The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans ( la, Archidioecesis Novae Aureliae, french: Archidiocèse de la Nouvelle-Orléans, es, Arquidiócesis de Nueva Orleans) is an
ecclesiastical division of the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
spanning
Jefferson Jefferson may refer to:
Names
* Jefferson (surname)
* Jefferson (given name)
People
* Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States
* Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...
(except
Grand Isle),
Orleans,
Plaquemines,
St. Bernard,
St. Charles,
St. John the Baptist,
St. Tammany, and
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
civil
parishes of southeastern
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
. It is the second to the
Archdiocese of Baltimore
The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Baltimore ( la, link=no, Archidiœcesis Baltimorensis) is the premier (or first) see of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the United States. The archdiocese comprises the City of Baltimore and nine of M ...
in age among the present dioceses in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, having been elevated to the rank of diocese on April 25, 1793, during
Spanish colonial rule.
Its
patron saints
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person.
I ...
are the virgin Mary under the title of
Our Lady of Prompt Succor
Our Lady of Prompt Succor () is a Roman Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with a wooden devotional image of the Madonna and Child enshrined in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States of America. The image is closely associate ...
and
St. Louis, King of France, and
Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis
The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, also known as the Saint Louis Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church located in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. Completed in 1914, it is the mother church of the A ...
is its
mother church
Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral or a metro ...
with
St. Patrick's Church serving as a
pro-cathedral
A pro-cathedral or procathedral is a parish church that temporarily serves as the cathedral or co-cathedral of a diocese, or a church that has the same function in a Catholic missionary jurisdiction (such as an apostolic prefecture or apostoli ...
. The archdiocese has 137 church parishes administered by 387 priests (including those belonging to
religious institutes), 187 permanent deacons, 84 brothers, and 432 sisters. There are 372,037 Catholics on the census of the archdiocese, 36% of the total population of the area. The current head of the archdiocese is
Archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
Gregory Michael Aymond
Gregory Michael Aymond (born November 12, 1949) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He became the fourteenth archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans, Archdiocese of New Orleans in Louisiana on June 12, 2009. ...
.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans reflects the
cultural diversity
Cultural diversity is the quality of diverse or different cultures, as opposed to monoculture, the global monoculture, or a homogenization of cultures, akin to cultural evolution. The term "cultural diversity" can also refer to having different c ...
of the city of New Orleans and the surrounding (civil) parishes. As a major port, the city has attracted
immigrants
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...
from around the world. When French and Spanish Catholics ruled the city, some encouraged
enslaved African
African or Africans may refer to:
* Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa:
** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa
*** Ethn ...
s to adopt
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
, resulting in a large population of
African American Catholics with deep heritage in the area. Later,
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
,
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
,
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
,
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
n, and other immigrants have brought their heritage and customs to the archdiocese. The last quarter of the 20th century also brought many
Vietnamese Catholics
Vietnamese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia
** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam.
* Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam
** Over ...
from
South Vietnam to settle in the city. New waves of immigrants from
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
,
Honduras,
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
and
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
also have added to the Catholic population.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans is also a metropolitan see of a province that spans the entire
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of Louisiana. Its
suffragan sees are the
Diocese of Alexandria,
Diocese of Baton Rouge
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge (Latin ''Dioecesis Rubribaculensis''; French ''Diocèse de Bâton-Rouge''; Spanish: ''Diócesis de Baton Rouge'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church spanning Asc ...
,
Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux,
Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana,
Diocese of Lake Charles, and
Diocese of Shreveport.
History
![First Parish Church of St Louis New Orleans 1726](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/First_Parish_Church_of_St_Louis_New_Orleans_1726.jpg)
The
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
has had a presence in
since before the
founding of the city by the
French in 1718. Missionaries served the French military outposts and worked among the native peoples. The area was then under the jurisdiction of the
Bishop of Quebec. In 1721 Fr. Francis-Xavier de Charlevoix, S.J., made a tour of New France from the Lakes to the Mississippi, and visiting New Orleans, he describes "a little village of about one hundred cabins dotted here and there, a large wooden warehouse in which I said Mass, a chapel in course of construction and two storehouses".
[Points, Marie Louise. "New Orleans." The Catholic Encyclopedia]
Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. November 19, 2017
In 1722 the
Capuchins
Capuchin can refer to:
*Order of Friars Minor Capuchin
The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from t ...
were assigned ecclesiastical responsibility for the Lower Mississippi Valley, while the
Jesuits
The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
maintained a mission, based in New Orleans, to serve the indigenous peoples. The Jesuit vicar-general returned to France to recruit priests and also persuaded the Ursulines of Rouen to assume charge of a hospital and school. The royal patent authorizing the Ursulines to found a convent in Louisiana was issued September 18, 1726. Ten religious from various cities sailed from
Hennebont
Hennebont (; ) is a commune in the Morbihan department in the region of Brittany in north-western France.
Geography
Hennebont is situated about ten miles from the mouth of the River Blavet, which divides it into two parts: the ''Ville Close'' ...
on January 12, 1727, and reached New Orleans on August 6. As the convent was not ready, the governor gave up his residence to them. They opened a hospital for the care of the sick and a school for poor children.
[
France surrendered New Orleans and the rest of ]Louisiana Territory
The Territory of Louisiana or Louisiana Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1805, until June 4, 1812, when it was renamed the Missouri Territory. The territory was formed out of the ...
west of the Mississippi to the Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
under the Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France:
Treaties
1200s and 1300s
* Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade
* Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France
* Trea ...
of 1763. From then until 1783, East Florida and West Florida were under British control, but both Florida colonies reverted to Spain as part of the Peace of Paris in 1783. Pope Pius VI erected the Diocese of Louisiana and the Two Floridas encompassing the pioneer parishes of New Orleans and Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
and both Florida colonies on April 25, 1793, taking its territory from the Diocese of San Cristobal de la Habana, based in Havana, Cuba. The diocese originally encompassed the entire territory of the Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...
, from the Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
to British North America
British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English overseas possessions, English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland (island), Newfound ...
, as well as the Florida peninsula and the Gulf Coast
The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coast, coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The list of U.S. states and territories by coastline, coastal states that have a shor ...
.[ This date of erection makes the present Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans the second oldest Catholic diocese in the present United States after the ]Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore
The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Baltimore ( la, link=no, Archidiœcesis Baltimorensis) is the premier (or first) see of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the United States. The archdiocese comprises the City of Baltimore and nine of M ...
, which the same pope had erected as the Diocese of Baltimore on November 6, 1789. The new diocese encompassed the area claimed by Spain as Luisiana
Luisiana, officially the Municipality of Luisiana ( tgl, Bayan ng Luisiana), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 20,859 people.
Locals call the town ''Little ...
, which was all the land draining into the Mississippi River from the west, as well as Spanish territory to the east of the river in modern-day Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
, Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
, and Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
In April 1803, the United States purchased Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
from France, which had in 1800 forced Spain to retrocede the territory in the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso
The Third Treaty of San Ildefonso was a secret agreement signed on 1 October 1800 between the Spanish Empire and the French Republic by which Spain agreed in principle to exchange its North American colony of Louisiana for territories in Tuscany ...
. The United States took formal possession of New Orleans on December 20, 1803, and of Upper Louisiana
Upper may refer to:
* Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot
* Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both
* ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found fo ...
on March 10, 1804. John Carroll John Carroll may refer to:
People Academia and science
*Sir John Carroll (astronomer) (1899–1974), British astronomer
*John Alexander Carroll (died 2000), American history professor
*John Bissell Carroll (1916–2003), American cognitive sci ...
, the Bishop of Baltimore, served as apostolic administrator
An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...
of the diocese from 1805 to 1812. The diocese became a suffragan of the see of Baltimore, which had been elevated to a metropolitan archdiocese in 1808, during this period. Archbishop Carroll's successor as apostolic administrator would eventually be the diocese's first resident bishop of the 19th century.
In 1823, Pope Pius VII
Pope Pius VII ( it, Pio VII; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. Chiaramonti was also a m ...
appointed Joseph Rosati
Joseph Rosati (30 January 1789 – 25 September 1843) was an Italian-born Catholic missionary to the United States who served as the first bishop of the Diocese of Saint Louis between 1826 and 1843. A member of the Congregation of the Mission, ...
to the office of coadjutor bishop
A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co ...
of the diocese. At the diocesan bishop's suggestion, the diocesan bishop was based in New Orleans while his coadjutor was based in St. Louis.
On 19 August 1825, Pope Leo XII
Pope Leo XII ( it, Leone XII; born Annibale Francesco Clemente Melchiorre Girolamo Nicola della Genga (; 2 August 1760 – 10 February 1829), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 28 September 1823 to his death ...
erected the Apostolic Vicariate of Alabama and the Floridas, taking its territory from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisiana and the Two Floridas. Although the two Florida territories were no longer part of the diocese, he did not change its title. But soon after, Bishop Rosati abruptly resigned the office of coadjutor bishop during a trip to Rome after which the Vatican decided to split the diocese again, making St. Louis a separate see. On 18 July 1826, the same pope
* Erected the Diocese of St. Louis, taking its territory from the Diocese of Louisiana and the Two Floridas and the Diocese of Durango,
* Erected the Apostolic Vicariate of Mississippi, taking its territory from the Diocese of Louisiana and the Two Floridas,
* Changed the title of the Diocese of Louisiana and the Two Floridas to Diocese of New Orleans, and
* Appointed Bishop Rosati as apostolic administrator of both the Diocese of New Orleans and the new Diocese of St. Louis.
On 19 July 1850, Pope Pius IX erected the Apostolic Vicariate of the Indian Territory East of the Rocky Mountains. On the same day, he elevated the Diocese of New Orleans to a metropolitan archdiocese.
On 29 July 1953, Pope Pius IX erected the Diocese of Natchitoches, taking its territory from the archdiocese and making it a suffragan of the same metropolitan see.
On 11 January 1918, Pope Benedict XV
Pope Benedict XV (Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His ...
erected the Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana, taking its territory from the archdiocese making it a suffragan of the same metropolitan see.
On 22 July 1961, Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...
erected the Diocese of Baton Rouge
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge (Latin ''Dioecesis Rubribaculensis''; French ''Diocèse de Bâton-Rouge''; Spanish: ''Diócesis de Baton Rouge'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church spanning Asc ...
, taking its territory from the archdiocese and making it a suffragan of the same metropolitan see.
On 2 March 1977, Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...
erected the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, taking its territory from the archdiocese and making it a suffragan of the same metropolitan see.
In its long history, the archdiocese and the city of New Orleans have survived several major disasters, including several citywide fires, a British invasion
The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on ...
, the American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, multiple yellow fever epidemics, anti-immigration
Opposition to immigration, also known as anti-immigration, has become a significant political ideology in many countries. In the modern sense, immigration refers to the entry of people from one state or territory into another state or territory ...
and anti-Catholicism
Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics or opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and/or its adherents. At various points after the Reformation, some majority Protestant states, including England, Prussia, Scotland, and the Uni ...
, the New Orleans Hurricane of 1915
The New Orleans Hurricane of 1915 was an intense Category 4 hurricane that made landfall near Grand Isle, Louisiana, and the most intense tropical cyclone during the 1915 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm formed in late September when it moved ...
, Segregation Segregation may refer to:
Separation of people
* Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space
* School segregation
* Housing segregation
* Racial segregation, separation of humans ...
, Hurricane Betsy, and an occasional financial crisis, not to mention Hurricane Katrina. Each time, the archdiocese rebuilt damaged churches and rendered assistance to the victims of every disaster. More recently, the church has faced an increased demand for churches in the suburbs and a decline in attendance to inner-city parishes. The church has also weathered changes within the Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, such as the Second Vatican Council
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...
, and changing spiritual values throughout the rest of the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.[Nolan, Charles E]
"A Brief History of the Archdiocese of New Orleans."
2001 May.
The archdiocese sustained severe damage from Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. Numerous churches and schools were flooded and battered by hurricane-force winds. In the more heavily flooded neighborhoods, such as St. Bernard Parish, many parish structures were wiped out entirely.[Finney, Peter]
"Devastation."
The Clarion Herald. 2005 Oct. 1. Vol. 44, No. 9.
Response to same-sex marriage
In early 2009, the state of Maine passed a law allowing same-sex civil marriage. In July 2009, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans contributed $2,000 of its money to a referendum campaign to overturn that law. According to Maine's "Commission on Governmental Ethics & Election Practices", the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland Maine spent over $553,000 to overturn the law. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans' $2,000 was part of that $553,000.
2019 sex abuse scandal and bankruptcy
As of 2019, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans has listed 81 clergy who were "credibly accused" of committing acts of sex abuse while they were serving in the archdiocese. Some settled lawsuits filed against them while one, Francis LeBlanc, was convicted in 1996.
On January 24, 2020, staff of the New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
admitted that the football team's Senior Vice President for Communications Greg Bensel "offered input on how to work with the media" to help the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans handle the sex abuse scandal. Bensel advised the archdiocese to "Be direct, open and fully transparent, while making sure that all law enforcement agencies were alerted." Bensel was among a number of community and civic leaders consulted by the archdiocese before releasing the accused clergy names in November 2018.
On December 12, 2019, former New Orleans deacon Greg Brignac, aged 84, was arrested on a warrant accusing him of multiple acts of abuse, including raping an altar boy he met while teaching at Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in the late 1970s. Brignac posted a $1 million bail, but didn't return home and was immediately hospitalized after breaking his back in jail. In June 2020, Brignac, who remained hospitalized since December 2019, died while still awaiting trial. In December 2020, details describing a history of Brignac's alleged abuse were made public.
On May 8, 2020, it was revealed that the leader of the board of directors for one of the archdiocese's various ministries resigned his post recently after claiming in a lawsuit against the church that he was molested by one of its priests decades ago. The plaintiff who spoke on anonymity, claimed he resigned under duress. The archdiocese, which mediated a settlement in 2019, had previously agreed to pay for expenses which the plaintiff paid for six years of counseling. However, the plaintiff filed his lawsuit on April 7, 2020, after claiming that he discovered that the priest who allegedly molested him, James Collery, had more victims. Collery died in 1987. The lawsuit also claimed that the plaintiff first reported the abuse in 2013.
On May 19, 2020, it was revealed that all surviving accused clergy who served in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans had their payments suspended as part of the bankruptcy settlement, though some were trying to get their payments reinstated. Among those who tried to restore payment was retired Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans priest Paul Calamari, who tried to get his pension reinstated by admitting to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Grabill on May 18, 2020, that he had a “failing” and a “sin” with a 17-year-old high school boy in 1973. On November 5, 2020, it was revealed that the Catholic Church paid one of Calamari's alleged victims $100,000 two years before deeming sex abuse allegations against him as credible. The father of alleged victim, known as Mark Vath, was also Calamari's cousin.
On August 19, 2020, Fr. Brian Highfill was added to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans' list of credibly accused clergy nearly two decades after his alleged actions of sex abuse were first reported against him. A trove of love letters which Highfill wrote to one of his victims, Scot Brander, in the 1980s backed allegations that he committed acts of sex abuse as well. Scot, who Highfill knew since the age of 10, later committed suicide, though his brother Michael Brander still pursued justice and preserved the love letters in a desk drawer. Despite indefinitely suspending Highfill from ministry in 2018, the archdiocese refused up to this point in time to deem sex abuse allegations against him as credible. It was noted that Highfill was the 64th name added to the original list of credibly accused clergy which had been released in 2018.
On October 23, 2020, archdiocesan priest Rev. Pat Wattigny was arrested in Georgia on a warrant issued by the St. Tammany Parish
St. Tammany Parish (french: Paroisse de Saint-Tammany) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana named after Tamanend, the legendary Lenape Chief of Chiefs and the "Patron Saint of America." At the 2020 census, the population was 2 ...
Sheriff's office. Wattingny was charged with four counts of molestation of a juvenile, stemming from alleged sexual abuse of a teenage boy which occurred while he was leading a church in Slidell. Wattigny allegedly confessed to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans that he had started sexually abusing his victim in 2013.
On May 1, 2020, it was announced that the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans had filed for chapter 11 Bankruptcy. The causes of the decision were said to be the mounting cost of litigation from sexual abuse cases and the unforeseen financial consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. The archdiocese, which had a $45 million budget, owed $38 million in bonds to creditors and was also facing more pending sex abuse lawsuits. The pending sex abuse lawsuits, which were suspended due to the bankruptcy filing, would likely result in the already financially struggling Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans losing millions of dollars more. On August 20, 2020, victims of sex abuse by clergy who served in the archdiocese filed a motion in court to dismiss the bankruptcy.
Bishops
Bishops of Louisiana and the Two Floridas
# Luis Ignatius Peñalver y Cárdenas
Luis Ignatius Peñalver y Cárdenas (3 April 1749 – 17 July 1810) was a Cuban Catholic Bishop of New Orleans, and Archbishop of Guatemala.
Biography
He was born in Havana, the son of a wealthy and noble family. After studying belles-l ...
(1795–1801), appointed Archbishop of Guatemala
# Francisco Porró y Reinado (disputed, 1801–1803), then appointed Bishop of Tarazona
The Diocese of Tarazona (Latin, ''Turiasonensis'') is a Roman Catholic bishopric located in north-eastern Spain, in the provinces of Zaragoza, Soria, Navarre and
La Rioja, forming part of the autonomous communities of Aragón, Castile-Leon, Nav ...
in Spain
# Louis-Guillaume DuBourg (1815–1825), appointed Bishop of Montauban
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Montauban (Latin: ''Dioecesis Montis Albani''; French: ''Diocèse de Montauban'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The diocese is coextensive with Tarn-et-Garonne, and is current ...
and later Archbishop of Besançon in France
- Joseph Rosati
Joseph Rosati (30 January 1789 – 25 September 1843) was an Italian-born Catholic missionary to the United States who served as the first bishop of the Diocese of Saint Louis between 1826 and 1843. A member of the Congregation of the Mission, ...
(coadjutor bishop 1823–1825, apostolic administrator 1826–1829); resigned as coadjutor bishop 1826, appointed first Bishop of St. Louis 1827
Bishops of New Orleans
# Leo-Raymond de Neckere (1830–1833)
- Auguste Jeanjean (appointed in 1834; resigned before assuming office)
# Antoine Blanc
Antoine Blanc (11 October 1792 – 20 June 1860) was the fifth Bishop and first Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans. His tenure, during which the diocese was elevated to an archdiocese, was at a time of growth in the city, ...
(1835–1850), elevated to Archbishop
Archbishops of New Orleans
# Antoine Blanc (1850–1860)
# Jean-Marie Odin
Jean-Marie Odin, C.M., (February 25, 1800 – May 25, 1870) was a French-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the second archbishop of the Archdiocese of New Orleans from 1861 to 1870.
Odin previously served as the first ...
(1861–1870)
# Napoléon-Joseph Perché (1870–1883)
# Francis Xavier Leray (1883–1887)
# Francis Janssens
Francis August Anthony Joseph Janssens (October 17, 1843 – June 9, 1897) was a Dutch-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Natchez in Mississippi (1881–1888) and as archbishop of the Archdiocese o ...
(1888–1897)
# Placide-Louis Chapelle (1897–1905)
# James Blenk
James Hubert Herbert Blenk, S.M. (July 28, 1856 – April 20, 1917) was a German American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Bishop of Puerto Rico (1899–1906) and Archbishop of New Orleans (1906–1917).
Biography
James B ...
, S.M. (1906–1917)
# John W. Shaw (1918–1934)
# Joseph F. Rummel (1935–1964)
# John P. Cody (1964–1965), appointed Archbishop of Chicago (elevated to Cardinal in 1967)
# Philip M. Hannan (1965–1989)
# Francis B. Schulte
Francis Bible Schulte, O.H.S. (December 23, 1926 – January 17, 2016) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of New Orleans in Louisiana from 1989 to 2002.
Schulte previously served ...
(1989–2002)
# Alfred C. Hughes
Alfred Clifton Hughes, KCHS (born December 2, 1932) is a retired American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the 13th archbishop of the Archdiocese of New Orleans in Louisiana from 2002 to 2009.
Hughes previously served as bisho ...
(2002–2009)
# Gregory M. Aymond (2009–present)
Current auxiliary bishops
* Fernand J. Cheri, OFM (2015–present)
Former auxiliary bishops
* Gustave Augustin Rouxel (1899–1908)
* John Laval
John Laval (September 21, 1854 – June 4, 1937) was an American bishop of the Catholic Church. He served as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New Orleans from 1911 to 1937.
Biography
Born in Saint-Étienne, Loire, France, Laval was ordained ...
(1911–1937)
* Louis Abel Caillouet (1947–1976)
* Harold R. Perry, SVD (1966–1991)
* Stanley Joseph Ott (1976–1983), appointed Bishop of Baton Rouge
* Robert William Muench
Robert William Muench (born December 28, 1942) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Muench served as bishop of the Diocese of Baton Rouge in Louisiana from 2002 to 2018. He previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Covington ...
(1990–1996), appointed Bishop of Covington and later Bishop of Baton Rouge
* Dominic Carmon, SVD (1993–2006)
* Gregory Michael Aymond
Gregory Michael Aymond (born November 12, 1949) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He became the fourteenth archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans, Archdiocese of New Orleans in Louisiana on June 12, 2009. ...
(1997–2000), appointed Coadjutor Bishop and later Bishop of Austin and Archbishop of New Orleans
* Roger Paul Morin (2003–2009), appointed Bishop of Biloxi
* Shelton Joseph Fabre (2007–2013), appointed Bishop of Houma-Thibodaux and later Archbishop of Louisville
Other priests of this diocese who became bishops
* Thomas Heslin, appointed Bishop of Natchez in 1889
* Cornelius Van de Ven, appointed Bishop of Natchitoches in 1904
* Jules Jeanmard
Jules Benjamin Jeanmard (August 15, 1879 – February 23, 1957), was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana from 1918 to 1956.
Biography Early life
Jules ...
, appointed Bishop of Lafayette in Louisiana in 1918
* Robert Emmet Tracy
Robert Emmet Tracy (September 14, 1909—April 4, 1980) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of Baton Rouge in Louisiana from 1961 to 1974. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of t ...
, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Lafayette in Louisiana in 1959 and later Bishop of Baton Rouge
* Joseph Gregory Vath Joseph Gregory Vath (March 12, 1918 – July 14, 1987) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic, Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama, Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama from ...
, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Mobile-Birmingham in 1966
* Gerard Louis Frey, appointed Bishop of Savannah
The Diocese of Savannah is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the southern United States comprising 90 of the southern counties of the state of Georgia. in 1967 and later Bishop of Lafayette in Louisiana
* William Donald Borders
William Donald Borders (October 9, 1913 – April 19, 2010) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the 13th Archbishop of Baltimore from 1974 to 1989, having previously served as the first Bishop of Orlando from 1968 to ...
, appointed Bishop of Orlando in 1968 and later Archbishop of Baltimore
The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Baltimore ( la, link=no, Archidiœcesis Baltimorensis) is the premier (or first) see of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the United States. The archdiocese comprises the City of Baltimore and nine of M ...
* John Clement Favalora, appointed Bishop of Alexandria
The Patriarch of Alexandria is the archbishop of Alexandria, Egypt. Historically, this office has included the designation "pope" (etymologically "Father", like "Abbot").
The Alexandrian episcopate was revered as one of the three major episco ...
in 1986 and later Bishop of Saint Petersburg and Archbishop of Miami
* Thomas John Rodi, appointed Bishop of Biloxi in 2001 and later Archbishop of Mobile
* Joseph Nunzio Latino appointed Bishop of Jackson in 2003
* Dominic Mai Luong
Dominic is a name common among Roman Catholics and other Latin-Romans as a male given name. Originally from the late Roman-Italic name "Dominicus", its translation means "Lordly", "Belonging to God" or "of the Master". Variations include: Domini ...
, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Orange in 2003
* John-Nhan Tran, appointed Auxiliary bishop of Atlanta in 2022
Landmarks
The best known church in the New Orleans Archdiocese is the historic St. Louis Cathedral fronting the Spanish Plaza de Armas, now Jackson Square, in the French Quarter
The French Quarter, also known as the , is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans (french: La Nouvelle-Orléans) was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old Sq ...
. This church was originally built in 1718, shortly after the founding of the city. The modest building was destroyed by fire several times before the current structure was built between 1789 and 1794 during the Spanish domination. During renovations to the cathedral between 1849 and 1851, St. Patrick's Church, the second-oldest parish in the city, served as the pro-cathedral
A pro-cathedral or procathedral is a parish church that temporarily serves as the cathedral or co-cathedral of a diocese, or a church that has the same function in a Catholic missionary jurisdiction (such as an apostolic prefecture or apostoli ...
of the archdiocese.
Parishes
The 108 parishes of the archdiocese are divided into 10 deaneries
A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...
.
Schools
There are 5 Roman Catholic colleges and over 20 high schools within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans. Many of the churches throughout the archdiocese have primary schools as well.
Previously Catholic schools were racially segregated
Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crimes against hum ...
. In 1962 there were 153 Catholic schools; that year the archdiocese began admitting black students into schools that did not admit them; that year about 200 black children attended the archdiocese's Catholic schools previously not reserved for black children. The desegregation occurred two years after public schools had integrated. Bruce Nolan of ''The Times Picayune
''The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate'' is an American newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana, since January 25, 1837. The current publication is the result of the 2019 acquisition of ''The Times-Picayune'' (itself a result of th ...
'' stated that because Catholic schools had a later desegregation, white liberal and African-American groups faced disappointment but that the integration had not produced as intense of a backlash.
Seminaries
*Notre Dame Seminary
Notre Dame Seminary is a Catholic seminary in New Orleans, Louisiana. It operates under the auspices of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.
It serves the other six Catholic dioceses of the Ecclesiastical Province of New Orleans, six additional dioces ...
* Saint Joseph Seminary College
Ecclesiastical province of New Orleans
:''See: List of the Catholic bishops of the United States#Province of New Orleans''
See also
* List of the Roman Catholic dioceses of the United States#Ecclesiastical province of New Orleans
* :Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans
Notes
References
External links
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans Official Site
**
* Nolan, Charles E
May 2001
Catholic Charities of New Orleans.
*
The Clarion Herald
'' the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.
* John and Kathleen DeMajo
Gallery of New Orleans Churches
including numerous Catholic Churches.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Catholic Archdiocese Of New Orleans
Religious organizations established in 1793
Christianity in New Orleans
1793 establishments in New Spain
Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020