Archbishop Hannan’s funeral was an overwhelming event

    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. From the seminary to the cathedral, there were people lined up the whole way. When we got onto Canal Street, there were business people who came out to pay their respects. People were genuflecting as a sign of reverence to him, people were making the sign of the cross and people were laying flowers in the streets. All those things were beyond my expectations and say a lot about how much they valued Archbishop Hannan. It also reminds me, once again, that New Orleans really is a place of deep faith, deep Christian faith and deep Catholic faith. It is, in many ways, a Catholic city. I can’t imagine this happening in another city in the U.S., and maybe even the world. It truly reflected the love people have for a man of God, and it also was another sign of the culture of our city.
     Jerry Hannan, the archbishop’s younger brother, said he was amazed that the large crowd was so quiet. He said as the carriage approached the cathedral, you could hear only the hoof beats of the horses.
    The reverence was amazing, as was the size of the crowd. The police had to  put up barricades in the plaza right outside the cathedral so that we could get through.
    Had Archbishop Hannan left any vague instructions for his funeral?
    He left us with literally nothing. Obviously, that was not something he had given much attention to. What we did was try to plan the funeral in such a way that it would reflect who he was and would be a tribute to him for what God had done through him for the city and for the archdiocese. I thought it was really important that it reflect the culture of New Orleans. I’m so grateful for the great planning done for the funeral by Msgr. Ken Hedrick, Father Philip Landry, Father José Lavastida and Msgr. Crosby Kern. They did a wonderful job with the liturgies and the logistics. Also, the police departments from New Orleans, Jefferson Parish, the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Louisiana State Police helped with every aspect of the procession. There was a police honor guard at the casket from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. during the public wake at Notre Dame Seminary. This was a momentous event for the entire community. The Times-Picayune and the local television stations did a marvelous job communicating why Archbishop Hannan was such a beloved church leader who touched lives far beyond the Catholic Church.
    How long had you been thinking about making the funeral plans?
    About a year ago, we began to put pen to paper. By the time the Lord did call him home, we pretty much had a general idea of what we wanted to do. Then we shared those plans with Jerry Schoen and Tiffany Simmons of Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, and they really helped us with a lot of details and logistics.
    What were the biggest challenges?
    One of the biggest challenges was reserving enough hotel rooms. The city’s hotel rooms were pretty much filled with convention business. The Bourbon Orleans right behind St. Louis Cathedral came to our rescue to secure a block of rooms for the 30 or so members of the Hannan family who attended the funeral. The hotel also hosted a reception for the family after the funeral. The other challenge was making sure we had a place that was easily accessible for the three-day wake. That’s why we chose the seminary. From Monday through Wednesday, there was never a long line,  but it was a steady stream of people paying their respects, day and night.
    What kind of reaction did you get from the Hannan family?
    It meant a great deal to them. I saw tears in their eyes many, many times during the procession. I got to know the family very well. I’ve always had great respect for his brother Jerry, but I got to know him in a more personal way through this. They took on the spirit, too, that though we will miss him because he has gone to the Lord, we are not grieving because he’s led a full life. He’s done so much good for the church, for his country, for his family. It really was for them a sending home. I think they were also overwhelmed by the hundreds of people who watched the funeral Mass on the television screen outside the cathedral.
    You showed the congregation the pectoral cross Archbishop Hannan gave you in 2009. It was the cross he was ordained with in 1956. I know that meant a lot to you.
    I will treasure that gift. We also decided not to bury him with his episcopal ring, which was given to him in 1965 by Pope Paul VI at the end of the Second Vatican Council. The ring is in the shape of a bishop’s miter, and it has a carving of Jesus in the middle surrounded by St. Peter and St. Paul. I’ve decided to wear it for one year as a link to his episcopacy, and then we will place it in the archdiocesan archives. I have a ring similar to his, but mine is a replica. His was one of the few of the original rings left from Vatican 2.
    What are your thoughts now that his historic funeral is over?
    Very frankly, those are hard shoes to fill. It’s not easy to walk in his path. And as we joked about at my installation in 2009 and at the funeral Mass, when people talked about the Archbishop of New Orleans, they were talking about him, not me. He’s raised the bar in terms of what it means to be a bishop in the church. I pray every day that I can live up to the expectations that people have.
    Questions for Archbishop Aymond may be sent to [email protected].