Bartholomew Visits New Orleans
January 9, 2006 by Greek News
Filed under Community
New Orleans.- Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on Saturday visited New Orleans, where he was deeply moved by the devastation caused by the destructive Hurricane Katrina which was still evident four months later.
Vartholomeos, accompanied by Archbishop Demetrios of America and Metropolitan Alexios of Atlanta, visited the hurricane-devastated city of Louisiana, where he stopped at one of the city’s main dams, which collapsed on the morning of August 30 from the force of the hurricane.
Barthlomew and his entourage were greted by the local Catholic Bishop, city officials, and Greece’s consul in Atlanta Lambros Kakisis.
In statements to the American media, the Ecumenical Patriarch expressed his support for the devastated people of New Orleans, and stressed the importance of protection of the environment with “specific and gold” measures.
“We must all develop a spirit of social justice and solidarity,” he added.
The Ecumenical Patriarch then visited the Aghia Triada (Holy Trinity) Church, the first and oldest Greek Orthodox parish in the US, which was seriously damaged by Hurricane Katrina, and where he held a te deum for the victims of the hurricane, which was attended by the governor of Louisiana, the mayor of New Orleans, and Senators and Congressmen from the area.