Prayers, tears and hymns celebrated Mass

NEW ORLEANS — With prayers, tears, hymns and even a handful of humorous T-shirts, more than 1,000 parishioners celebrated Mass in New Orleans' historic Roman Catholic cathedral, the place its archbishop called "the soul of our city."

Emergency workers and soldiers — many of them out-of-towners who descended on Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina — mixed with newly returning residents at St. Louis Cathedral's first Sunday Mass since the hurricane devastated New Orleans more than a month ago.

Some churchgoers shed tears during the service, as the choir and congregation sang hymns about finding shelter in a storm and getting through dark times. The communion hymn contained the lyrics "I am hope for all who are hopeless ... I will bring you home."

"I cried just when thoughts came to me of all the things people are going through," said Michelle Hernandez, 27, of Jefferson Parish , who attended the service with her husband and two children.

"The St. Louis Cathedral is a symbol that really unites all of our city, and this is what we're going to need to move forward," the Rev. William Maestri, the archdiocesan spokesman, said before the Mass began.

Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes spoke of the more than 900 people who perished and offered hope for those who remain to rebuild a region that still has some floodwaters, scattered power outages and wind damage.

"This is indeed an historic moment in the life — not only in the church of New Orleans but in the whole city," Hughes said. "The structure which harbors the soul of our city has come back to life."

The church, on Jackson Square in the French Quarter, was bright, as light shining down from the balcony made the altar's gold accents glitter. Candles burned on the altar and brightly lit chandeliers hung from the ceiling painted with religious pictures.

The cathedral's Mass was the latest tentative step in New Orleans' return from Katrina. On Monday, there will be another: many of the area's Catholic schools are reopening, the archbishop said.

One man, standing in the back of the church, said to himself as if in prayer: "Welcome back, New Orleans."

Some parishioners offered a touch of humor, with one wearing a T-shirt that read: "I gave! The house, the car, the job ... Hurricane Katrina."

Hughes said that he hoped New Orleans would rebuild as a community with a stronger moral thread, a community free of racial tension and rampant self-indulgence.

Katie Mello, 30, came to church with her fiance and mother. Mello grew up in New Orleans and now lives in Orlando, Fla., with her fiance. The couple plans to get married at the cathedral in June and returned to the city to bring back relatives who had evacuated.

"This is the heart and soul of the city, so this is where it all starts," Mello said.

The cathedral was originally built in 1727. The first Church of St. Louis lasted 61 years, until it was destroyed by fire. The triple-spired cathedral was rebuilt on the same location. Since then, it has withstood hurricanes and hailstorms.

It was left virtually untouched by Katrina's fierce winds and high waters.

Outside the church, a marble statue of Jesus Christ, with his arm outstretched, had the thumb and forefinger snapped off in the storm. The archbishop said he wanted the fingers reattached only after New Orleans had recovered.

Sunday's Mass was held while relief workers and crews continued to pump out floodwaters from the lower Ninth Ward. Officials expected the pumping to be completed by midweek.

Electricity had been restored to about 29 percent of New Orleans customers and about 98 percent of Jefferson Parish customers, said Chanel Lagarde, a spokesman for Entergy Corp.

As of Friday, the state reported 932 deaths in Louisiana from Hurricane Katrina. Mississippi's death toll was 221.