Aaron Neville has sung at the Super Bowl and on some of the most acclaimed stages around the world.

But a small, unassuming shrine in his native New Orleans is where Neville gives his most heartfelt performances. For it was there where he got his life back in order.

“Aaron Neville attributes a
personal healing to the Shrine of
St. Jude,” says Fr. Tony Rigoli, O.M.I. the present pastor at the shrine which has been operated by the Missionary Oblates since 1918. “He has a great love for this place.”

Neville was born in 1941 in the Calliope Housing Project, a notoriously violent neighborhood not too far from the shrine. Neville’s mother, Amelia, was a devout Catholic who regularly brought Aaron and his three brothers to pray to St. Jude at the shrine run by the Missionary Oblates.

Neville also attended the nearby St. Monica School. The nuns who ran the school received death threats from the Ku Klux Klan for teaching African American kids. Neville said the nuns taught him the importance of caring for others and how to express love.

As a young child Aaron enjoyed attending church and Catholic school. But as a teenager he lost interest in religion as his life began to spiral out of control. He started smoking marijuana in junior high, and his substance abuse escalated to heroin in high school. He stole cars and robbed jewelry stores.

Music was a way for Aaron and his brothers to escape their personal hardships. They were active in the New Orleans music scene and achieved some minor success. Then in 1966 Aaron recorded Tell It Like It Is. The single burst up the national charts and eventually became a number one hit. Aaron Neville was a star at age 25.

But his success was short-lived. The record company went broke before Neville ever got paid for his hit song. Years of drug abuse and chronic depression would follow. He hit rock bottom.

“I was pumped but too crazy to handle it all. My mind was a traffic jam,” Neville explains.

Eventually the singer decided that he had to transform his life. He had to find a place where he could rediscover the goodness of God and the power of prayer. That place turned out to be St. Jude Shrine back in his old neighborhood.

At the shrine Neville spent hours in prayer. He felt a special relationship with St. Jude, the patron saint of lost causes and desperate situations. He was lost and desperate, and credits the time he spent in prayer at the shrine for healing him.

“One of my memories of Aaron at that time was that he had a quiet presence at St. Jude’s,” says Fr. Ray John Marek, O.M.I. who worked at the shrine and became a friend of Neville. “The people in the community at St. Jude’s looked up to him, not because of his fame, but because of his story, his struggle and his living past the struggle.”

Neville reunited with his siblings, and the Neville Brothers began producing successful albums during the 1980s. They signed with two major record labels and started to gain national recognition.

In gratitude for helping to turn his life around, Neville gathered some of his musical friends from New Orleans and recorded an album of prayers and hymns during two Midnight Masses at the shrine. All of the proceeds and artist royalties from the album, Midnight at St. Jude’s, were donated to the St. Jude’s Community Center located across the street from the shrine. Today, the center still provides a variety of social programs for the poor and needy people of the area.

Neville re-launched his solo career and in 1989 he teamed with Linda Ronstadt to record Don’t Know Much. The song was a huge hit and earned Neville a Grammy Award for best Pop Vocal Group. He would win three more Grammy Awards and receive 16 nominations.

As his fame and fortune grew, Neville became determined not to return to the destructive lifestyle of his past. He remained committed to his Catholic faith and prayer life. He dedicated each of his albums to St. Jude. One of his earrings is a St. Jude medal. During his concerts Neville has handed out tens of thousands of free rosaries to his fans.

“I always tell people I want to see the world through Jesus’ eyes, and I want people to see Him in me,” says Neville.

While Neville doesn’t consider himself a preacher, his music has touched the souls of people around the world for many years. He has received letters from social workers in Britain who use his music as“spiritual medicine” for patients dealing with depression. At the acclaimed Betty Ford Clinic the staff sometimes uses his music to comfort people who are trying to overcome drug and alcohol addiction.

In 2005 Neville’s music was a source of comfort for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Neville lost his own home in the storm. Father Marek had blessed the home when it was built as a favor for Neville and his wife, Joel.

“They were very hospitable and down-to-earth, inviting me to pull up a stool and visit for a bit,” says Fr. Marek. “That blessing was an honor I won’t forget.”

Because of his strong faith Neville was able to see the hurricane not just as a personal tragedy for him and the people of New Orleans, but also as a blessing.

“This was a strange moment in my career,” says Neville. “My profile and the profiles of my brothers were raised by the storm. People all over the world saw us as the face of New Orleans. They wanted to hear us play. They wanted to feel that we’ve survived the storm. They wanted to be assured that life goes on.”

Aaron and Joel temporarily relocated to Tennessee after Katrina. Soon after the relocation Neville suffered an even greater tragedy than the loss of his home, when his beloved Joel passed away.

“Joel was a real source of strength through all the difficulties and hard times. She was very petite, but she had a heart as big as Aaron,” says Fr. Marek. “I think it’s God’s grace and St. Jude’s intercession that gave Aaron the fortitude to weather the loss of his wife and his beloved city.”

Neville continues to perform around the world. His legacy is secure as one of the most influential singers of his generation. But he still finds time to get back to St. Jude Shrine to pray, offer thanks and remember what is truly important in life.

Father Rigoli says Neville usually comes during the novena season to sing at one of the Masses. It’s a big thrill for the people of St. Jude’s.

“I know that the people in the community recognize the grace that is working in Aaron’s life is also working and active in their own lives and struggles as well,” explains Fr. Marek. “Knowing Aaron’s journey gives the people strength for their own ups and downs.”

Aaron Neville is a man of contrast. He has the multi-tattooed body of a football player, yet sings with a gentle and angelic voice. His past is littered with violence and destruction, but now he gives freely of his time and energy to help those who are less fortunate. Aaron Neville is today in a good place.

“I feel more than an earthly love,” he says. “I feel the force of God, the spirit of all love.”