DIOCESAN NEWS
09/04/09
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Native son of New Orleans installed
to head his home archdiocese
By Peter Finney Jr.
Catholic News Service
      NEW ORLEANS (CNS) — As a native New Orleanian, Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond had walked through the front doors of venerable St. Louis Cathedral hundreds of times as a seminarian, priest and auxiliary bishop.
      But as applause erupted inside a packed cathedral Aug. 20, he suddenly realized he was walking not only into the cathedral but also into history.
      Archbishop Aymond, 59, became the first New Orleans native to be installed as archbishop in the 216-year history of the local church since the formal establishment of the Diocese of Louisiana and the Floridas in 1793.
      Afterward, Archbishop Aymond was at a loss for words.
      “It’s just overwhelming,” he said in the cathedral rectory after the Mass. “I still can’t believe that I am the archbishop of New Orleans, but I think I am.”
      Inside the rectory, there was another equally amazing sight: The four living archbishops of New Orleans stood side by side, trading quips with each other.
      New Orleans is believed to be the only U.S. diocese ever to have four living archbishops:       Archbishop Philip M. Hannan, 96, who served from 1965 until he retired in December 1988; Archbishop Francis B. Schulte, 83, 1989-2002; Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes, 76, 2002-09; and Archbishop Aymond.
      “We’re going to have to go through this again for the fifth one,” Archbishop Schulte said with a laugh.
      Archbishop Aymond replied, “Am I dying sometime soon?”
      “No, you’ll still be here, I think,” Archbishop Schulte replied. “But the only one I’m sure of is Archbishop Hannan.”
      “He’ll probably bury all of us — hopefully, not at the same time,” Archbishop Aymond said.
      Until June 12, when Pope Benedict XVI appointed Archbishop Aymond to return to his hometown from the Diocese of Austin, Texas, New Orleans was unique among the major sees in the United States not to have had a native-born priest serve as its archbishop.
      After being led to the cathedra and receiving the crosier from Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the U.S., and his immediate predecessor, Archbishop Hughes, Archbishop Aymond referred to that bit of history in his homily.
      He mentioned that both the Clarion Herald, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, and The Times-Picayune daily newspaper reported his appointment with similar headlines: “Native son returns to lead archdiocese.”
      “In reading this, something immediately came to mind that was said by someone 2,000 years ago,” Archbishop Aymond said. “The prophet is accepted except in his own country.       So I would ask you to please be nice to me — my mother would want that.”
      And then he glanced over and saw Archbishops Hannan, Schulte and Hughes seated in chairs on the left side of the sanctuary.
      “From research we think that New Orleans is the only archdiocese with four active archbishops,” Archbishop Aymond said. “Which leads us to a very, very important question: Who’s really in charge?”
      He quickly added, “We won’t answer that question.”
      Archbishop Aymond, who grew up in the Gentilly section of New Orleans, was ordained a priest in 1975 and served most of his tenure in New Orleans teaching and then serving as rector-president at Notre Dame Seminary. He was ordained an auxiliary bishop of New Orleans in 1997 and was serving as executive director of the archdiocesan Department of Christian Formation in 2000 when he was named coadjutor bishop of Austin.
      During his time in Austin, Bishop Aymond oversaw the explosive growth in Catholic population, opened four schools, created a much-copied diocesan program for ensuring the protection of children and young people from sexual abuse, fostered vocations and spearheaded a capital campaign that wildly exceeded expectations.
      Acknowledging that the situation in the Archdiocese of New Orleans was far different from Austin because of the damage inflicted by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Archbishop Aymond referred to his episcopal motto — “God is faithful” — and urged local Catholics to cling to that promise.
      “In our 216 years we have faced many challenges — yellow fever epidemics, floods, hurricanes, fires,” Archbishop Aymond said.
      “As the people of God in the Archdiocese of New Orleans and as New Orleanians, we know of God’s fidelity and we know of his hope,” he said. “We always turn to God in rebuilding our faith and our community, and we are humbled by the generosity and prayerful support of so many in the United States when these challenges have faced us.”
      He warned that it is difficult to live lives of faith in “a time when societal structure and busy lives can squeeze God out of our lives.”
      “To express faith in God often is not politically correct,” he said. “Family life needs our quality time and attention. Some have been hurt by the church and have left our family of faith. Violence, crime and racism are sins that are present in our world and in our community. Human life is often not held as a precious gift of God.
      “Therefore, we must be a voice for the unborn, but also for the born, the poor, those with disabilities, those on death row, the terminally ill,” he said. “All of us together, as God’s people in the body of Christ, must face these challenges. Jesus, the good shepherd, needs us to be peacemakers.”END08/24/2009 11:41 AM ETCopyright (c) 2009 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

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