In 1965, Philip M. Hannan, Auxiliary Bishop of Washington, D.C. and a press spokesman at the Vatican Council, was named the archdiocese's eleventh archbishop. Archbishop Hannan arrived in a devastated city, still reeling from Hurricane Betsy.

The archdiocese soon undertook a major expansion of its programs for the needy and elderly. By 1988, Catholic Charities had expanded to sixty programs that served 45,000 people. In 1966, the Social Apostolate began with a ten-week Summer Witness Program for underprivileged children. The program was soon extended throughout the year and to other areas of need, particularly neighborhood needs. Programs receive generous local support through the annual Archbishop's Community Appeal. In 1966, Christopher Homes, Inc. was established to provide safe and affordable housing for those who otherwise could not afford it. By 1993, the agency owned or operated thirty-five facilities serving 5,800 residents. By 1989, the archdiocese was the largest single private provider of social services in Louisiana.

Parish and school expansion continued at a rapid rate. Thirty-one new parishes were established between 1966 and 1988: eight in New Orleans and twenty-three in the seven surrounding civil parishes. Eastern New Orleans, St. Tammany Parish, the westbank of Jefferson Parish, and St. Charles Parish were the centers of Catholic parish growth. By 1989, 55,000 students were attending 27 high schools and 88 elementary schools; 8,600 students were attending Loyola University, Xavier University, and Our Lady of the Holy Cross College.

The new consultative process following Vatican II was evident in the establishment of an archdiocesan pastoral council, a priests' council, an elected archdiocesan school board, and several other major advisory boards. The Office of Black Ministries and Latin American Apostolate were created. The Eighth Archdiocesan Synod (1987), culminating seven years of consultation and review, promulgated a new set of policies, procedures and norms to reflect the new vision of the Church and to "renew the life of the People of God by setting forth regulations accommodated to the needs of the times."

The first class of permanent deacons was ordained in 1974. More than 180 permanent deacons now minister in a variety of programs in parishes, prisons, hospitals, the seaman's center, Ozanam Inn, and Project Lazarus (AIDS) among others.

On September 12, 1987, Pope John Paul II arrived in New Orleans. The visit's high point was the papal Mass at the University of New Orleans' lakefront campus. The Holy Father also met with clergy, addressed Catholic university heads, spoke with Catholic educators, met with seminarians, and presided at a Louisiana Superdome rally attended by more than 60,000 youth.

The boundaries of the Province of New Orleans became coterminus with the state of Louisiana after the establishment of the Provinces of Oklahoma City in 1973 (Oklahoma and Arkansas) and Mobile in 1980 (Alabama and Mississippi). Three new dioceses were created in Louisiana: Houma-Thibodaux in 1977; Lake Charles in 1980, and Shreveport in 1986.

Other Significant Dates