St. Francis Xavier Church becomes haven for Metairie Towers residents

By Peter Finney Jr.
Clarion Herald

Winds from Hurricane Ida peeled off the roof of the seven-story Metairie Towers apartment building in Metairie on Sunday night, and despite having lost electrical power, St. Francis Xavier Church across the street was transformed into an emergency shelter for 34 residents.

 St. Francis Xavier Church is located directly across Metairie Road from the residential building, which is home to several parishioners.

Father Joe Palermo, pastor of St. Francis Xavier, said he was initially notified of the emergency by the fire chief of Jefferson Parish.

“He said the roof had blown off,” Father Palermo said. “He was called to the building because the sprinkler system was going off in the building, but water was also pouring in from the hurricane. The whole place is flooded. They say there may be six inches of water in the lobby.”

Father Palermo said a number of residents had evacuated to other areas in advance of the hurricane, which left fewer residents at home. Fire officials were going door-to-door on Sunday night to ask remaining residents to leave the building due to safety concerns.

“They called me and asked if we could put up everybody in some place, and I said, ‘Of course,’” Father Palermo said. “We talked about several buildings and we decided the church was the easiest place to get into because we had two Masses earlier today and would still be a little cool. We have water, blankets and bathrooms.”

Father Palermo said he expected the evacuees to spend the night. Church volunteers were there with flashlights.

“That’s as far as we know, because the person from emergency services said that the hurricane is kind of stalled, and it's too risky to try to get people relocated,” he said. “So, yes, they'll be here for the night.”

(Photos by Father Joe Palermo, St. Francis Xavier Parish, Metairie)

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