The papal envoy surveys the damage
Most of the 4,000 feet of stained glass that surrounded St. Michael’s Catholic Church is now sprinkled across this once lively casino town, splattered into small slivers and lost among mountains of rubble.
News reports and photos of a wounded coastline prompted Pope Benedict XVI to send the Vatican’s top humanitarian aid official to Biloxi on Monday.
The convoy weaved through the debris-stuffed streets, carrying Archbishop Paul Cordes to what’s left of St. Michael’s.
Local fishermen pooled their cash to build the church nearly 100 years ago.
Today, a large slice of stained glass lies face-up on a dusty sidewalk near the "fishermen’s church," a shattered design of boats and nets, hinting at the history of St. Michael’s.
A 30-something foot wall of water washed the church empty of everything, except for a crucifix still hanging from the ceiling.
"This means there’s still some order here," Cordes said, looking up at the cross. Cordes, who leads One Heart, a Vatican-based global relief organization, arrived by helicopter at the Biloxi Diocesan Center, where he assured Bishop Thomas Rodi and Biloxi Mayor A.J. Holloway that the world is aware of Katrina’s mess in South Mississippi.
"I’ve never heard of Biloxi before, but now, it’s famous all over the world," he said.
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