Two decades later, Louisiana Catholics reflect on Katrina

Twenty years after Hurricane Katrina stormed the Gulf Coast with unprecedented force, parishioners of St. Michael Catholic Church in Biloxi are bearing witness to resilience and renewal.

According to a report from Biloxi’s WLOX TV station, the building, originally erected in 1963, was battered by floodwaters reaching 12 feet. Pews splintered, windows were left in shards, and insurance adjusters marked the church for demolition. “It looked like a bombed‑out area,” recalled Father Greg Barras. He became pastor in January 2006, when he was welcomed by the devastation left in Katrina’s wake.

Yet, amid the rubble, hope stirred. Parishioner Bridgette Whiting, a member of the parish for over three decades, remembers bringing folding chairs to Mass in those early months. 

Rebuilding brought a renewal of spirit: “It was just a scary time… to think of what happened and how are we ever going to get things back?” she said. When the reconstruction began, “I caught a glimmer of hope,” she said.

Church leaders discovered more than half of the structure remained sound. That finding, combined with generous support from across the country, helped revitalize St. Michael’s. Fr. Barras summed it up in a comment to WLOX: “Their faith was really powerful… It was just hope. Feed the spirit of the people that was destroyed.”

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