Philip Hannan

Philip Hannan (born May 20, 1913) is a former archbishop of the Archdiocese of New Orleans (Sep. 29, 1965 - Dec. 6, 1988).

Biography

Family

Archbishop Hannan came from a large and happy Irish family. His father, PF Hannan, emigrated from Ireland and settled in Washington, DC. His mother, Lillian Keefe, was a native Washingtonian with ties to the Smithson family (of the Smithsonian Institution.) His siblings Mary, John, Frank, Bill, Tom, Denis, and Jerry enjoyed a great diversity of professions.

Ordination

Philip Matthew Hannan was born in Washington, D.C., on May 20, 1913. Cheney, David M. [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bhannan.html Catholic Hierarchy Website.] ]

He attended St. Charles College in Catonsville, Maryland, the Sulpician Seminary, and The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.. His high school years were spent at St. John's College High School in NW Washington, DC. He was a seminarian at the Old North American College in Rome from 1936 to 1939, where he personally witnessed the rise of fascism in Italy and Germany. He would later write a biographical account, " [http://www.amazon.com/dp/1891903322 Rome: Living under the Axis,] " detailing his experiences in Rome. He was ordained on Dec. 8, 1939.

He returned to the United States and spent the next two years as an assistant priest at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Baltimore, Maryland. Saint Louis Cathedral [http://stlouiscathedral.org/bishops.htm "Archbishop Hannan, Eleventh Archbishop".] ]

World War II

In 1942, Hannan enlisted in the United States Army, where he served as a chaplain to the 82nd Airborne Division. He parachuted into Europe with the rest of the division and ministered to the paratroopers during Ardennes Offensive. He was with American soldiers during the liberation of a concentration camp. Hannan was briefly pastor of the Cologne Cathedral during the American occupation of Germany. Finney, Peter. "Clarion Herald". [http://clarionherald.org/19991223/art004.htm "Abp. Hannan, 'Bearer of the Eucharist,' celebrates 60 years."] Dec. 23, 1999." ] Archdiocese of New Orleans. [http://www.archdiocese-no.org/history/prelates.htm "Bishops and Archbishops".] ]

Washington D.C.

He returned to the United States and served as administrator in the Baltimore-Washington Archdiocese, and was given the title Monsignor in 1952. He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of the Washington Archdiocese on Jun. 16, 1956, where served for nine years. At this time, he became acquainted with several prominent politicians, especially the Kennedy family. He gave the eulogy at President John Kennedy's state funeral. Arlington National Cemetery. [http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/jfk.htm "John Fitzgerald Kennedy".] ] Brown, Michael. "Kennedy and Catholicism: D.C. Liturgy Highlighted Drama of Assassination". Jan. 25, 2003." ] (It was not a formal eulogy. The first presidential funeral in which there was a eulogy was that of Lyndon B. Johnson in 1973).

Hannan was part of the U.S. delegation to the Second Vatican Council in 1965, where he served as a press officer. Finney, Peter. "Clarion Herald". [http://clarionherald.org/19991125/art002.htm "Archbishop Hannan credits active aging to 'good genes'".] Nov. 25, 1999. ]

Archbishop of New Orleans

He was appointed as the eleventh Archbishop of the Archdiocese of New Orleans on Sep. 29, 1965, succeeding Archbishop John Cardinal Cody. He moved to New Orleans only weeks after Hurricane Betsy hit the city, and became a spiritual leader during the rebuilding of both the city and the archdiocese.

He presided over the New Orleans archdiocese during a time of great change. The Second Vatican Council concluded on Dec. 8, 1965, and Hannan led the effort to implement the Vatican's policies of reform within the archdiocese. At the same time, the demographics of the entire city was changing, as Catholic whites moved to the suburbs, while
Orleans Parish became increasingly Protestant. New churches and parishes were being built throughout the city, while attendance in inner-city churches declined. Nolan, Charles E.. "A History of the Archdiocese of New Orleans." [http://www.archdiocese-no.org/history/postvat2.htm "The Post-Vatican II Years 1965-1989".] May 2001. ]

The archbishop (probably as a legacy of his war years) was known to be a staunch anti-Communist, and was in the minority of bishops who opposed the 1983 peace pastoral of the US hierarchy, , advocating a nuclear freeze with the Soviet Union.

Hannan was archbishop when Pope John Paul II made his state visit to New Orleans between Sep. 11 and Sep 13, 1987, the first ever Papal Visit to the city. Hannan was the Pontiff's personal guide throughout his three day tour of the city. Mullener, Elizabeth. Times-Picayune. "Pope John Paul II Special Report". Sep. 11-13, 1987. ] Grissett, Sheila. Times-Picayune. [http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/index.ssf?/religion/content/stories/pope1.html "Walking Among Us'".] Apr. 03, 2005. ]

Archbishop Hannan retired a year later, on Dec. 6, 1988, and was succeeded by Archbishop Francis Schulte.

Legacy

Hannan was the Archbishop of New Orleans for over twenty years, during which he became one the city's most recognized and popular residents.

In 1996, Hannan was awarded the Pacem in Terris Award. It was named after a 1963 encyclical letter by Pope John XXIII that calls upon all people of good will to secure peace among all nations. Pacem in Terris is Latin for 'Peace on Earth.'

At the age of 92, he was still in the news when it was revealed that during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, he courageously remained and would not leave a studio in a Catholic television station he had founded in Metairie, in order to protect it from looters. Hannan called the catastrophe "a chastisement from God" because of sin.

He remains an influential spiritual figure in the city. In the aftermath of Katrina he continues to help in the effort to revive the city, by both inspiring residents spiritually and pitching in to the clean-up effort physically.

Sources

Reflist

References

General references

* Hannan, Philip. " [http://www.amazon.com/dp/1891903322 Rome: Living Under the Axis.] " May 2003. ISBN 1-891903-32-2.
* Nolan, Charles E. "A History of the Archdiocese of New Orleans." [http://www.archdiocese-no.org/history/postvat2.htm "The Post-Vatican II Years 1965-1989".] May 2001.

Further reading

* Finney, Peter. "Clarion Herald". [http://clarionherald.org/19991125/art002.htm "Archbishop Hannan credits active aging to 'good genes'".] Nov. 25, 1999.
* Finney, Peter. "Clarion Herald". [http://clarionherald.org/19991223/art004.htm "Abp. Hannan, 'Bearer of the Eucharist,' celebrates 60 years".] Dec. 23, 1999.