By Pamela Seal
Diocese of Lake Charles
If the strength of a person’s faith were measured like hurricanes — with Category 5 being the strongest — Josie Boudreaux would be off the charts when up against some of the most powerful storms to ever strike lower Cameron Parish.
The 84-year-old parishioner of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church, East Cameron (in Creole) has lived through Audrey (1957), Rita (2005), Ike (2008), and most recently Laura in 2020, picking up the pieces and starting over every time. Her husband, John “T-Boy” Boudreaux, was right by her side until his death in January 2023. They would have been married 60 years this November.
on June 1 — the first day of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane
season — at Christ the King Catholic Church in south
Lake Charles. Boudreaux has lived through multiple
life-altering hurricanes over the past 66 years, but
always finds comfort and refuge in her faith.
(Morris LeBleu / Diocese of Lake Charles)
Before every storm, Josie knows where to seek refuge. So, on the first day of the 2023 hurricane season (June 1), she was at Christ the King Catholic Church in south Lake Charles for the annual “Mass to Avert Storms” officiated by Bishop Glen John Provost. A pilgrimage to the Historic Shrine of Our Lady Star of the Sea in Cameron immediately followed asking the Blessed Mother to spare all from past tragedies.
Hurricane Path for Josie
A teacher for 35 years in Cameron Parish, Josie was the youngest of three and the only girl.
“My family survived Audrey. I had just graduated from South Cameron High School,” she recalled. “My parents were responsible for repairing our house. After Audrey, just about everyone came back to Creole.”
It would be 48 years before Cameron Parish would be devastated again.
to Avert Storms at Christ the King Catholic Church.
From left, he is joined by Rev. Arvind Minz,
Rev. Pradeep Gali, HGN; Rev. Jerish George, MOC;
Deacon Patrick Lapoint; Rev. Samuel Bond, Master of
Ceremonies; Deacon Dale Deshotel; Rev. Clyde Thomas;
and Rev. Rojo Koonathan.
(Morris LeBleu / Diocese of Lake Charles)
“We lost our house in Rita and weren’t able to move back to Creole until January 2007, downsizing from a 4,000-square-foot house to a 2,400-square-foot doublewide manufactured home,” Josie said.
At the time, one of her four children, Jill (Darin) Thibodeaux lived in the house Josie grew up in.
“Rita destroyed my mother’s childhood home. It survived Audrey, but Rita took it,” said Jill. “All that was left were the cinderblocks that it rested on and the back steps located in the pasture.”
After Laura’s landfall on August 27, 2020, the cement slab was the only thing that remained of Josie’s doublewide home.
relocated to Calcasieu Parish after Hurricane Laura
destroyed their homes on August 27, 2020. They
both still have strong ties to Sacred Heart of Jesus
Catholic Church in Creole, the only church where
they have made all their sacraments.
“I had no idea where our house was. I never found anything. I don’t know if our belongings floated away or if they were whisked away in a tornado,” she remarked. “Usually, you will find pieces of things. I couldn’t find anything.”
Starting over in Creole was not an option this time for Josie or her daughter Jill.
“My husband was the main reason I wanted to keep returning to Creole. I knew how much he enjoyed his cattle and horses,” Josie said. “By the time Laura hit, T-Boy was in a wheelchair. We were much older. Insurance was much higher. We knew God was in control and allowed him to lead the way.”
Since December 2020, a shared carport adjoins two houses — Jill and her family’s house in the front and Josie’s house in the back on a beautiful piece of property in Calcasieu Parish where she can still enjoy gardening vegetables and fruit for canning and preserves.
“After two-and-a-half years, I am beginning to adjust that this is home. My heart will always be in Creole, especially at Sacred Heart,” said Josie. “That is where I received all my sacraments, as did our children. It is a big part of who I am.”
visit the Historic Shrine of Our Lady Star of the Sea in
Cameron Parish on June 1. The pilgrimage immediately
followed the Mass to Avert Storms held at Christ the King
Catholic Church in south Lake Charles.
(Morris LeBleu / Diocese of Lake Charles)
When she is not attending Christ the King, and sometimes St. Henry or St. Margaret, Josie still makes the 20-mile commute to Creole to attend Mass at the temporary location of Sacred Heart in a barn, just one road west of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Life Center and Cemetery. As soon as renovations are complete at the life center, it will serve as the Parish site for Masses in lower Cameron Parish.
“I wish we could be in our original church,” said Josie, “but knowing all the rules and regulations that go along with rebuilding on the coast, and higher insurance premiums, that is impossible.”
Priest Finally Home in Creole
Rev. Jerish George, MOC, Administrator of Sacred Heart since February 2, 2021, has been doing everything he can to minister to families along the coast — including Cameron, Grand Chenier, Creole and Sweetlake. That will be a little easier for him now.
On May 5, 2023, he moved into the newly renovated Sacred Heart rectory behind the life center. For the past two years, he had been living in the St. Mary of the Lake Catholic Church rectory in Big Lake. Before that, he was sharing space with Father Rojo Koonathan in the rectory of Christ the King Parish for several months.
which was left miraculously unscathed from
Hurricane Laura, Bishop Provost led those
gathered in praying the “Litany of the
Blessed Virgin Mary of Loreto” followed
by the “Hurricane Recovery Prayer.”
The Shrine was erected in 1963 to honor
victims of Hurricane Audrey, one of the
deadliest storms to ever strike the United States.
“I was traveling three times a week from Big Lake to Creole, a 60-mile round trip each time,” Father George noted. “Anytime I traveled to Grand Chenier to visit the homebound, that was another 25 miles from Creole. Now that I am living in Creole, it is easier for me to move around to see the people and do my ministry.”
In addition to adding two more weekday Masses to the schedule, Father George is now celebrating Mass at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. He has been officiating the 4:00 p.m. Saturday Vigil Mass since October 9, 2021.
“The people are very happy that I am here. They have been waiting for a long time,” he said. “New people are coming to Mass, even during the week, with as many as 55 for the 7:15 a.m. Mass on Wednesday and Friday, and 25 for the afternoon Mass at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday.”
The response from the community has been much like the fortitude he has witnessed from Josie.
his brother priests, and the faithful in Cameron Parish on June 1,
the first day of hurricane season, to pray for safety from storms.
Father George serves as administrator of Sacred Heart of Jesus
Catholic Church, East Cameron. He recently moved back into the
refurbished rectory since it was damaged by Hurricane Laura
in August 2020. (Morris LeBleu / Diocese of Lake Charles)
“The people are very strong since they have seen so many hurricanes. They don’t complain to me. I celebrate Mass in a barn with no air conditioning in the summer or no heat in the winter,” said Father George. “They are happy to come to Mass. They are still sad about losing their church, but they love being a part of Sacred Heart of Jesus in Creole.”
Just like they did at the Shrine on the first day of hurricane season, Father George said the faithful in Cameron Parish pray the Hurricane Prayer for Safety 365 days of the year.
“We trust in God and in Our Lady Star of the Sea every day of the year, not only during hurricane season,” he said.
Lessons Learned
The devastating storms have taught both Josie and Jill a little more about themselves and their trust in God.
“You don’t realize just how dependent you are on certain things until it’s not there and there is no quick fix,” said Jill. “God will give you what you need at the time you need it. Just do what you have to do in the moment.”
Josie added, “I have learned to always be strong in my faith, to pray, that God is good, he is in control, and he will get me through these hardships. We must accept whatever comes along.”