Alfred Clifton Hughes

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This article is about the Roman Catholic prelate. For other people, see Alfred Hughes (disambiguation).
St. John's Seminary College
MottoFor you, God’s own love
Styles of
Alfred Clifton Hughes
Reference style
Spoken style
Your Excellency
Religious styleArchbishop
Ordination history of
Alfred Clifton Hughes
History
Episcopal consecration
Consecrated by
Glen John Provost
April 23, 2007
Michael DucaMay 19, 2008

Alfred Clifton Hughes, KCHS (born December 2, 1932) is a retired American prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of New Orleans from 2002 to 2009.

Hughes previously served as Bishop of Baton Rouge from 1993 to 2002 and as an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Boston from 1981 to 1993

Biography

Early life

Alfred Hughes was born on December 2, 1932, in

St. John's Seminary College, from where he received his bachelor's degree in philosophy in 1954, and then furthered his studies in Rome at the Pontifical Gregorian University until 1958.[1][2]

Hughes was

ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Martin John O’Connor for the Archdiocese of Boston in Rome on December 15, 1957, and then did pastoral work before returning to the Gregorian to obtain a doctorate in spiritual theology from 1959 to 1961. Upon his return to the United States, he became a professor, as well as spiritual director and lecturer, at St. John's Seminary in 1962.[1][2]

Auxiliary Bishop of Boston

On July 21, 1981, Hughes was appointed

episcopal consecration on September 14, 1981, from Cardinal Humberto Medeiros, with Bishops Thomas Daily and John D'Arcy serving as co-consecrators. Hughes served as rector of St. John's Seminary from 1981 to 1986, and as vicar general and vicar of administration from 1990 until 1993.[1][2]

Bishop of Baton Rouge

Hughes was named bishop of the Diocese of Baton Rouge by John Paul II on September 7, 1993; he was installed on November 7, 1993.[1][2]

Archbishop Alfred Hughes (far right) with (right to left) New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, President George W. Bush, and Louisiana Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu.

Coadjutor Archbishop and Archbishop of New Orleans

On February 16, 2001, Hughes was appointed by John Paul II as

Francis Schulte. He visited 90 of the archdiocese’s 142 parishes when he arrived there to become more familiar with the people.[2]

Hughes automatically succeeded Schulte as archbishop of New Orleans upon the latter’s retirement on January 3, 2002.

hurricane’s aftermath, Hughes also said,

“People can either turn inward on themselves and lose hope, or they turn upward to God and outward to other people. Our faith teaches us to do the latter, to really believe that God is present and is asking us to be partners with him in the recovery and restoration”.[3]

Hughes implemented a controversial post-Katrina church consolidation program that reduced the diocese from 142 parishes to 108. The storm drove away nearly a quarter of its former membership and left it with nearly $300 million in physical damage.[4]

Questions were raised concerning Hughes's handling of sexual abuse cases by the clergy, in both Boston and New Orleans. For this, he apologized and said, “Our action or inaction failed to protect the innocents among us, the children. I ask for forgiveness"[5]

Hughes placed an emphasis on evangelization as a major theme of his tenure. He also sits on numerous committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, including that which oversees the use of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

On April 2, 2009, Hughes "joined a growing chorus of Catholic bishops deploring the

abortion rights
for women and other issues viewed as incompatible with the teaching of the Catholic Church, with which the Notre Dame is affiliated.

That same month, Hughes refused to attend commencement exercises at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans because Xavier was awarding of an honorary degree to author Donna Brazile, a supporter of abortion rights.[7]

On June 12, 2009, Pope Francis accepted Hughes' resignation as archbishop of New Orleans. He was succeeded by

apostolic administrator until August 20, 2009.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Our Bishops". Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Bishops of Archdiocese | St Louis Cathedral". www.stlouiscathedral.org. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  3. ^ USA Today. A Katrina survivor stands fast in her faith 2006
  4. ^ Bruce, Nolan (2009-06-13). "New archbishop vows to 'reconcile' with those hurt by parish closures, but says he won't 'second guess' Hughes". Times-Picayune. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  5. ^ Catholic Bishops and Sex Abuse. ARCHBISHOP ALFRED HUGHES.
  6. ^ Nolan, Bruce (2009-04-03). "N.O. Archbishop criticizes Notre Dame for inviting Obama to speak at commencement". Times-Picayune. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  7. ^ "Hughes snubs Xavier graduation ceremony - NOLA.com". 2009-09-09. Archived from the original on 2009-09-09. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  8. ^ "Archbishop Alfred Clifton Hughes [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2023-11-08.

External links

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Episcopal succession

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Grand Prior Southeastern Lieutenancy of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre
2002–2009 		Succeeded by
Gregory Aymond
Preceded by Archbishop of New Orleans
2002–2009 		Succeeded by
Gregory Aymond
Preceded by Bishop of Baton Rouge
1993–2001 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
-
 Auxiliary Bishop of Boston
1981–1993 		Succeeded by
-
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