Windows Wednesday

This is one of the stained glass windows hanging in St. Genevieve Church in Bayou Liberty
According to an elderly parishioner, these particular windows hung in one of the original St. Genevieve Churches circa 1852. This lady remembers going to church not via horse or car, but by paddling up Bayou Liberty

Pirogue Races Return

After a two year hiatus, the 60th Annual Bayou Liberty Pirogue Races return on June 3rd. During that time, major construction was under way on the property of St. Genevieve’s Catholic Church, which was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. The celebration will be June 3 from 1 to 7 p.m. at the St. Genevieve Landing, located just four miles west of Slidell, on Louisiana 433 at the Bayou Liberty Bridge crossing.


The old Bayou Liberty Bridge

Chaired by the late Junior Pichon for over 50 years, the races have been handed down to his daughter Beth DiMarco.

From nola dot com:
Thanks to DiMarco, chairwoman of this year’s event, her father’s dream will live on.

“We are honored to pay tribute to our dad this year,” DiMarco said. “He’ll be smiling down on us from heaven.”

The day of celebration on Bayou Liberty will feature competitive paddling, including: Men’s championship race; common boat race; two-man canoe race; kayak race; women’s championship race; women over 40 race; men over 40 race; girls 13-16 and 8-12 races; and boys 8-12 and 13-16 races.

ne of the highlights of the day of competition is the hilarious 'blindfold race.'

The prized Bayou Liberty Pirogue Championship raffle also will return. Tickets are $1 each, with ticket holders vying for a 14-foot Fiberglass pirogue, first prize; Propane seafood frying setup, second prize; and fleur-de-lis rocker, third prize.

A separate raffle will be held for a shotgun. Only 300 raffle tickets will be sold for $5 each.

Various game, food and beverage booths also will be featured. Among the traditional race-day favorites being dished out will be gumbo, red beans and rice, hamburgers and hot dogs and snoballs. Ice chests are not allowed on the premises.

Music will be provided by Band of Brothers, and Big Al and the Heavyweights.

Commemorative hats and T-shirts also will be available for purchase the day of the races.

For information on how to support “Back on the Bayou,” contact DiMarco at 985.643.2581

Rebirth on Bayou Liberty

Almost seven years after it was swamped by Katrina, St. Genevieve Catholic Church on Bayou Liberty has been rebuilt. I pass the church on my daily commute, so I watched in January 2007 as they demolished the old church , built in 1958. I have followed and chronicled her rebirth for the past five years .

On January 15, 2012 St. Genevieve opened to her parishoners. It was a beautiful thing to witness.

This is what she looked like before Katrina

During the groundbreaking in October of 2010, parishioners were asked to place a small amount of dirt from their home into the groundbreaking hole in celebration of their unity.

The doors to the church were donated by Dr. John Breaux and were produced in Honduras. They depict the history of the parish from the time it was a mission until the present new church.

In 1852, a brick chapel was built by Mrs. Anatole Cousin on land she donated.

In 1914, Father Francis Balay renovated the old church and rededicated it

In 1950s another Bayou Liberty Church - St. Linus - was merged with St. Genevieve

In 1958, a new church building was built and dedicated Dec. 28 by Reverend Joseph Rummel.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed the church. Immediately following the storm, Mass was celebrated under an oak tree for several weeks and then in the parish hall.

In 2011, the new church was completed!

 

From watching this steeple lying on the ground during deconstruction of the old church,

 

It was such a good feeling to see the old steeple rising toward the heavens again

The original stained glass windows are used in the new church (photo by Slidell Sentry News)

The altar looks out over Bayou Liberty

The old Chapel is shown here after the church was razed

And now the Chapel is once again united with the church

After Katrina, St. Genevieve's pastor is quoted as saying: "The church is not the building, but the people, we are the church."
~ Reverend Roel Lungay

I salute the strength and faith parishioners of St. Genevieve and congratulate them on this long-time coming occasion.

