparatory School campus in New Orleans. In the Diocese of Biloxi, Miss., six schools were destroyed and four have major damage. Currently nine schools are open and seven are scheduled to reopen. Schools are not always reopening in their original facilities. For example, Mercy Cross High School in Biloxi reopened in a former Catholic high school and St. Thomas Elementary School in Long Beach was scheduled to begin holding classes again Oct. 3 at a local roller skating rink.

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