Celebration provides opportunities to thank public servants
By Jared Janes
The Advocate
Copyright 2007 Capital City Press
All Rights Reserved
Outside St. Joseph Cathedral on Sunday afternoon, words of appreciation flowed.
Well-wishers crowded law enforcement officials to shake hands, say thanks and offer praise.
It was acknowledgement for the first responders that, for whatever reason, doesn’t come often enough, Mayor Kip Holden said as he stood outside the cathedral.
Lisa Metternich stood outside the cathedral’s thick doors, her eyes shielded from the sun.
Metternich was among the estimated 200 people celebrating a Blue Mass in recognition of the work of public safety personnel.
Metternich, the widow of motorcycle officer Cpl. Chris Metternich, who was killed on duty in August when a driver pulled in front of his motorcycle, called the service beautiful.
She said words of thanks were needed — and appreciated — for the first responders.
“They don’t hear it enough,” she said.
Police Chief Jeff LeDuff, pausing to talk with residents, said his thoughts during the service were with the three officers who died on duty since 2004 and with his active-duty personnel.
He said he hopes the Mass will become an annual event in Baton Rouge. The countrywide tradition, usually sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, began in Baltimore in 1934.
During a reception after the service, East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff Greg Phares and Baton Rouge Fire Chief Ed Smith both said the recognition is appreciated.
First responders by nature don’t seek praise for the jobs they do, Smith said.
The last two years have been stressful for first responders in Louisiana in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, in addition to the everyday stress of the job, Constable Reginald Brown Sr. said.
For the dozens of first responders who attended the service, the small crosses they received as the service ended didn’t mean as much as the sticker on the back saying, “With gratitude for your service,” Brown said.
“It’s not the material things you give that fuels people,” Brown said. “It’s the words you give them.”
Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who attended the service, asked people to not take first responders’ work for granted.
Blanco proclaimed Sunday as Public Safety Officers Day in Louisiana; Holden declared it Blue Mass Day for the city-parish.
As law enforcement officers, firefighters, troops and other safety personnel emptied the first seven pews of the cathedral, they were greeted with a standing ovation that Bishop Robert Muench said was a “spontaneous, natural response.”
“‘Thank you’ are two words that really can’t express our full appreciation for the job they do every day,” Holden said.
For the first responders gathered at the cathedral, it was enough.