A short but interesting interview with the Archbishop of New Orleans by the Baton Rouge Advocate here at A FEW MINUTES WITH ... Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond .
Archbishop Aymond was not the first Archbishop of New Orleans after the larger than life Archbishop Hannan. However he is the first after his death so in many ways some would say that he is indeed the first Archbishop after Hannan or at least more free to put his mark on the Church.
This fact was noted by Arymond himself in his remarks at Hannan's funeral. If I recall correctly Hannan told him after he died he needed to get himself ordained again as Archbishop
The topics range from life after Hannan, to crime in New Orleans , to the voucher program, to the demographics of Catholic New Orleans.
As to Hannan I thought this was fun:
...What was the most important piece of advice Archbishop Philip Hannan gave you when you returned to New Orleans as archbishop?
....His comment to me is, “You’re a native son, so you have an advantage that some of us didn’t have, because you understand and love the people and the culture.” But then he said, “And as you know, the people of New Orleans expect their bishop to walk among them and be present to them.” He said, “I did the best I could on that, and I encourage you to do even better than I did.”
He still leaves some big shoes, doesn’t he?
He does. In fact, I literally put on his boots — not his battle boots —– but I literally wore in this last hurricane a pair of boots that he wore after Hurricane Katrina when he went to visit many of the flooded areas. He had an ugly pair of white boots, and when they gave them to me, they said Archbishop Hannan wore these. So I have the privilege to say that I literally walk in his shoes....
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