A letter from Father Louis Lohan

St. Thomas the Apostle Church

Long Beach, Mississippi

              We appreciate all the help we are getting.  Attached is a letter that I wrote several weeks ago.  It tells little about our community.  After the storm, I purchased a small house that was under construction to be used as my rectory and parish offices.  The Knights of Columbus lost their council home; bought the local skating rink with their insurance check; many volunteers, parents, parishioners, helpers from New York, Iowa and other states, the Seabees from the base in Gulfport transformed it into a school with 12 classrooms and a large room for us to hold church services in.  School reopened October 3.  Bishop Rodi has an opening Mass.  There was not a dry eye in the house.  Kids were crying because they were nervous about their “new” school.  We had 274 kids before Katrina; only 215 came back.  We got 60-70 new kids from a neighboring parish school that was destroyed and 20+ kids from First Baptist preschool.  Parents cried tears of joy to see their little ones get back to some sort of normalcy.  Each child received a new backpack donated and supplies; little ones even got a stuffed animal.  It was a great day.  God bless you, Alan, and your pastor, Fr. John Bennett and the people of St. Patrick’s in Huntington NY.  Keep praying for us.  We will pray for you too.

Fr. Louis Lohan