Fall 2010: Focus Newsletter

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BOARD NEWS • Archbishop Aymond has appointed Deacon Steve Ferran to the Board of Directors. Steve is the General Manager at the Omni Royal Orleans in New Orleans and is a Deacon at Our Lady of the Lake Church in Mandeville.

Your gift today is tomorrow’s promise.

Rings for Sale to Benefit the Archdiocese of New Orleans

The Catholic Foundation currently has two rings and a diamond for sale at Alder’s Jewelry on Canal Street.

• Mary Ann Valentino was the recipient of the Adjutor Hominum Currently, a 3.46 carat diamond LM Award from Loyola University. The award honors an outstanding alumna or alumnus whose life exemplifies those characteristics color and VS clarity is for sale. Also, there are two rings- 1) A 14kt. white gold that Loyola seeks to form in its graduates--namely moral engagement ring mounting containing character, service to humanity, and unquestionable integrity.

Mary Ann is also the recipient of the Outstanding Volunteer 12 diamonds weighing approximately Fundraiser Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals. 0.60 carats total and 2) A 14kt. white gold wedding band containing • Tom Kitchen was elected the Chairman of the Board of the approximately 24 diamonds weighing UNO Foundation.

1.25 carats total.

• Joe Exnicios was elected as 2nd Vice-Chair of the Board of the The sale of the diamond, UNO Foundation. engagement ring and wedding band will • Mark Surprenant received the President’s Award from the New benefit the ministries of the Archdiocese Orleans Bar Association on July 15. of New Orleans. Please go see these • Barbara Turner Windhorst and Emeritus Director John D. beautiful pieces currently at Adler’s, 722 Becker were honored as Role Models at the Young Leadership Canal Street, New Orleans, LA 70130, Council’s 2010 Role Model Awards Gala.

504-523-5292. Please ask for Lara Heep.

• Archbishop Aymond has appointed Rev. Msgr. Christopher The stone and rings are available for H. Nalty to the Board of Directors. Msgr. Nalty is the pastor at viewing upon request at Adler’s.

Good Shepherd Parish in New Orleans.

September 2010

Impact of Giving: How One Person Can Change the Community…One Gift at a Time Think of all the good deeds you have accomplished in your life; imagine if these deeds could continue after you pass on. Imagine what could happen in the future to the ministries you support now.

Dolores, a local New Orleanian, loved her city, her local church and its ministries. She supported her church in life, but she also wanted her support to continue after she was called home to the Lord.

Before her death in 2008, Dolores put together a will leaving her estate to the ministries and the church

that she loved. Seminarian Education and vocations were extremely important to Dolores. She set aside part of her estate to help fund seminarian education at Notre Dame Seminary and their annual Acompaño Missíon trip to Nicaragua. The funds given to Acompaño Missíon allow the purchase of airfare for the Seminarians and fund the building of homes for two poor families every year. Last year, a part of the funds were used to put a special touch on a home.

“The family had a daughter who was handicapped,

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Annual Dinner

The 2010 Pope John Paul II Award Recipient DEACON EVERETT J. WILLIAMS

Speaker: Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond Archbishop Gregory Michael Aymond is the 14th Archbishop of New Orleans and he holds the unique distinction of being the first New Orleans native to serve as Archbishop of New Orleans in the 216-year history of the local church.

He was born in Gentilly on November 12, 1949.

After attending St. James Major Elementary School and Cor Jesu High School, he went to St. Joseph Seminary College in St. Benedict, La., where he graduated in 1971.

He earned a master’s degree in divinity from Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans in 1975 and was ordained as a priest of the New Orleans Archdiocese the same year.

From 1973 to 1981, he was a professor, business – continued on page three

Deacon Everett Williams came from humble beginnings. “I was one of nine kids [growing up]in the Calliope Project,” Williams said, “But as poor as we were, my mom always found food and money for those who were poorer than we were.”

It is his mother’s actions that imprinted on Deacon Williams his willingness to give and volunteer. It is his love for people and his ministry that has enabled him to earn the 2010 Pope John Paul II Award from the Catholic Foundation of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

Deacon Williams’ urge to give back started in elementary school, helping the Blessed Sacrament Sisters go into the housing projects and help those in need with mowing grass or getting groceries. “We would go into the projects and see who we

