Msgr. James Hannon dies on coast OCEAN SPRINGS — Msgr. James Joseph Hannon, 88, died March 16 in Ocean Springs.
A native of Ireland, Msgr. Hannon, arrived in Mississippi in March 1946 for his first assignment at Nativity Parish in Biloxi. He served as assistant pastor or as pastor at Our Lady of Victories, Pascagoula; Our Lady of the Gulf, Bay St. Louis; and at St. Alphonsus in Ocean Springs.
In 1951 he was appointed chancellor for the Diocese of Jackson. In the dioceses of Natchez, Natchez-Jackson, and Biloxi Msgr. Hannon held several positions on the diocesan level and served on various committees, including consultor, defensor vinculi, and member of religious education committees.
He was director of the Society of the Propagation of Faith, the Legion of Decency, and the Friends of Catholic University, and was the Sacred Liturgy and Music Committee chair. He did extensive work with the Tribunal Office and served as Dean Episcopal Vicar and dean for numerous terms, and as Pascagoula’s Port Chaplain.
Msgr. Hannon retired in 1989. At the time of his death he was living in Ocean Springs.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 19, at St. Alphonsus Church. Burial took place at Evergreen Cemetery in Ocean Springs.
