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Tragedy Is My Parish: Working for God in the Streets of New Orleans
Catholic priest Father Peter Rogers, pastor of the historic Our Lady of Guadalupe Church and chaplain of the New Orleans police and fire departments, describes his experiences
165 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 1979
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 2, 2025
2.5 stars. This book was so close to being a hidden gem from the history of New Orleans (my hometown), but the first half is marred by banal stories of a bungling priest interspaced with brief moments of action that are written like 1950s TV police procedurals: “Jeez, Cap—it’s a screwed up deal.” “He’s that no-goodnik who used to hustle young broads.” “Jeez, padre. Willya tell them guys to get off my ass!” Those are actual bits of dialogue from the book. Ironically, Rogers spends one section explaining how police work isn't like the movies/TV/pop culture portrayals.
I read this because I saw there was a first-hand account of the infamous “New Orleans sniper” from 1973 at the downtown Howard Johnson hotel. I had always heard stories about the incident, but not much has been written on it. The Howard Johnson sniper isn’t even the highlight of the book, since the details are thin beyond what Rogers himself witnessed. Rogers was famous for talking suicidal people down off ledges, and the best parts of the book are his memories of these incidents which are raw and real – a far cry from the corny police procedural opening chapters. Besides the New Orleans sniper, there are chapters on the infamous plane crash in 1967 that killed nine Wisconsin high school students in a hotel near the airport and the time a car drove down Bourbon, striking tens of pedestrians.
That last incident included a story that epitomizes New Orleans: a nurse from Chicago who happened to be visiting Bourbon St. that night began administering aid to victims along with Rogers. She placed her purse down to do her Good Samaritan work. When she was finished, her purse had been stolen.
New Orleans has always been a rough place, despite its reputation as a carefree party town, and this book could have been much darker, but Rogers kept a sense of hope and optimism. His final chapter revealed how in this brutal city filled with pain, suffering, violence, and death, he managed to keep his hope in humanity. It's a feeling I could never muster either growing up in that city or after moving away.
I read this because I saw there was a first-hand account of the infamous “New Orleans sniper” from 1973 at the downtown Howard Johnson hotel. I had always heard stories about the incident, but not much has been written on it. The Howard Johnson sniper isn’t even the highlight of the book, since the details are thin beyond what Rogers himself witnessed. Rogers was famous for talking suicidal people down off ledges, and the best parts of the book are his memories of these incidents which are raw and real – a far cry from the corny police procedural opening chapters. Besides the New Orleans sniper, there are chapters on the infamous plane crash in 1967 that killed nine Wisconsin high school students in a hotel near the airport and the time a car drove down Bourbon, striking tens of pedestrians.
That last incident included a story that epitomizes New Orleans: a nurse from Chicago who happened to be visiting Bourbon St. that night began administering aid to victims along with Rogers. She placed her purse down to do her Good Samaritan work. When she was finished, her purse had been stolen.
New Orleans has always been a rough place, despite its reputation as a carefree party town, and this book could have been much darker, but Rogers kept a sense of hope and optimism. His final chapter revealed how in this brutal city filled with pain, suffering, violence, and death, he managed to keep his hope in humanity. It's a feeling I could never muster either growing up in that city or after moving away.
February 6, 2017
Memoirs that give insight into the varied experiences of a Roman Catholic fire/police chaplain.
July 4, 2014
Lots of details about local tragedies that I had not recalled.
June 19, 2018
This isn't a review, yet. I knew Father Rogers, the wonderful priest and fire chaplain. He was at St Jude on Rampart St and he was so good to my grandmother and me. I ordered this book from Amazon and am eager to read it.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews