It was five years in the making but Dominican Father Val McInnis, the director of the Vatican Pavilion at the 1984 World’s Fair, said the exhibit would have never come together without the influence and f oresight of Archbishop Philip Hannan.

Of all Archbishop Philip M. Hannan’s social initiatives, one that has touched and influenced countless generations of New Orleanians has been the Summer WITNESS program. What began in 1966 as a program of community development and self-help in the Desire Housing Development grew into a Social Apostolate ministry that addressed the needs of children and elderly while building leadership and pastoral formation among seminarians.

After touring those sections of New Orleans, St. Bernard and Plaquemines that had been swamped by Hurricane Betsy, the city’s newly arrived archbishop let his priests know it was no time for handwringing.

With the bagpipe strains of “O, Danny Boy” echoing off the marble floors and walls of Notre Dame Seminary, six priests carried the casket bearing the body of Archbishop Philip M. Hannan into the seminary chapel Oct. 3 for a priests’ evening of prayer, thus beginning four days of prayer, public viewing, procession and liturgical farewell for the 98-year-old former archbishop of New Orleans.

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