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Rev. Rodney P. Bourg Emmett B. Chapital, Jr., M.D. Mason G. Couvillon Ralph C. Cox, Jr. Dennis C. Crawford John J. Devlin, III Brandt J. Dufrene Willard M. Dumas, Jr., D.D.S. John L. Eckholdt James C. Exnicios Joseph S. Exnicios Most Rev. Shelton J. Fabre, V.G. Deacon Steven Ferran Frank A. France Patricia Hotard Steven J. Hubbell Ralph W. Junius, Jr. Thomas M. Kitchen Very Rev. Philip G. Landry, V.F. James E. LaPorte Jamie G. Lassere Todd Matherne Brian W. North Claiborne W. Perrilliat* Leon K. Poché, Jr. Deacon Charles “Rusty” Read, Jr. George A. Relle Leon J. Reymond, III Brian J. Rotolo Stan Salathe Mark C. Surprenant John W. Theriot, CPA Sr. Sylvia Thibodeaux, S.S.F. Very Rev. John-Nhan Tran, V.F. John J. Weiler* Barbara Turner Windhorst

*Past President

Brian E. Adorno Secretary M. Gordon Stevens, III Treasurer North Shore Chapter John D’Arcy Becker* Rev. Rodney P. Bourg Guy A. Chiappetta Dr. F. Ralph Dauterive Hon. John “Jack” L. Donahue John E. Faherty Rev. Msgr. Frank J. Giroir Will Jourdan Paul R. Morris Deacon Charles “Rusty” Read, Jr. Stephen F. Stumpf Harry A. Warner Emeritus Members Rodney J. Abele, Jr.* Lawrence J. Baldwin John D’Arcy Becker* Rev. Msgr. Francis G. Boeshans William F. Finegan* T. Hartley Kingsmill* Betty V. Lauricella* Michael O. Read* Jerome J. Reso, Jr.* Leon J. Reymond, Jr.* Lloyd A. Tate* Staff Peter R. Quirk* Robert L. Menard Madelyn S. O’Brien Allison R. Waldron

Most Reverend Gregory M. Aymond Chairman of the Board John “Jack” Dardis President Michael E. Nolan Vice President BOARD OF DIRECTORS

7887 Walmsley Avenue New Orleans, LA 70125-3496

The Catholic Foundation

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Non Profit Orgn.

U.S. Postage PAID New Orleans, LA Permit No. 324

www.archdiocese-no.org/catholicfoundation

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Giving - continued from page one

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she could not walk,” recalled Sr. Theresa Marie Tran, Co-Director of Pastoral Field Education, “she would lie on the floor and the floor was dirt.” The home was built for the family with tile floors instead of concrete so the daughter could lie on a real floor. The funds from Dolores also help Seminarians give food, money and Christmas gifts to children from the two orphanages in Nicaragua.

Since Hurricane Katrina, several parishes on the Gulf Coast have struggled to recover. Dolores’ gift aided in the purchase of sacramentals and vestments at Our Lady of Lourdes in Violet, Louisiana and sacramentals including a Paschal candle, processional cross, Holy water font, chalices, ciborium, and other pieces for St. Thomas Church in Pointe a la Hache, Louisiana.

Dolores also felt strongly about battered women and their care and rehabilitation. In her will, Dolores asked that a certain amount of the assets of her estate be used to create an endowment for battered women. Crescent House, a safe place where domestic violence victims and their children can be protected and receive the counseling, legal help and rehabilitation they need, receives funds annually from an endowment established from Dolores’ will. Other endowments that were created through the generosity of Dolores were for Padua Community Homes, residential facilities with a homelike atmosphere as well as community based services to developmentally delayed individuals; and the Independent Living Skills Program, which assists teens and young adults prepare for changes they will face when they leave the foster care system.

Through her generosity in life, Dolores has given hope to several places striving to help our community. Her acts will not be forgotten and will continue to help the city that she loved so much.

Dolores not only gave during her life, but her legacy continues to suppport the work she started. The ministries, parishes and schools that benefit from her kindness and generosity not only keep our city going, but help form a positive future for our Archdiocese and our community as a whole. From children in New Orleans to families in Nicaragua to the many ministries of the Catholic Church, one person can change the lives of so many.

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could help,” he says. As an undergraduate student at Xavier University, he would organize other students to ask companies and people for contributions for Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving baskets. He started volunteering for the Archdiocese after Archbishop Philip Hannan asked him to help with a commission to analyze segregation in Catholic schools.

After Deacon Williams returned to New Orleans after earning his PhD from Michigan State University, he was selected as the first African-American Superintendent of New Orleans Public Schools. He has served on many committees and Boards including: Archbishop’s Community Appeal when in 1996 he served as the first African-American Chairman, Catholic Charities, Catholic Foundation, Our Lady of Holy Cross College, Xavier University, Notre Dame Seminary, Holy Rosary Academy and St. Joseph Seminary College.

