The Archbishop Wore Combat Boots. Nancy A. Collins

      THE

      ARCHBISHOP

      WORE

      COMBAT

      BOOTS

      FROM COMBAT, TO CAMELOT, TO KATRINA

      THE

      ARCHBISHOP

      WORE

      COMBAT

      BOOTS

      MEMOIR OF AN EXTRAORDINARY LIFE

      Archbishop Philip Hannan

      with Nancy Collins and Peter Finney, Jr.

      Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division

      Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.

      Huntington, Indiana 46750

      The Scripture citations contained in this work are taken from the Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible (RSV), copyright © 1965 and 1966 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

      Except where otherwise noted, interior images are courtesy of the author.

      Every reasonable effort has been made to determine copyright holders of excerpted materials and to secure permissions as needed. If any copyrighted materials have been inadvertently used in this work without proper credit being given in one form or another, please notify Our Sunday Visitor in writing so that future printings of this work may be corrected accordingly.

      Copyright © 2010 by Archbishop Philip Hannan

      Published 2010

      16 15 14 13 12 11 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

      All rights reserved. With the exception of short excerpts for critical reviews, no part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means whatsoever without permission in writing from the publisher. Write:

      Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division

      Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.

      200 Noll Plaza

      Huntington, IN 46750

      [email protected] 1-800-348-2440

      ISBN 978-1-59276-697-0 (Inventory No. T1018)

      LCCN: 2010922943

      Interior design by Sherri L. Hoffman Cover design by Lindsey Luken

      Cover images: John F. Kennedy — Superstock/Getty Images

      Jackie Kennedy — Michael Stroud/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

      Boots — Shutterstock

      PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

      Contents

       Acknowledgments

       Chapter 1 — The Funeral of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy

       Chapter 2 — In the Beginning

       Chapter 3 — My Seminary Days

       Chapter 4 — Four Years in Rome

       Chapter 5 — My First Parish Assignment

       Chapter 6 — Into the Army

       Chapter 7 — England and Combat

       Chapter 8 — Back in Washington, D.C.

       Chapter 9 — Episcopacy

       Chapter 10 — The Kennedy Years

       Chapter 11 — The Second Vatican Council

       Chapter 12 — Appointment to New Orleans

       Chapter 13 — Race Relations and Politics in New Orleans

       Chapter 14 — The Cajuns’ “Joie de Vivre”

       Chapter 15 — The New Orleans Saints

       Chapter 16 — Television, Politics, and Abortion

       Chapter 17 — Pope John Paul II’s Historic Visit to New Orleans

       Chapter 18 — Changes in the Province of New Orleans

       Chapter 19 — Hurricane Katrina and Its Aftermath

       Chapter 20 — Stroke and Recovery

       Chapter 21 — Pope John Paul II the Great

       Chapter 22 — A Few Final Thoughts

       Appendix — Recollections of the Major Documents of Vatican II

       Epilogue — Love Is the Most Important Thing

Acknowledgments

      It is impossible to simply acknowledge the friendship and love of the thousands of people who have supported me over my ninety-seven years. As such, I will try to say a few words about the folks who have helped me with this book. To any whom I may have omitted, I offer my deepest apologies and my heartfelt thanks to you also.

      I want to first extend a thank you to Nancy Collins and Peter Finney, Jr., who have helped me every step of the way; this book is as much theirs as mine. I thank them for their incredible help and assistance.

      My secretary, Alma Cartagena, has helped me with the typing, transcription, and collection of materials and photographs through the years related to this book. I credit her custodial skills in keeping together a 1,200-page manuscript that could have become scattered!

      My publisher, Our Sunday Visitor, and their team were enthusiastic supporters of this project from the time when we approached them; my thanks to them, and especially to Jacquelyn Lindsey.

      My close friends, the Garvey Brothers and Dorinda Bordlee, have been tireless supporters of the Pro-Life cause and helped on those portions of the book.

      My friends here in New Orleans provided encouragement and support (and in some cases food!) at every opportunity; Anne and King Milling, Garic and Susie Schoen, Mr. and Mrs. Drago and Clara Cvitanovich, Phillip Brooks, the late Deacon Paul Nalty, V.M. Wheeler, Joe and Sue Ellen Canizaro, Tom and Gayle Benson, the late Pat Taylor, Phyllis Taylor, my best friend Alden “Doc” Laborde, and Donna and Ben Rosen, the couple through whom I found Peter.

      My medical and personal