The Sept. 18 collection taken up at St. Lawrence of Brindisi Church in Watts that produced a wedding ring, in addition to $7,000 in donations to help Hurricane Katrina victims, has resonated in Louisiana.

In the days after the collection (reported in The Tidings Sept. 30), Capuchin Franciscan Father Peter Banks, St. Lawrence pastor, searched on the Internet for a parish in the Archdiocese of New Orleans that might need direct help recovering from the devastating storm. He came across Msgr. Douglas Doussan's name and made contact with the pastor of St. Gabriel the Archangel Church in Pontchartrain Park. The church had been flooded by water eight feet deep.

Msgr. Doussan, who also serves as archdiocesan director of priest personnel, said he was flabbergasted by the story.

"It's incredible that people are willing to make such a sacrifice to help those who are traumatized," he told the Clarion Herald, newspaper of the New Orleans Archdiocese. "She obviously was not giving out of her surplus but out of her want."

In setting up the donation to St. Gabriel, Father Banks also spoke with Yvonne Spicuzza, Msgr. Doussan's secretary in the priest personnel office. When Father Banks heard that Spicuzza lost her home in Arabi, the parish made a separate donation to her.

Msgr. Doussan also received a $500 check from a Los Angeles man who read about the story of the ring in The Tidings.

The outreach by other faith communities continues to amaze Msgr. Doussan. On Oct. 29, a group of 40 parishioners of St. Jean Vianney Church in Baton Rouge was scheduled to remove the ruined contents of the church and school buildings at St. Gabriel.

The story of the Hispanic woman from Watts and her wedding ring will be fresh in everyone's mind.

"It is very humbling to realize I am living among the poorest of the poor, but they are the wealthiest in so many ways," Father Banks said. "I wanted people to know what happened. Watts has this bad image of violence, but Watts is full of goodness. There are saints living within our midst. Our parishioners do relate to tragedy and suffering."

---CNS