No longer do Xavier University art students have to maneuver a dark, gravel road to walk from building to building or have to call a security guard to get inside the Art Village. On Oct. 14, the university unveiled a renovated Art Village in Gert Town, across Washington Avenue from the main campus, which  literally turned industrial, age-worn buildings into works of art.

Chad Rovira and Christine Carpenter served as readers; Jim Dwyer and Kristen Cipriani were greeters; Maisy Exerard and Norman Demolle Jr. brought up the offertory gifts. While those duties might not sound exceptional, each  adult who took part in the Oct. 9 Mass at St. Philip Neri in Metairie has a disability.

Since the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti in January 2010, the Archdiocese of New Orleans has worked with Catholic Relief Services and dioceses in Haiti to find appropriate ways to offer assistance.

She was known as the “Candy Lady,” greeting those in her Algiers neighborhood with, “What you want baby” as they approached her door to buy sweets. But Alba Valladares was more than the woman who sold food.

Talk is cheap, but when followed by action, it can make a difference in lives and a community. Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans is taking action against violence by launching the Isaiah 43 parenting and mentoring initiative.

Six years ago, St. Raphael the Archangel Church on Elysian Fields and Prentiss avenues nearly was obliterated by 10 feet of water, mud and God-knows-what-else from Hurricane Katrina. Many thought the church was left for dead.

El Arzobispo Aymond presentó las siguientes observaciones en el funeral del Arzobispo Hannan en la  misa del 6 de octubre en la Catedral de San Luis: Hoy día le decimos adiós a un gran hombre. Para la gente de la Arquidiócesis de Nueva Orleáns, fue un pastor, un obispo, un líder comunitario, un padre, un amigo, un hermano sacerdote.

“If funds are cut, programming will be cut.” This simple statement by Dr. Daniel Kabira of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in Kenya is the reality for CRS programs across the globe. CRS is the official international development, relief and humanitarian organization of the U.S. Catholic community and works in more than 100 countries worldwide.

As we near the end of the first quarter of this school year, I would like to thank the many wonderful people who make my ministry as superintendent a true blessing. I also would like to share my goals for the year: I am committed to ensuring that our schools are authentically Catholic, academically excellent and financially viable and affordable.

Labels unfortunate River Ridge It was gratifying to read in the Oct. 1 issue of the Clarion Herald that the Archdiocese of New Orleans was at the “top of the list among dioceses” regarding the positive relationship between the priests and the archbishop, and that the “unity among the priests themselves is also considered high.” However, it was rather troubling to read that one of the major problematic themes between older and younger priests was over issues of “conservative” and “liberal” theology.

Condemning an attack on unarmed Christians in Egypt, Pope Benedict XVI said that during the country’s transition to democracy, all of its citizens and institutions must work to guarantee the rights of minorities.

Jesuit High School senior Taylor Billings is one of 24 of the nation’s most outstanding junior golfers to be named to the 2011 Hewlett-Packard Scholastic Junior All-America Team, the American Junior Golf Association and HP announced.

When John Curtis High meets District 9-2A rival Clark on Oct. 28, its head coach J.T. Curtis will become the second prep football coach in the U.S. to achieve 500 victories. In his 43rd year at the helm of his father’s school, Curtis has amassed a record of 499-54-6.

This fall, sportsmanship has taken a big hit. In a recent high school football game involving two rival metro area schools, several skirmishes broke out. Trash talking went on almost unabated. Frankly, I was embarrassed for both schools.

I share the concern of my media colleague, Ed Daniels, who comments in this issue of the Clarion Herald (page 10) about the skirmishes he’s seen at high school football games. I witnessed this myself in a recent game between two local Catholic school football teams, an isolated occurrence between those particular schools.

Growing up on a farm 15 miles from Belfast in Northern Ireland in the 1970s, Stewart Young had a standing argument each morning with his brother about whose turn it was to check under the family car for a bomb.

So many people have said they were overwhelmed by the funeral ceremonies for Archbishop Hannan. What was your perspective? It went far beyond my expectations. I knew Archbishop Hannan was greatly loved and I knew we would have a good number of school children present for his procession – I believe there were more than 8,000 students there – but I was utterly amazed by the thousands of adults, young adults and little children who lined the procession route.

Except for having to drop everything to attend “The Count,” the 11 Angola inmates enrolled in Loyola Institute for Ministry’s 36-credit program progress through their coursework like typical college students – discussing their assignments, asking their professor questions and taking careful notes.

The Notre Dame Seminary chapel was packed Oct. 4  with deacons, their wives and friends for special Night Prayer from the Office for the Dead in honor of Archbishop Philip Hannan. The liturgy was taken from the breviary that priests and deacons read daily.

Of all the memories Cathy Hannan has of her tenacious Uncle Phil, the sight of him swimming into the Atlantic yards past the danger zone still makes her shake her head. “He would go way out into the water and the lifeguard would be having a heart attack, trying to whistle him in,” said Hannan, recalling beach trips to Ventnor City, N.J., north of Ocean City.