Local Jesuit, Capuchin institutions provide relief
Displaced students welcome at MU; St. Lawrence raising funds for seminarians’ families

By Sam Lucero
Catholic Herald Staff

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Marquette University and 26 other Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States have agreed to take in displaced students from Jesuit-run Loyola University of New Orleans.

At St. Lawrence Seminary High School in Mount Calvary, located some 10 miles east of Fond du Lac, eight seminarians are residents of New Orleans. After Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast Aug. 29, the students spent several days in suspense, waiting to hear from their families.

While families of all eight students have now been accounted for, said Capuchin Fr. Dennis Druggan, rector of St. Lawrence Seminary, their lives have been devastated. Left homeless, the students’ families are now looking to relocate.

In addition to the eight students, St. Lawrence has about 100 alumni from New Orleans. Fr. Druggan estimates that 85 to 90 percent of them have lost their homes.

A special fund has been created by St. Lawrence faculty and staff, and the seminary’s alumni association. They hope to raise $25,000 to pay for tuition of the eight New Orleans students. A collection of winter clothing for the students is also under way.

During the seminary’s regular prayer services, special intentions have been offered for families of students affected by the hurricane, said Fr. Druggan. He and other seminary staff members have been helping students make contact with their families. Last week, when cell phone calls were unsuccessful, Fr. Druggan said text messages allowed him to reach students’ relatives.

The most difficult situation involved an incoming freshman, who was informed Sept. 1 that both of his grandparents died. Two days later, he received a call informing him that his grandparents were alive. “It looked like the world lifted off of his shoulders,” said Fr. Druggan.

The seminary’s New Orleans students are Vietnamese, and St. Lawrence has a longstanding connection to Mary Queen of Vietnam Parish in New Orleans, said Fr. Druggan.

Anyone interested in contributing to the St. Lawrence Seminary tuition fund can contact Fr. Druggan at (920) 753-7570 or send a donation to St. Lawrence Seminary High School, Mount Calvary, Wis., 53057.

According to Anne Deahl, associate provost for enrollment management at Marquette, the university has accepted 95 undergraduates who were displaced from four universities: Loyola, Xavier, Tulane and the University of New Orleans.

“The vast majority are from Loyola because we are part of the (Jesuit) network,” said Deahl, adding that Marquette has reached its capacity and is not accepting anymore students.

According to Deahl, one-third of the students are from the Midwest, 20 are from the three states affected directly by the hurricane, and the remaining students are from around the country. As of Tuesday, about two-thirds of the students were on campus.

Two days after Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) issued a statement announcing that member schools would open their doors to Loyola students.

“Each of our schools has agreed to admit Loyola students as visiting students for the fall semester, with the expectation that they would return to Loyola in the spring semester with credits earned transferable back to Loyola,” said the statement, posted on the AJCU Web site.

Four Catholic colleges and universities exist in Louisiana, three in New Orleans — Loyola, Xavier University, Our Lady of the Holy Cross College — and one in Baton Rouge, Our Lady of the Lake College. Only the latter escaped damage.

No Catholic colleges exist in Mississippi, which also sustained major hurricane damage.

According to Deahl, Marquette plans to expedite the admissions process for displaced students and make advisors available to students during registration. The university has yet to resolve the question of tuition fees.

“We’re still trying to work that out,” said Deahl. “That will become clearer as we can get a hold of folks because these schools were just opening. Some charged tuition the Friday before the hurricane hit. Some were going to charge tuition the Monday after. We haven’t made firm financial arrangements with anyone yet.”

What is important now, she said, is taking care of the students’ basic needs. Most of the displaced students who are on campus have moved into residence halls and are signed up for meal plans, said Deahl. “We are providing a mechanism by which students who don’t have the money can buy their books.”

As a sister Jesuit institution, Marquette plans to offer long-term assistance to Loyola University, said Deahl. “Loyola will have lots of needs when they get up and running. We’re having conversations today about how we can help them.”

With lines of communication disrupted by Hurricane Katrina, the AJCU has created a web log, www.loyolaneworleans.blogspot.com, with daily updates on the situation at Loyola university.

Jesuit Fr. Robert Wild, president of Marquette University, outlined the university’s response in a letter dated Sept. 2. In addition to admitting students, “We are also trying to reach out to members of our own Marquette community whose families have been affected by the hurricane,” wrote Fr. Wild.

Many faculty, staff and alumni have offered space in their homes for incoming students, he said.

The Marquette community will gather to pray for all those affected by the hurricane. An all-university prayer service is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 8, 4 p.m., at Gesu Church. “The service offers all of us an opportunity to pray for the needs of those in the Gulf Coast and to offer a warm welcome to the students who have so recently joined us,” wrote Fr. Wild.