Philip Hannan

Philip Matthew Hannan (May 20, 1913 – September 29, 2011) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington from 1956 to 1965 and as the eleventh archbishop of the Archdiocese of New Orleans in Louisiana from 1965 to 1988.

Biography

Early life Philip Hannan was born on May 20, 1913, in Washington, D.C. His father, Patrick Francis Hannan, immigrated to the United States at age 18 and was nicknamed "The Boss". His mother was Lillian Hannan. Patrick Hannan ran a plumbing business in the city.

Philip Hannan attended St. John's College High School in Washington. He captained the winning cadet company in his senior year there. Before his high school graduation, Hannan surprised his family by saying that, instead of applying to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, he would enter the priesthood. Hannan then began college studies at St. Charles College in Catonsville, Maryland, and later at the Sulpician Seminary at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Hannan graduated from Catholic University in 1936 with a master's degree. He then traveled to Rome to reside at the Pontifical North American College while studying in that city. He received a Licentiate of Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University and later earned a Doctor of Canon Law degree from Catholic University. After returning to Washington, the archdiocese assigned Hannan as curate at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Baltimore, Maryland.

World War II After the American entry into World War II in December 1941, Hannan joined the United States Army. He was commissioned as an officer and chaplain to the 82nd Airborne Division. He ministered to the paratroopers during the fighting in the 1944 to 1945 Ardennes Offensive in Belgium. Hannan witnessed the 1945 liberation of starved prisoners at the Wöbbelin concentration camp in Ludwigslust, Germany.

After returning to Washington, Hannan was assigned as an assistant pastor at Saint Mary Mother of God Parish in Washington. When Pope Pius XII split the Archdiocese of Washington from the Archdiocese of Baltimore on November 15, 1947, Hannan was incardinated, or transferred to the Archdiocese of Washington. In 1948, he was appointed vice chancellor of that archdiocese. While he was vice chancellor, Hannan met then US Congressman John F. Kennedy. For the next 14 years, Hannan would serve as an unofficial advisor to Kennedy on matters of religion and social justices. Hannan was in Rome in November 1963 when President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. After Hannan returned to Washington, the Kennedy family asked him to deliver the homily at the "low" or recited requiem mass.

Archbishop of New Orleans On September 29, 1965, Pope Paul VI named Hannan as the eleventh archbishop of New Orleans, succeeding Archbishop John Cody. Hannan moved to New Orleans only weeks after Hurricane Betsy hit the city, and he became a spiritual leader during the rebuilding of both the city and the archdiocese. In New Orleans, he became a member of an anti-communist organization, the Information Council of the Americas (INCA).

Hannan presided over the archdiocese during a time of great change. The Second Vatican Council concluded on December 8, 1965, and Hannan led the effort to implement the council's policies of reform within the archdiocese. Hannan instituted a Social Apostolate program in 1966.He also reformed the archdiocesan Catholic Charities system, which now serves as the largest non-governmental social service agency in the New Orleans metropolitan area.

At the same time, the demographics of the city were 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. At a time when other swimming pools in the New Orleans area were racially segregated, he opened the pool at Notre Dame Seminary to the entire public.

Retirement

In May 1988, upon reaching his 75th birthday, Hannan submitted his resignation to the pope as archbishop of New Orleans. This resignation was accepted by John Paul II on December 6, 1988, when Hannan was succeeded as archbishop by Francis Schulte.

In 1994, Hannan offered graveside prayers at the interment of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.

Death and legacy Philip Hannan died on September 29, 2011, at age 98 at Chateau de Notre Dame.

Hannan received numerous civic honors, including the most prestigious award presented to a New Orleans civic leader, The Times-Picayune Loving Cup.

The following places are named after Hannan:

Hannan Hall at Catholic University of America Archbishop Hannan High School in Covington

Viewpoints

Abortion rights In 1996, Hannan publicly opposed the election of Democrat Mary Landrieu, a Roman Catholic whose family had been Hannan's longtime friends, to the United States Senate. Although stopping short of endorsing (or even mentioning) Landrieu's Republican opponent, Woody Jenkins, the retired archbishop had become concerned, as he explained, by the endorsement of Landrieu by Emily's List. Hannan's 1996 declaration has been cited as influential on later Catholic prelates involving themselves in politics by issuing warning statements about pro-abortion rights Catholic politicians and in barring them from communion.

On November 27, 2008, from his home in Covington, Hanna published his "Thanksgiving and Christmas Blessings" in the New Orleans Times-Picayune. The full-page announcement was mostly an anti-abortion appeal expressing particular concern over the potential threat that the "evil" Freedom of Choice Act might be passed into law by the incoming United States Congress and the administration of US President Barack Obama. The ad cited the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade and, quoting the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, warns that "a bad court decision will be enshrined in bad legislation that is more radical than the decision itself."

Nuclear arms Hannan was the leader of a minority of bishops who opposed the May 3, 1983, pastoral letter of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops entitled The Challenge of Peace: God's Promise and Our Response. The letter opposed the concept of nuclear deterrence and advocated a nuclear freeze with the Soviet Union.

Honorary degrees

Doctor of Laws, Catholic University of America (1987) Doctor of Laws Georgetown University

Publications The Archbishop Wore Combat Boots – From Combat, to Camelot, to Katrina: A Memoir of an Extraordinary Life by Archbishop Philip Hannan with Nancy Collins and Peter Finney Jr. .