After viewing the photos in this gallery a member of the graduating class of 1977 wrote the following copyrighted poem which he sent to me.
A brief history---the school stood for weeks in floodwaters from a levee break following Katrina and will not reopen on this campus.

THE GRANDE DAME OF DAUPHINE
Robert W. Sturcken '77

So many years she stood her watch as mother to them all
The Brothers waited by her side as she watched each one grow tall
Not as tall as their dreams perhaps, but taller than they'd been
They entered her home as children but they left her halls as men.

The sun would rise on the river to awaken sleepy minds
The dew would turn to mist on the green fields they would find.
Those who got up early got to see the break of day
Golden beams of sunlight through the blue sky paved their way.

The levee was her high ground, it provided splendid view
of her gazebos and the grottos and some river boats there, too.
But these earthen berms would not withstand the waters of '05
Her home was now consumed but her spirit's still alive.

Marking the end of a journey comes the ringing of her bell
Each who traveled with her has come to know her well.
Tears of sadness, smiles of joy on the faces as they leave
Before their shadows fully fade a new batch she'd conceive.

Long into the future she'll shape their silent thoughts
She lives down deep inside their soul as well as in their hearts
Each is proud of her tradition she is tender, strong and true
Dreams still imbued with color, they see streams of gold and blue.

"The Holy Cross Man is a refined gentlmean who lives by faith."
It is by this faith in God that we rest assured that the Grande Dame lives on.
While her long time home was a beautiful piece of our collective history, it does not define her or the indefinable spirit within us.
Robert Sturcken