COVINGTON – In Louisiana, the Northshore was hard hit. St. Joseph’s Abbey had to cancel Abbey Fest, their annual youth gathering in anticipation of storms. A day later, almost every building at the abbey took more than two feet of water. The monks and the almost 140 seminarians were trapped by the quickly-rising floodwaters and had to spend one night on the second floor of whatever building they were in. No one was hurt, but the Abbey had no flood insurance.

A photo from Friday, March 11, shows water creeping up the steps of the church at St. Joseph’s abbey. The water has dropped, but damage remains. (Photo courtey of Rhonda Bowden)

“Almost every building on St. Joseph Abbey and Seminary College campus was inundated with about two feet of water, including the classrooms, residence hall, library, woodworks, gift shop, monastery, monastery refectory, and the basement of the Abbey church, which houses all the electrical work and air conditioning equipment. It’s going to be a long recovery. The outpouring of support from the community has been overwhelming,” said Abbot Justin Brown, OSB.
Photos posted on social media also showed most of the cars flooded as well. This flood was the worst in the seminary’s history, topping the 1927 flood by several inches.
Three men from the Diocese of Jackson are studying at St. Joseph’s this year. The seminary is accepting donations on its website, https://www.saintjosephabbey.com/donate.