New Orleanian Bernard J. Eckholdt Jr. named the 2020 ‘Hibernian of the Year’

Eckholdt will be honored with a proclamation March 17 at a noon Mass honoring St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, at St. Patrick Church, 724 Camp St. in New Orleans. Irish-born priests will concelebrate Mass with Archbishop Gregory Aymond. The Hibernians’ 145th annual banquet will follow at 7 p.m. at the New Orleans Hilton Riverside, featuring the U.S. Marine Corps Band and the Muggivan School of Irish Dance.  
 

A third-generation native of New Orleans whose ancestors came from County Cork, Eckholdt, 83, follows a long line of Hibernians. His grandfather, James A. Nolan, was a member of the Hibernians.
 

Eckholdt, who attended and graduated from St. Theresa of Avila School, Holy Cross High School and Loyola University, served as treasurer for the Hibernians for 12 years and helped reorganize the Ancient Order of Hibernians in 1988, serving as an officer for the James Cardinal Gibbons Division of the Order when it was founded in 1992.
 

He currently is treasurer of the Louisiana Hibernian Charity and the Friends of St. Alphonsus. He is a retired staff sergeant with the Louisiana National Guard. He worked for Marine Shale Processing and Louisiana Cement as controller, chief information officer and plant accountant.  
 

Eckholdt is married to Joan Lynn Hankins and has three children, five grandchildren and one great-grandchild. For banquet tickets, email louisianaaoh@aohla.com or call (504) 444-6401.