LA Residents Hold Symbolic Funeral for Katrina

Hundreds of mourners attended a symbolic funeral for Hurricane Katrina on Sunday—hoping to bury the pain and help battered Louisiana residents move on. Letters, pictures, and cards were placed in a casket, and Our Lady of Prompt Succor in Chalmette celebrated a Mass for Katrina. Funeral director Floyd W. Herty Jr. planned the service, saying “I’ve been a funeral director all my adult life, and I know the power the service has to let people begin healing.” Other events were held to mark the grim anniversary—President Obama will speak at Xavier University, and a march and healing ceremony are scheduled for tonight in the Lower 9th Ward, the section of New Orleans devastated by the hurricane. In New Orleans, St. Louis Cathedral will toll its bells for the victims and a candlelight ceremony is planned for Jackson Square.