Groundbreaking Ceremony Held for Sisters New Residence in Baton Rouge

The Congregation of St. Joseph held a groundbreaking ritual for the Sisters’ Residence to be constructed at 3134 Hundred Oaks, near the Catholic Life Center. The ceremony was held on November 19.

Sister Phyllis Manda, CSJ, (below) welcomed the overflow crowd who gathered at the site on a sunny but cool afternoon. “We are happy you are here to share with us this long-awaited moment,” Sister Phyllis said, thanking some of the many people who have worked to make the new residence a reality, including Sisters Pat Bergen and Marie Hogan of the congregation’s Leadership Team; Ed Sutoris, project manager; Skipper Post, architect; Steve Carville of Milton J. Womack Inc., contractor; and Greg Gauthier, president of the neighborhood association.

		It has been more than three years since Katrina drove us from our beloved Mirabeau in New Orleans,” Sister Phyllis added. “Though we are standing in a new place, we carry in our hearts the cherished memories of that land the housed and nourished us for so many years.” To honor those memories, Sisters. Joan Laplace and Mary Anne Hebert scattered soil from the Mirabeau residence, which included three buildings, the first completed in 1950. In August of 2005, Katrina flooded the bottom floors of all three buildings. When a June 2006 fire did irreparable damage, the buildings were torn down.
Bishop Robert Muench (right) offered a prayer of blessing and performed the rite of sprinkling the grounds with holy water. Sister Kathleen Babin read from the book of Ecclesiastes. In her reflection on the reading, Sister Pat Bergen (below) discussed the significance of there being a proper time for everything. She thanked those who will bring their gifts to the completion of the residence and who, “through sensitivity in their hearts and great care in their crafts, will make this a home built on love.”

Sister Pat said it was appropriate that the groundbreaking be held in the season of Thanksgiving and before Advent, a time of new beginnings. “There was a time to run from the winds and the floods, with our hearts broken for all that we lost,” she said. “Now is the time to prepare our hearts to be the dwelling place of God’s great love. This home is built on holy ground by holy hands. It will be inhabited by women of great love and will be a beacon of love in Baton Rouge.”

Sisters Lucy Silvio and Adele Lambert led the intercessory prayer, and Bishop Muench offered the final blessing. He then reflected on the joy he felt as part of the gathering to witness the vision, hope and dream for the Sisters’ Residence come to fruition. “The Sisters of St. Joseph are such representatives of holiness,

of God’s love,” he said. “… We will count on your goodness, holiness and prayers as wewelcome the privilege
of your presence on this campus. My words are of affirmation, appreciation, gratitude and delight, as I know
this land will be all the better because you are here.”

Post thanked the members of his architectural team, explaining that the cross etched into the dirt marked the
center of the future facility, which will be a chapel. Carville said he was personally delighted to be working with
the Sisters in such a special way and looked forward to a special ribbon-cutting ceremony in the future.

Guests were then invited to don hardhats and use shovels to turn the earth to mark the beginning of the
construction process.

Hayden Blanchard served as cantor for the ceremony. A reception was held at its conclusion.