Catholic growing pains on the Northshore

Mandeville church makes a case for new building

Published: Tuesday, July 26, 2011, 11:20 PM

By Bob Warren, The Times-Picayune The Times-Picayune
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Before a standing-room-only crowd Tuesday at Mandeville City Hall, Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church made its formal pitch for a new, larger church on its property in historic Old Mandeville.

View full sizeOur Lady of the Lake ChurchFinal rendering of the planned Our Lady of the Lake Roman Catholic Church in Mandeville.

Proponents of the new church said it would be an asset to the community. They said the larger church would accommodate a large congregation that has far outgrown the existing church, and that the Gothic Revival style of the new church would be a welcome addition to a community with a wide range of architectural styles.
Opponents, however, focused on the size and style of the proposed new church. They say it will exacerbate the area’s traffic congestion, and they worry that it will dwarf the structures in the surrounding area.
“It’s too big a church for too small a space,” said Ernest Burguieres, an opponent and Old Mandeville resident.
Board members listened to dueling presentations, followed by a long list of speakers for both sides. The board will conduct another meeting on the church’s proposal Aug. 9. The board must decide whether to grant the project a zoning permit.
Proponents of the new church say it is desperately needed to accommodate worshipers.
Joe Chautin, a parishioner who represented the church before the board, said the average weekend worshiping crowd is 6,000 to 6,500. Two-thirds of those, he said, must attend Mass in the nearby Chotin Center, a gymnasium, because the church can seat only 465 people.
“We’re not seeking to attract new parishioners,” Chautin said.
The proposed new church would be 16,715 square feet and would seat 1,028. It would be across Lafitte Street from the existing church. It would face Lafitte Street.
Chautin said the proposal meets the parking requirements of the city’s zoning laws. The permit application says the project would include 307 on-site parking spaces, as well as a total of 114 more on the surrounding streets. Chautin said the parking plan would not only accommodate the church’s needs but also would help alleviate some existing congestion.
The Gothic Revival-designed building would have pointed, arched windows and twin towers rising to 68 feet.
Robert Cangelosi, with Koch & Wilson architects, said the design is meant to draw worshipers’ eyes to heaven and “inspire worship.” He said it is one of the most popular styles of church architecture.
Kathleen Laneri, a parishioner, said it would be a great asset to Old Mandeville. She said she thinks the traditional style will blend in well with the ambiance of the community.
But Burguieres, who represents Save Old Mandeville, said the new church has needlessly been a divisive issue. He and several other speakers said the addition of a new, proposed church north of Mandeville, Most Holy Trinity, will take much of the pressure off Our Lady of the Lake.
Burguieres said traffic congestion generated by the church already chokes Old Mandeville’s narrow streets. Parking, he and others said, is already tight.
Burguieres agreed the new church is “impressive-looking,” but added, “it’s just in the wrong place.”
Becky Rohrbough, representing the Old Mandeville Historical Association, said she fears for the health of historic buildings near the proposed church, including the Juniper restaurant and a Creole cottage at 319 Lafitte St. She said the new church will tower over the existing structures and accused the church of a “buy-it-up, tear-it-down strategy.”
Chautin said the church has worked on its proposal for years and has tried to be sympathetic to the needs and desires of the surrounding community. He said the heaviest traffic for the church would be over seven hours during weekend Masses.
He said the church is one of the city’s longest-tenured establishments and “we take those responsibilities seriously.”

>>>This is just another story demonstrating the powerful growth of Northshore New Orleans Catholicism.  Just weeks after the approval by local government to allow Most Holy Trinity, my assigned parish, to receive the proper zoning for a new church, Our Lady of the Lake, which is the largest Catholic parish in Louisiana, seeks the OK to build a larger worship space.  And it is a most impressive structure.  Unfortunatley, not all the neighbors agree with the size and scope of the project.

Catholicism on the Northshore of New Orleans has seen larger worship spaces at Mary Queen of Peace Church, also in Mandeville and St. Anselm's in neighboring Madisonville.  Two parishes in Slidell that were damaged by Katrina are in or soon to be in much larger churches than before the hurricane struck.  Smaller church facilities with little or no room to expand are still growing in Catholic population so they have added more masses.  And several parishes have also had to hustle to accomodate the larger CCD registrations; a result of population growth and more students leaving Catholic schools due to the economy.

Our Northshore community is an amazingly vibrant area to be Catholic.  We are experiencing growing pains and I bet many Catholic communities would love to have our problem!