Holy Family Sisters plan 22-acre community solar project in Louisiana
Earthbeat: A Project of National Catholic Reporter, Kevin Fitzpatrick, June 12, 2024
East of the French Quarter or the Central Business District of New Orleans, drivers on the I-10 encounter a steep bridge crossing the Industrial Canal that connects Lake Pontchartrain to the Mississippi River. I-10 Veers left at the bottom of the bridge, then a slight right leads to Chef Menteur (“Big Liar”) Highway, a road best known for pill mills, staged accidents with semitrailers, human trafficking and sex work.
It’s there you’ll also find the property of the Sisters of the Holy Family, which Sr. Alicia Costa, superior of the religious order, describes as “an oasis in the midst of the craziness.” And the property recently caught the attention of Pope Francis.
In addition to the motherhouse where the sisters feed people - including sex workers and boxcar sojourners who emerge from the railyard - from their own kitchen seven days a week, plans for a community solar project on the 22 acres offer a new way to support the surrounding community.
“This is part of our mission to help the poor,” Costa said. “How do we continue to do that as things are changing through time?”
