Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Bernard Catholic Church are on track to hold the first confirmation classes in St. Bernard since Hurricane Katrina. The two churches will share one program.

With the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina just a few days away, two local parishes are marking the milestone by holding their first religion classes since the storm.

Our Lady of Lourdes Church and St. Bernard Catholic Church are preparing to launch their first lineup of religion and confirmation preparation classes since Hurricane Katrina inundated both churches on August 29, 2005.

“Now that both churches are up and running, it’s time to start bringing religion to the children again,” said Rhonda Serpas, who’s coordinating the effort.

Religion classes will be offered for children in first grade to fifth grade on Tuesdays from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Our Lady of Lourdes Church on Colonial Boulevard in Violet. A new mobile building is being installed.

Confirmation Prep I and II classes will be offered on Wednesdays from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at St. Bernard Catholic Church on Bayou Road for sixth graders through high school students. Classes will be held in Iverson Hall.

Registration will be Aug. 24 between 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. at Our Lady of Lourdes and Aug. 25 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at St. Bernard Church.

Parents are reminded that children who attend a Catholic school must enroll in Confirmation Prep I and II both in the 9th and 10th grades. Parents of children in the 11th or 12th grades who have not attended the confirmation classes may contact Serpas at 504-682-4093 to arrange for special instruction.

Classes should begin in early October. Volunteers to teach and assist are still needed.

After Hurricane Katrina, St. Bernard Catholic Church reopened in November 2007, Serpas recalled. Before the church could support a priest of its own, Father Danny from Our Lady of Prompt Succor would lead mass at the historic St. Bernard church.

Father John Arnone came to the church in late 2008 and soon got Our Lady of Lourdes back up and running. The churches still share a priest and, quite fittingly, the churches will share religious education efforts.

Serpas said it’s another way to bring some closure to many people still struggling to recover from Katrina.

“It’s one more chapter closed in the Katrina saga,” Serpas said.

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