Buffalo-born priest in New Orleans reacts to terror attack
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — As we continue to follow the latest developments in New Orleans after the New Year’s Day terror attack, WIVB News 4 reached out to one Buffalo-born priest who now calls New Orleans home.
Father Tony Rigoli used to lead Holy Angels Church on Porter Avenue. Now a New Orleans resident, he said the city is still in a state of shock and fear.
“It was quite a shock because we’ve been through a lot here. We really have,” said Rigoli, who leads the Shrine of St. Jude just four blocks from Bourbon Street. “We live in an area where it’s surrounded by hospitals, there’s a police station, a fire department and there’s always ambulances so I didn’t make any big thing of it.”
It wasn’t long before he learned what happened.
“When I got up, I didn’t look at the news and I was going to celebrate mass and people started saying did you hear what happened and then I found out that the terrorist attack had taken place,” Rigoli said.
Along with formerly leading Holy Angels Church, Rigoli was also the priest at St. Rose of Lima Church in North Buffalo and was the chaplain at D’Youville University. He then left for New Orleans in 2002, just a few years before Hurricane Katrina.
“If you look through its history, it’s always gone through a lot of hurdles, but they always came and rose above it. They really did,” Rigoli said.
And Rigoli said New Orleans, much like Buffalo after tragedy, will come back stronger yet again.
“As much as we’re in pain for the people that have lost lives, their families, and there’s still about 30 people that are still in the hospital trying to recover, we’re still hoping and praying for them. But at the same time, looking towards not giving up,” Rigoli said.
According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Pope Francis said he too is praying for those directly impacted by the attack.
Rigoli said this upcoming Monday there will be a meeting among priests and counselors in New Orleans to talk more about how to comfort parishioners who have been traumatized by the terror attack.
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Jeff Preval is an award-winning anchor and reporter who joined the News 4 team in December 2021. See more of his work here.
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