Centennial Anniversary of Cyclone Brings Healing to St. Philip Church Families, Community

On Aug. 24,. 1924, families gathered in the St. Philip Church Hall in Vacherie to prepare for the St. Philip Church Fair. They were joyfully preoccupied with the details of the event and scarcely paid attention to the black, ominous clouds on the horizon. When big raindrops fell, they felt their prayers were answered because they had been experiencing severe drought.

But the festive mood was shattered when a cyclone struck, killing nine people and injuring many.

More than 250 family members of the deceased, parishioners, and community members gathered on Aug. 24 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the tragedy, which forever changed the families, church, and community of St. Philip.

The nine victims who were remembered were Belfort Pierre Haydel, Arthur James Hubbell, Lucille Marie Troxclair, Stephen and Elia Waguespack, Florence Mary Fernandez, Stephen Louis Haydel, Virginia Marie Hubbell, and John Berchmans Waguespack.

According to an account published on the front page of the New Orleans Times Picayune, “All happened in much less time than it takes to tell. According to those who escaped unscratched from the falling building, it hardly seemed ten seconds between the first shock and the time when shrieks of the crushed and dying mingled with the dreadful roar of the whirlwind which, within another few seconds, seemed to list as if to survey its work of devastation, gave one last demonical cry and circled off into space.” 

The community rallied to help in rescue efforts while “blood poured forth from their torn hands.”

Approximately 5,000 people attended the joint funeral services for the deceased, and the crowd of attendees flowed out of the church into the neighboring fields and levee area.

Down through the generations, family members, parishioners, and community members have been impacted by this tragic event.

Top Right Photo: Father Vincent Dufresne blesses the graves of the family members who died in the 1924 cyclone at St. Philip Church in Vacherie. Photos by Debbie Shelley

Left Photo: Father Dufresne prays the prayer of consecration over the wine

“Many of the descendants are grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and great-nieces and great-nephews grew up with their parents or grandparents mourning the loss of someone taken away from them at an early age or even before they were born,” said David Hubbell, a fourth-generation family member affected by the event who now lives in Mobile, Alabama. “My dad, his siblings, and their cousins never knew their grandfather Arthur, but did know their grandmother Aline. I think for many it was so painful that it never was spoken of and as such many chose not to inquire.”

Hubbell organized the commemorative Mass, dinner, and lecture on the tragedy to provide a healing balm for the families, with some members coming from as far away as Philadelphia.

“Many of the folks along the River Parishes share common ancestry, so while it may not have been someone's specific loved one killed or injured in the storm, they were part of the larger communal family of the German-Acadian descendants, and most of the Vacherie residents knew someone who was affectedfirsthand by the tragedy. Plus, many of them participated in the rescue and the consoling of the bereaved,” Hubbell said.

Robin Brou, Hubbell’s cousin, said her grandfather survived the cyclone, but hismother, father, uncle and brother did not. Brou’s mother was born after the event yet suffered from the post-traumatic symptom of fear of storms, which has been passed down through the generations.

“It still affects all of us, because my children – that's why they came. They heard ustalking about that all the time, and how it changed the trajectory of our families,” Brou said.

The families gathered for the blessings of the graves by Father Vincent Dufresne and then proceeded to the church for Mass, with Father Dufresne presiding.

In his homily, Father Dufresne, who said he “has the same blood running through his veins as each one of them and is family,” offered a message of hope.

“Every one of us, I’m sure at some point in our lives, has experienced an unexpected tragedy,” said Father Dufresne. “It leaves us devastated, doesn’t it? And the common human question in the face of tragedy is ‘Why?’

Every one of us, I’m sure at some point in our lives, has experienced an unexpected tragedy. It leaves us devastated, doesn’t it? And the common human question in the face of tragedy is ‘Why?’  – Fr. Vincent Dufresne

“But you can imagine the overwhelming experience to have lost so many, the one ‘Why’ takes on exclamation points without counting and leads individuals to a scarier question: ‘How could God (let this happen)?’”

The assembly was not merely commemorating something that happened in the past but facing the fact that they live in a world where tragedy and sadness is a part of life, which leads to interior emotional conflict, Father Dufresne pointed out.

“We are here because the good Lord wants to comfort us in the reality in a world that cannot satisfy,” said Father Dufresne.

As highlighted in Scripture readings of the day, which were the same readings the family members would have heard that Sunday in 1924, people cannot judge life by the number of days, weeks, or years they live but by what they do with the time they have, said Father Dufresne. 

He emphasized that people don’t know what the future will bring, but prayer brings them into a relationship with God. As they pray for others, they commend them in their relationship with God. 

“This is why we’re here,” Father Dufresne said.

When individuals are lost, prayers are elevated to a phenomenal degree, stated Father Dufresne.

While family reunions are nice, even if they are commemorating a dire event, Father Dufresne noted, tragedies occur.

“But as St. Paul reminds us, it is the truth of Christ’s victory over death in his coming into our lives when we need him that provides us an undeniable spiritualstrength,” said Father Dufresne.

People often ask Father Dufresne, “If Jesus performed miracles while he was here on earth, why doesn’t he provide miracles in tragic circumstances?”

“I can think of no greater miracle than being brought to heaven -- The anticipation of that homecoming is what gives us the courage to do what we do each day,” said Father Dufresne.

Virginia Marie Hubbell

Stephen Louis Haydel .                Belfort Pierre Haydel's grave