Natchez &8212; With his home, workplace and job washed away in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the Rev. Brendan Murphy shared the pain and frustration felt by many thousands of others displaced by the Aug. 29 storm.

A Catholic priest who had arrived only two weeks before in Bay St. Louis to begin work at the historic St. Augustine Seminary and retreat center, Murphy, a member of the Society of the Divine Word, has found both refuge and purpose in a new life in Natchez.

His journey began in his hometown of Dublin, Ireland, and now has brought him to assist the Rev. David O&8217;Connor, pastor of St. Mary Basilica and Assumption Catholic Church.

Saturday before the Monday storm, Murphy traveled to a small Catholic church about 10 miles from St. Augustine, taking only what he needed for an overnight stay.

&8220;The priest at this little church found himself in need. I went to take his place,&8221; Murphy said. &8220;I didn&8217;t even preach about the storm. But I noticed all the infants were kicking up. The parents said the children must feel the threat of the storm.&8221;

On Sunday, he prepared to return to St. Augustine. &8220;The church secretary said, &8216;wouldn&8217;t you want to stay,&8217; but I set out,&8221; he said. &8220;Then I realized I had the keys to the church. I turned back. I said, &8216;Lord, I&8217;ll take the clue. I&8217;ll stay.&8217;&8221;

Two other priests came to the small church to take shelter from the approaching storm.

&8220;I saw partial roofs blowing away and sheets of metal blowing over,&8221; he said.

He went to the garage to look outside at the car the two priests had used for the trip and had left parked outside. &8220;The garage door started to buckle. I heard a whoosh. I backed quickly back. I really thought that was the end,&8221; he said. &8220;It was quite something to watch the way the grass was blowing and trees were bending.&8221;

He remained two days at the church and then started back to Bay St. Louis. A law enforcement officer stopped him, however, and told him the Bay St. Louis area was destroyed.

&8220;I said, &8216;you mean everyone was killed?&8217; He said yes.&8221;

He turned north toward Jackson and went to the priests&8217; house there to figure out what he would do next. He talked to the Most Rev. Joseph Latino, bishop of the Jackson Diocese. He called his superiors in the Society of the Divine Word.

&8220;I knew I needed to be useful,&8221; Murphy said.

&8220;I saw the frustration of people who lost everything from Katrina. I felt that pain and frustration myself. I was recuperating from that experience but didn&8217;t have a job. Even a priest feels that kind of loss.&8221;

He visited Natchez for a few days a few weeks ago.

&8220;I could see with two churches, a school and many activities, it was a lot for one priest.&8221;

Murphy has no job description, but he knows his work will be different from what he usually does.

&8220;This is a deviation for me since I usually work with African Americans,&8221; he said. &8220;I feel very welcome here, and there is lots of work to do. I&8217;m more than happy to be involved.&8221;

His Natchez position has no set timeframe. However, he told his society he &8220;didn&8217;t want to stay a short period of time, at least a year or two.&8221;

Meanwhile, St. Augustine, with a new retreat center only recently completed, stands virtually empty and perhaps in ruin.

&8220;A man and his wife donated the $4 million for the new retreat center. It got eight feet of water. I&8217;m told it may have to be pulled down because of mold,&8221; Murphy said.

Still, with its unique history, St. Augustine will remain and reopen, Murphy said. Society of the Divine Word, founded in 1875, took an early interest in serving African Americans in the South.

In 1923, the society opened the seminary at Bay St. Louis to train African-American men for priesthood. The first four were ordained there in 1934. The property includes a historic cemetery.

Murphy joined the order in 1959. For the five years leading up to that he worked as an auto mechanic in Dublin. He had left school at about age 15 and was approaching 20.

He was working on an engine when the image came to him of his helping a priest whose car had broken down as he traveled to a mission in Africa.

He thought how he really would like to repair that car in Africa. Then he wondered, &8220;Why not go there as a priest?&8221;

It is only one of hundreds of stories about his decision to enter the priesthood, he said. But it sent him to a priest friend to talk about it.

&8220;He put me in touch with another priest, who suggested that if I was thinking of being a missionary I should find a missionary order.&8221; He did.

After two years at a school for accelerated study in Wales, Murphy moved back to Ireland for two years of spiritual training before coming to the United States for undergraduate and graduate school.

He holds a master&8217;s degree in counseling and a master of divinity degree.

Now in Natchez, there are many possibilities. &8220;I&8217;ll do whatever will benefit the community,&8221; he said.