A Wet Labor Day Weekend

September is the high point on the tropical activity calendar. We who live on the Gulf Coast accept the fact that our Labor Day weekends might possibly be hampered by tropical activity. And this year we have Tropical Storm Lee.

What follows are my pix taken on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain (approximately 30 miles away from the French Quarter). The pictures are not as sensational as the Weather Channel would have you believe about Lee's intensity. Lee is more of a slow moving storm than a powerful one. As I type this (Sunday at 8 AM) it's still pouring outside.



This was taken from Lakeview Drive, better known as Rats Nest Road in Slidell. The old piers destroyed by Katrina are in the foreground and the new Twin Spans can be seen in the background.


This train was moving slowly across the submerged marshland heading towards Lake Pontchartrain.


Six years Post Katrina, St. Genevieve Catholic Church in the Bayou Liberty area of Slidell (my neighborhood) is finally rebuilding.



I like this shot of the crosses of the chapel and church.


Bayou Liberty boat berths. Those poles in the foreground represent sunken boat slips.





Swings and benches submerged in Lee's flood waters.


This is what this area normally looks like.


Hubby pointed out the beauty of the Spanish Moss and the waters of Bayou Liberty.


This crazy truck driver drove through the flood waters to drop off a friend.



The "new" Bayou Liberty Bridge taken from the Church side of the Bayou.





A view of the piers on the St. Genevieve grounds.



A bright spot in all of this wet windy weather is that our 6 month old lab discovered how much he LOVES water!

Pirogue Races Cancelled again

The Bayou Liberty Pirogue Championships, traditionally held on the first Sunday of June, will not be held for the second consecutive year.

According to A.L. “Junior” Pichon, former St. Tammany Parish Councilman and chairman and master of ceremonies for the races for nearly 30 years, access to the Bayou Liberty boat launch area is extremely limited during the construction of nearby St. Genevieve Catholic Church.

“We looked at maybe holding the races on the other side of the bayou, but that has too many problems,” Pichon said. “But we’ll be back in our old spot next year, for sure.”

The oldest pirogue racing competition in the state, the Bayou Liberty Pirogue Championships were originally organized as a fundraiser for the church and, since that time, also have supported playground maintenance at the Bayou Liberty Civic Center.
Since then the contest has become a destination race for paddlers from as far away as Mississippi and Hahnville.

St. Genevieve Catholic Church, destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, is being rebuilt on its original site. It will measure nearly 12,000-square-feet and be able to accommodate more than 500 parishioners.

The new church will cost $3 million, plus another $1 million to outfit, once it has been built. The Archdiocese of New Orleans has set aside about $2 million for the construction. Fundraisers by parishioners have been ongoing.

Though disappointed at the cancellation, organizers vow that the Bayou Liberty Pirogue Championships will return.

“This is part of our heritage,” Pichon said.

St. Genevieve Church Update - May 2011

I've been trying to stay updated on the reconstruction of St. Genevieve Church on Bayou Liberty and I'm excited to post pictures showing the updated construction activity. I haven't travelled past the Church for a few months now due to repaving of Bayou Liberty Road, but I chose that route last Saturday knowing there would not be any construction and was excited to see the new Church taking shape.

First, an artists rendering of the new building.

What follows are the steel beams giving the structure its shape

And here lies the original steeple, painted and ready to once again rise to the heavens.

St. Genevieve Church - January 2011

Bayou Liberty & St. Genevieve Church pre Katrina.

Click on pictures for larger versions.

So much has changed in the past 5 years. The church has been torn down and the bridge is gone too. Replaced by a wide, tall one





Never thought I'd admit it, but I like the new bridge. For one thing, it's great for snapping pictures of the bayou at sunset.





St. Genevieve Church is FINALLY being rebuilt. I guess they were waiting to finish that bridge.









As they have been doing for over five years now, the parishoners of the church attend mass in the church hall.



For more on St. Genevieve, click here

Can't remember when the new church will be open, but here are older links from this blog about the rebuilding.

And here is an artists rendering of the new church: