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 (except Grand Isle), Orleans,

Plaquemines Plaquemines Parish (; French: ''Paroisse de Plaquemine'', Louisiana French: ''Paroisse des Plaquemines'', es, Parroquia de Caquis) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 23,515 at the 2020 census, the parish ...

, St. Bernard, St. Charles,

St. John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

, St. Tammany, and Washington civil parishes of southeastern

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...

. 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 Ma ...

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 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, having been elevated to the rank of diocese on April 25, 1793, during Spanish colonial rule. Its patron saints are the virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Prompt Succor and

St. Louis, King of France Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the d ...

, and Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis 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 metr ...

with St. Patrick's Church serving as a pro-cathedral. The archdiocese has 137 church parishes administered by 387 priests (including those belonging to

religious institute A religious institute is a type of institute of consecrated life in the Catholic Church whose members take religious vows and lead a life in community with fellow members. Religious institutes are one of the two types of institutes of consecra ...

s), 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

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 Archdiocese of New Orleans in Louisiana on June 12, 2009. Aymond had previously served as bishop o ...

. 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 cu ...

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, ...

from around the world. When French and Spanish Catholics ruled the city, some encouraged enslaved Africans to adopt

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesu ...

, resulting in a large population of African American Catholics with deep heritage in the area. Later, Irish, Italian, Polish,

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 l ...

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 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 Guate ...

, Honduras,

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean Sea, Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to ...

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 of Louisiana. Its suffragan sees are the

Diocese of Alexandria The Patriarchate of Alexandria is the office and jurisdiction of the bishop of Alexandria in Egypt, referred to since 531 as Patriarch of Alexandria. It originated from Mark the Evangelist and developed until the Council of Chalcedon in 451 when it ...

, Diocese of Baton Rouge,

Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

, Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana, Diocese of Lake Charles, and

Diocese of Shreveport The Diocese of Shreveport ( la, Dioecesis Sreveportuensis in Louisiana) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church covering the parishes of northern Louisiana. The largest cities in the diocese are Shreveport, M ...

History

First Parish Church of St Louis New Orleans 1726

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

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

founding of the city by the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

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 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 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 th ...

west of the Mississippi to the Spanish under the Treaty of Paris 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

and both Florida colonies on April 25, 1793, taking its territory from the Diocese of San Cristobal de la Habana, based in

Havana, Cuba Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

. 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 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 the United S ...

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. 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, 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, 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. Mis ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

, 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, a ...

In April 1803, the United States purchased

from France, which had in 1800 forced Spain to retrocede the territory in the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso. 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 f ...

on March 10, 1804. John Carroll, 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 ...

appointed Joseph Rosati 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, "c ...

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 (Ecclesiastical Latin, 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 deat ...

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 Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 28 Oc ...

erected the Diocese of Baton Rouge, 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

, 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 state ...

, multiple yellow fever epidemics, anti-immigration and anti-Catholicism, 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 mo ...

, Segregation,

Hurricane Betsy Hurricane Betsy was an intense and destructive tropical cyclone that brought widespread damage to areas of Florida and the central United States Gulf Coast in September 1965. The storm's erratic nature, coupled with its intensity and mi ...

, 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

, 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

.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 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 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 identified ...

. 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 (1795–1801), appointed

Archbishop of Guatemala The Archdiocese of Santiago de Guatemala is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Guatemala.Francisco Porró y Reinado Francisco Bartolomé Porró y Reinado, C.R.M. (15 October 1739 – 3 January 1814) was a Catholic Church in Spain, Spanish Catholic prelate who served as Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans, Bishop of Louisiana and the Two Floridas (1801–18 ...

(disputed, 1801–1803), then appointed Bishop of Tarazona in Spain # Louis-Guillaume DuBourg (1815–1825), appointed Bishop of Montauban and later Archbishop of Besançon in France
- Joseph Rosati (coadjutor bishop 1823–1825, apostolic administrator 1826–1829); resigned as coadjutor bishop 1826, appointed first

Bishop of St. Louis The Archdiocese of St. Louis ( la, Archidiœcesis Sancti Ludovici) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church that covers the City of St. Louis and the Missouri counties of Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, Perr ...

1827

Bishops of New Orleans

Leo-Raymond de Neckere Leo-Raymond de Neckère, C.M. (6 June 1800 – 4 September 1833), was a Belgian-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Bishop of New Orleans from 1830 until his death in 1833. Biography Born in Wevelgem, West Flanders, Leo-Ray ...

(1830–1833)
- Auguste Jeanjean (appointed in 1834; resigned before assuming office) # Antoine Blanc (1835–1850), elevated to Archbishop

Archbishops of New Orleans

FEMA - 16583 - Photograph by Greg Henshall taken on 10-02-2005 in Louisiana

# Antoine Blanc (1850–1860) # Jean-Marie Odin (1861–1870) #

Napoléon-Joseph Perché Napoléon-Joseph Perché (1805–1883) was a French-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the third archbishop of the Archdiocese of New Orleans in Louisiana from 1870 to 1883. Biography Early life Born on January 10, 1805, N ...

(1870–1883) #

Francis Xavier Leray Francis Xavier Leray (April 20, 1825 – September 23, 1887) was a French-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of Natchitoches in Louisianan (1877–1879) and as archbishop of the Archdiocese of ...

(1883–1887) # Francis Janssens (1888–1897) #

Placide-Louis Chapelle Placide Louis Chapelle (August 28, 1842 – August 9, 1905) was a French-born American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Santa Fe (1894-1897) and later Archbishop of New Orleans (1897-1905). Following the Spanish– ...

(1897–1905) # James Blenk, S.M. (1906–1917) # John W. Shaw (1918–1934) # Joseph F. Rummel (1935–1964) # John P. Cody (1964–1965), appointed

Archbishop of Chicago The Archdiocese of Chicago ( la, Archidiœcesis Chicagiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in Northeastern Illinois, in the United States. It was established as a diocese in 1843 and ...

(elevated to Cardinal in 1967) # Philip M. Hannan (1965–1989) # Francis B. Schulte (1989–2002) # Alfred C. Hughes (2002–2009) # Gregory M. Aymond (2009–present)

Current auxiliary bishops

Fernand J. Cheri Fernand Joseph "Ferd" Cheri III, OFM (January 28, 1952 – March 21, 2023) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. A member of the Order of Friars Minor, Cheri served as an auxiliary bishop of Archdiocese of New Orleans from 2015 un ...

, OFM (2015–present)

Former auxiliary bishops

* Gustave Augustin Rouxel (1899–1908) * John Laval (1911–1937) *

Louis Abel Caillouet Louis Abel Caillouet (August 2, 1900 – September 16, 1984) was a bishop of the Catholic Church in the United States. He served as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New Orleans from 1947 to 1976. Biography Born in Thibodaux, Louisiana, Lou ...

(1947–1976) * Harold R. Perry, SVD (1966–1991) *

Stanley Joseph Ott Stanley Joseph Ott, S.T.D., (June 29, 1927 – November 28, 1992) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Baton Rouge from 1983 until his death in 1992. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archd ...

(1976–1983), appointed Bishop of Baton Rouge * Robert William Muench (1990–1996), appointed Bishop of Covington and later Bishop of Baton Rouge *

Dominic Carmon Dominic Carmon, S.V.D. (December 13, 1930 – November 11, 2018) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New Orleans from 1993 to 2006. Biography The eldest of seven sons, ...

, SVD (1993–2006) *

(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, appointed Bishop of Lafayette in Louisiana in 1918 * Robert Emmet Tracy, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Lafayette in Louisiana in 1959 and later Bishop of Baton Rouge * Joseph Gregory Vath, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Mobile-Birmingham in 1966 *

Gerard Louis Frey Gerard Louis Frey (May 10, 1914 – August 16, 2007) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the bishop of the Diocese of Savannah in Georgia (1967–1972) and the Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana (1972–1989). Biog ...

, appointed Bishop of Savannah in 1967 and later Bishop of Lafayette in Louisiana * William Donald Borders, appointed Bishop of Orlando in 1968 and later Archbishop of Baltimore *

John Clement Favalora John Clement Favalora (born December 5, 1935) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Miami from 1994 to 2010 and as bishop of the Diocese of Alexandria in Louisiana from 1986 to 1989 and as ...

, 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 Thomas John Rodi (born March 27, 1949) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church. He has been serving as archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile, Archdiocese of Mobile in Alabama since 2008, having pr ...

, 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 John Trần Văn Nhàn (also known as John-Nhan Tran or John Nhàn Trần) (born February 6, 1966) is a Vietnamese-born prelate of the Catholic Church who has been serving as an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Atlanta in Georgia since ...

, 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. 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 of the archdiocese.

Parishes

The 108 parishes of the archdiocese are divided into 10 deaneries.

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. 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'' 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 *

Saint Joseph Seminary College Saint Joseph Seminary College (also known as St. Ben or St. Ben's) is a Catholic seminary in Saint Benedict, Louisiana. Founded in 1891, it is operated by the Benedictine monks of Saint Joseph Abbey and the dioceses in the ecclesiastical provinc ...

Ecclesiastical province of New Orleans

:''See: List of the Catholic bishops of the United States#Province 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