Archdiocese of New Orleans history

The devastating 1906 earthquake and ensuing fire that destroyed the city prompted the agency’s formation the following year to assist destitute families and care for children who were orphaned by the disaster.

One of them, now known as Catholic Charities CYO, was founded by the Archdiocese of San Francisco in 1907.

In 1910, one half of the approximately 15 million Catholics in the United States lived in poverty.

The Catholic Social Betterment League was initially formed in 1912 when representatives from eight Diocese of Spokane parishes met to explore working together to assist people with food, clothing, shelter, and medications.

The founding of the NCCC had inspired a number of dioceses to create their own Catholic Charities organizations with ties to the NCCC, but this movement started slowly, with only five “bureaus” organized prior to 1917.

He was chosen by the Holy See to be Archbishop of New Orleans and on December 8, 1918,in the refurbished St Louis Cathedral the pallium was conferred upon him in a splendid ceremony.

Following the founding gathering, the NCCC held conferences every other year until 1920, when the meetings became annual.

Catholic Charities in Washington, DC, published its first annual report for the year 1922.

Financial problems eventually forced The Morning Star out of business in 1930.

Justified by the principle of subsidiarity, as discussed in Pope Pius XI’s 1931 encyclical, Quadragesimo Anno, Catholic Charities leaders on the local, state, and national levels fought for public funds, calling on government to fulfill its duty to provide relief.

Archbishop Hughes was born December 2, 1932, the third of four children to Alfred C. and Ellen (Hennessey) Hughes Sr., who are both deceased.

Catholic University’s School of Social Work was established for men in 1934 with O’Grady as its first dean.

He was a strong supporter of the Social Security Act in 1935, and in this photo, he is meeting with Anna Roseberg of the New York regional office of the Social Security Administration.

Incorporated in 1938, Associated Catholic Charities was established to help coordinate the numerous agencies serving the poor and vulnerable of the Archdiocese.

More than 25 years later, in 1947, the NCCC established the Standing Committee of Religious to bring more religious into the leadership of the NCCC.

Following his ordination to the priesthood on May 10, 1952, he was a faculty member and department headof Philadelphia area Catholic schools.

* In 1962, with elementary and high schools and churches sprouting up all across the archdiocese, Archbishop John Cody began making plans to produce what he called “the best Catholic newspaper in the country.”

28, 1963, it was unique among Catholic newspapers and one of the few newspapers in the country to be published using the “offset” printing process.

Archbishop Hannan instituted a Social Apostolate program in 1966 which has grown to the point where it now provides over 20 million pounds of free food each year to 42,000 needy women, children and elderly.

The organization, which became CCUSA in 1986, has grown into one of the largest social welfare associations in the nation, and currently has 1,735 branches throughout the United States.

He was installed in the St Louis Cathedral on February 14,1989, in the presence of four cardinals, 14 archbishops and 59 bishops, the largest gathering of the episcopacy in the history of the Catholic Church in New Orleans.

In 1994, he began a medical mission program in Nicaragua called 'Christ the Healer,' taking volunteer teams of health care professionals to the town of Granada to offer medical help at San Juan de Dios Hospital.

In 1996, the agency became known as Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans (CCANO).

He also was chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Catholic Educational Association from 2000-04.

Archbishop Hughes had served as Coadjutor Archbishop of New Orleans since February 16, 2001.

Archbishop Aymond succeeds Archbishop Alfred Clifton Hughes, 76, who has served as archbishop of New Orleans since 2002 and has led local Catholics through the challenging aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Clarion Herald increased the frequency of its publication from biweekly to weekly in order to provide the latest news on the recovery of churches, schools and institutions in the archdiocese.

©2021 Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans.