SAN ANTONIO • The Archdiocese of San Antonio’s response to the arrival of evacuees from those areas affected by Hurricane Katrina continues to grow.
    At the beginning of September, Archbishop José H. Gomez appealed to all 173 parishes and missions of the Archdiocese of San Antonio to participate in a special collection to be held at each of their weekend Masses.     As of Sept. 8, 61 percent of parishes reported an unprecedented outpouring of generosity by Catholics throughout the archdiocese.
    As of that date, the Catholic community has reported donations of more than $749,000. The rest of the parishes held their special collection the weekend of Sept. 10-11.
    The money raised will be used for a wide variety of short and long-term needs of the evacuees.

    Assistance will include help in the reunification of families by providing transportation expense reimbursement, school supplies, school uniforms for students in Catholic schools and other educational needs.     
    The archdiocese will also assist them in helping to settle their families back into a normal life, paying such necessary expenses as: deposits for rentals, utilities and other needed services. With these available funds, the evacuees can be helped with the long-term restoration of their lives with the purchase of furniture, work clothes, etc.
    “All are affected by this tragedy and the different situations that are happening,” said Archbishop Gomez at a Sept. 8 press conference at the chancery. “But I’m very grateful to the people of the Archdiocese of San Antonio. They are a source of comfort and joy that we are all together in practicing what we believe.”

Weekend of prayer observed
    The people of archdiocesan parishes have shown their great love and concern for their brothers and sisters who have been victimized by Katrina, and have kept their needs closely in their hearts. In response to that, the weekend of Sept. 10-11, Archbishop Gomez asked each parish and all the people of the archdiocese to be especially mindful of evacuees, everywhere, during their celebration of Mass. Archbishop Gomez asked them to pause and reflect on how God is working in the lives of the evacuees and pray for their healing. The Alamo city prelate celebrated a special Mass for the intentions of the evacuees at 10 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 11, at San Fernando Cathedral.

Central coordination
    Archbishop Gomez appointed Steve Saldaña, president and CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, as the central coordinator for all volunteer and ministry efforts. He will work with the various agencies, departments, organizations and individuals in helping them to know how they can best help the evacuee effort.
    Catholic Charities of San Antonio is assisting at the evacuee sites by providing personnel to help process vital information of the people as they arrive. They have been responsible for processing that information, and ensuring that evacuees are directed to where they can receive food and shelter.
    Catholic Charities has also been helping Texas Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon to coordinate her “Adopt-a-Family” initiative. She has encouraged individuals and churches to help individual families get settled and reclaim a sense of normalcy in their lives.
    At a Sept. 8 press conference, Saldaña introduced Josee Battle as the new director of Evacuee Services. She will coordinate the family reunification effort as well as the Adopt-a-Family Program.
Catholic Charities continues to collect donations of money, nonperishable food, personal hygiene items, toiletries and disposable diapers. Donations can be taken to locations at 202 W. French and 2903 W. Salinas in San Antonio.

Spiritual aid
    Priests are volunteering to celebrate Mass every day at 10 a.m. in building 171 at KellyUSA. The archdiocese is continuing to make every effort at making that opportunity available at all evacuee sites in the near future. Other individuals are volunteering to minister directly to evacuees at the various centers.
    Donations of Bibles, rosaries, and other personal religious items are being accepted by the Office of Social Concerns of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, which are being distributed to evacuees. Catholics are being identified when volunteers offer or provide spiritual support.

Catholic schools
    Catholic schools throughout the archdiocese are endeavoring to open their hearts and educational programs to students relocating here from the disaster areas. Some of these children are already enrolling in Catholic schools, with 70 evacuee children currently enrolled in 25 schools across the archdiocese, according to Sister Carla Lusch, SSND, superintendent of schools.
    The archdiocesan Catholic Schools Office will work with any interested individual to try to find a school for these children. Various schools have identified their availability and have been in communication with the Catholic Schools Office regarding ways that they can be of service to families wishing to enroll their children ages three through high school. Families seeking information on enrolling in Catholic Schools can call the Catholic Schools Office at (210) 734-2620.

Meals
    The Society of St. Vincent De Paul (SVDP) is offering to feed evacuees at their downtown kitchen located at 928 W. Commerce in San Antonio. The dining room is open for one hour at the following times: Mon.-Sat., breakfast at 7 a.m., lunch at noon and dinner at 4 p.m. On Sunday breakfast is offered at 7:30 a.m. and only dinner at 4 p.m.

Clothing
    Local parish SVDP conferences that have a clothing closet are making them available for evacuee needs. The San Antonio parish conferences that are available at press time are:
     • St. Matthew Parish, 10703 Wurzbach
     • Resurrection of the Lord Parish, 7151 Cypress Grove
     • St. Vincent de Paul Parish, 4222 Southwest Loop 410
     • San José y San Miguel Mission, 701 Pyron Ave.
     • St. Leo the Great Church, 4415 S. Flores
    The Society of St. Vincent De Paul continues to need additional volunteer help to answer phones and respond to requests from evacuees who are not in the available shelters, but are seeking refuge in private homes. They need additional volunteer help at the St. Vincent de Paul Kitchen, which is ready to serve an additional 1,500 meals a day, said St. Vincent de Paul Executive Director José Patterson. To assist, call (210) 225-7837. People can also make cash donations.

Medical Care
    CHRISTUS Santa Rosa is coordinating all its medical activities through the RMOC (the federal coordination point in San Antonio for health care needs) and the Red Cross. They are providing medical care for all evacuees who either come on their own or are sent through the RMOC system from refugee centers to CHRISTUS Santa Rosa.
    CHRISTUS Santa Rosa has announced that financial contributions given at their centers will be matched by CHRISTUS Health dollar for dollar and then donated to Catholic Charities.

See the Sept. 30 issue of Today’s Catholic for coverage of the Mass celebrated by Archbishop Gomez for evacuees on Sept. 11 at San Fernando Cathedral, as well as additional news on relief efforts by the Franciscan religious community and other groups and organizations.