A History of St. Henry's Catholic Church New Orleans 1871-1929
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University of New Orleans ScholarWorks@UNO University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations Dissertations and Theses Fall 12-18-2015 Fighting Spirit: A History of St. Henry's Catholic Church New Orleans 1871-1929 Alvah J. Green III [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td Part of the History of Religion Commons, and the Public History Commons Recommended Citation Green, Alvah J. III, "Fighting Spirit: A History of St. Henry's Catholic Church New Orleans 1871-1929" (2015). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 2078. https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/2078 This Thesis is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by ScholarWorks@UNO with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Thesis in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights- holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. This Thesis has been accepted for inclusion in University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UNO. For more information, please contact [email protected]. )LJKWLQJ6SLULW$+LVWRU\RI6W+HQU\¶V&DWKROLF&KXUFK1HZ2UOHDQV-1929 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of New Orleans in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History By Alvah J. Green, III B.A. University of New Orleans, 2009 December 2015 Dedication To the memory of my grandparents, George and Jesse Delhommer, and Alvah, Sr. and Edmae Green. ii Acknowledgments I would like to express the utmost appreciation and gratitude for everyone who helped and support me with this work. Dr. Atkinson, my thesis chair, who introduced me to the wonders of historical research as an undergrad, and has encouraged and supported my work ever since. Without your support, determination, and constant badgering, I would have given up on this before I even started. I owe you the most for dragging me across the finish line and refusing to let me give up. Dr. Kennedy, thanks for agreeing to be one of my committee members. Your knowledge of New Orleans history and primary source research has been valuable to the process. Dr. Chamberlain, thanks for stepping in at the last minute after Dr. Mizell-Nelson passed away and agreeing to be on my committee. I hope I get the chance to work more with you in the future. Dr. Mizell- Nelson, you and Dr. Atkinson were my earliest supporters as an undergraduate, and for that I ZLOOEHIRUHYHUJUDWHIXO,ZLOOQHYHUIRUJHWDOOWKDW,OHDUQHGIURPWKHWZRRI\RX,¶PVRUU\WKDW \RXFRXOGQ¶WEHKHUHWRVHHWKHILQDOSURGXFWEXWLILWZDVQ¶WIRU\RXUHDUO\VXSSRUWWKLVZRXOGQRW have been possible. Dr. Leumas and Mike Courtney at the Archives of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Thanks for allowing me access to your records and resources. Christopher Gonzalez, my IT expert, who has helped me with all computer related issues I have had since high school. I am sure all my work would have been deleted many times over if not for you. George Edward Merritt, III for all the help translating various Latin texts I came across in the archives. Dave Meyers for helping with the maps. Brian Davis, Matthew Potter, Byron Young, Theodore Parker, Hal Edwards, Malik Mohammad, Maria Davis, and the rest of my family of choice, thanks for being there for me for iii all of these years. My Aunt, Patricia Cavallo, for always helping me out of trouble and my Uncle, Victor Cavallo, for encouraging my interest in history. My Parents, Alvah Jr. and Donna Green, for always encouraging and supporting me. Rebecca Robinson, for being there for me throughout this process and never giving up on me. iv Table of Contents Abstract ..................................................................................................................................................................................... vii Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Historiography .......................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Ǥ ǯ ....................................................................................................................................................... 11 Language in the Church ...................................................................................................................................................... 14 Contested Boundaries.......................................................................................................................................................... 17 Vincentian Era ......................................................................................................................................................................... 21 Ǥ ǯ Father Bogaerts ....................................................................................... 22 Fire, New School, and First Rumblings of Territorial Parish ............................................................................... 25 Ǥ ǯ ..................................................................................................................... 27 Ǥ ǯs Territorial Parish ................................................................................. 28 Vincentians Seek to Block New Church Building ..................................................................................................... 37 Decision ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 40 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................................ 42 Appendix ................................................................................................................................................................................... 45 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................................................ 46 Vita ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 48 v Abstract In 2009, the Archdiocese of New Orleans went through a reorganization that resulted in the closure of numerous parishes under its direction. This thesis will look at how one of the parishes FORVHGGXULQJWKLVUHRUJDQL]DWLRQ6W+HQU\¶VKDGalready faced, and survived, numerous attempts at closure. A study of these previous attempts reveals that internal church politics were often on display and the driving force behind the decisions. Using documents from the Archdiocesan Archives of New Orleans, this thesis looks at the history and leadership of St. +HQU\¶VSDULVK, and examines how the survival of a church often has more to do with the personalities of those in leadership positions and less to do with the propagation of faith. Keywords 6W+HQU\¶V&DWKROLF&KXUFKVXSSUHVVLRQFKXUFKFlosure, Archdiocese of New Orleans, St. 6WHSKHQ¶V Catholic Church, Vincentian, Congregation of the Mission, Apostolic Delegate, Ludolf Richen. vi 6W+HQU\³To defend justice he had to fight many wars. He was honest in battle DQGLQVLVWHGWKDWKLVDUPLHVEHKRQRUDEOHWRR´1 -Holy Spirit Interactive Calendar On the morning of January 6, 2009, New Orleans police officers, accompanied by attorneys IURPWKHFLW\DWWRUQH\¶VRIILFHDVZHOl as representatives of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, arrived at two Catholic churches, Our Lady of Good Council and 6W+HQU\¶V. For over two months, parishioners had occupied the churches around the clock to protest the decision of the Archdiocese of New Orleans to close their parishes. In a coordinated effort, police arrived at the churches with instructions to arrest any parishioners who resisted. At Our Lady of Good Council, police escorted three parishioners out of the building in handcuffs after sawing their way through a hundred year old door to get into the building. AW6W+HQU\¶VChurch, the police entered and expelled the parishioners without incident, though their grief was evident as one elderly parishioner begged to be let back in after the police and archdiocesan officials locked her building.2 In the early years of the 21st century, similar incidents occurred in cities across the United States. Changing demographics, sex scandals, reduced church attendance, and financial hardships all contributed to the decline of many once prominent American dioceses and forced some of these dioceses to make hard decisions regarding church closures. These parish suppressions3 often met with resistance from the people who consider these parishes to be their 1 ³July 13: St. Henry II´+RO\6SLULW,QWHUDFWLYH&DOHQGDUDFFHVVHGSeptember 27, 2015, http://www.holyspiritinteractive.net/dailysaint/july/0713.asp. 2 ǡDz ǡdz The Times-Picayune, January 6, 2009, accessed September 14, 2015, http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/01/new_orleans_police_swarm_uptow.html 3 Suppr ess is the formal term used by the Catholic Church to refer to the