In the greater New Orleans community, he has worked with UNITY for the Homeless, Bridge House, Children’s Hospital, the Medical Center of Louisiana, the Blood Center of Louisiana, the Harvard Urban Superintendent’s Program Advisory Board and he is currently the chair of the Patrick F. Taylor Education Committee. He is a Deacon in the Archdiocese of New Orleans and currently ministers at Blessed SacramentSt. Joan of Arc parish in New Orleans.

Deacon Williams has been married to Melva Borris for 55 years and they have three children: David Anthony(deceased), Melva Maureen and Eileen Therese. “We do everything together. They are tremendously supportive. I couldn’t do it (volunteer) without my family,” he said.

Deacon Williams loves spreading the word about his ministry, “You’re helping others. You find that in helping others you help yourself, and there is a great blessing in doing God’s work.”

Painting to Benefit Ministries of the Archdiocese

The Catholic Foundation has a painting for sale for the benefit of the ministries of the Archdiocese. The painting, “Symphony in Blues and Greens” (Monet’s Pond at Giverny) contains exotic hues and jewel tones of turquoise blues, energetic magenta and cool teal greens and measures 5’ X5’. Please go see this beautiful painting for sale at Oops Consignment Gallery, 1119 Josephine Street (half block off Magazine Street) New Orleans, LA 70130, 504-5282216. Please ask for Marc Levy.

Your gift today is tomorrow’s promise.

Year for Priests

During this Year for Priests, the Catholic Foundation was pleased to honor and affirm all priests working and residing in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Events were scheduled for the entire year. The year began with a Saints Pre-Season Game, compliments of the Benson family. Priests in attendance were treated to Mass before the game, pre-game field passes, dinner and a suite to view the game. In September, the Foundation treated Seminarians to a Zephyrs game including hamburgers, hotdogs and a good baseball game.

The Annual Foundation Dinner in October 2009 focused on the priests of the Archdiocese.

The speaker, Ralph Martin, discussed how Priests and Laity work together for the glory of God. Each priest received a book by Ralph Martin, The Fulfillment of All Desire. In January, priests and seminarians enjoyed snacks, music and bowling at Mid-City Lanes Rock-n-Bowl.

St. Patrick’s Day was filled with pipe organ songs as the priests boarded the Riverboat Natchez for a cruise on the Mississippi River, Irish dinner, Jazz music and good times, all compliments of the New Orleans Steamboat Co. “This year the Natchez is celebrating its 35th anniversary. In the spring of 1975 we sailed for the first time with Archbishop Hannan and it was an honor to have all the priests

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administrator and then rector of St. John Vianney Preparatory Seminary in New Orleans. From 1981 to 1986, he was professor of pastoral theology and homiletics and director of education at Notre Dame Seminary.

He was President-Rector of Notre Dame Seminary from 1986 until 2000, longer than any rector in the seminary’s history. He also was a member of the seminary faculty for 18 years. During his tenure, Notre Dame Seminary grew to become the third-largest seminary in the country.

Bishop Aymond also served as the Executive Director of the Archdiocesan Department of Christian Formation, with responsibility for Catholic schools and religious education, and as the Archdiocesan director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith.

Mission work had a strong emphasis in his ministry. In the 1980s, Bishop Aymond and groups

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with us in the same way in 2010.

We hope to do it again next year,” stated Gordon Stevens, President of New Orleans Steamboat Co. The year came to a close with a crawfish boil at the home of Sharon and Mark Rodi. Sharon is a past president of the Catholic Foundation Board of Directors. Priests enjoyed crawfish, potatoes, corn, sausage and bread pudding on a wonderful early summer evening.

“It has been an honor to affirm our priests during this Year for Priests. Their service to the Church and this Archdiocese is significant and we extend our gratitude for bringing us confession and the Eucharist on our faith walk. God bless each one of them for their ‘yes’ to the call of the Lord,” stated Peter Quirk, Executive Director of the Catholic Foundation. The Catholic Foundation honors all of our priests in all they do in spreading God’s word. The Catholic Foundation plans to continue some of its priest appreciation events in the coming years. of Notre Dame seminarians began to visit Sotuto, Mexico, where they built housing and offered religious training.

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

He was ordained an Auxiliary Bishop of New Orleans in 1997 and became Coadjutor Bishop of Austin in 2000, succeeding to head the diocese.

Archbishop Aymond has served as chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People. He also was chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Catholic Educational Association from 2000-04.

He currently serves as a member of the USCCB committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth and the Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations.