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 Pope Benedict XVI has named Bishop Gregory Aymond of Austin, Texas, 59, as Archbishop of New Orleans. He succeeds Archbishop Alfred Hughes, who turned 75 in 2007. According to Canon Law, bishops submit their resignation to the pope when they turn 75.
The appointment was announced in Washington, June 12, by Msgr. Alexander Cifuentes Castaño, chargé d'affaires at the Vatican Nunciature.Gregory Michael Aymond was born November 12, 1949, in New Orleans. He attended elementary and secondary schools in his home city and entered St. Joseph Minor Seminary in 1971. He earned a Master of Divinity degree at New Orleans' Notre Dame Major Seminary in 1975, and was ordained a priest for the archdiocese on May 10, 1975.
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"This appointment by the Holy Father is good news for the Archdiocese of New Orleans and for the Archbishop-designate. His knowledge of and past experience in the Archdiocese, coupled with his experience as a diocesan bishop, will allow him to serve the spiritual needs of the people of New Orleans and continue the work of recovery from Hurricane Katrina initiated by Archbishop Hughes. Texas will miss him and we will continue to pray for him."
-Bishop Raymundo J. Pe�a, Bishop of the Diocese of Brownsville
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Archbishop-designate Aymond served on the faculty of St. John Vianney Preparatory Seminary from 1973-1981, and was on the faculty of Notre Dame Seminary and Director of Pastoral Field Education there from 1981-1986, when he was named rector-president. He was also Archdiocesan Director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith and of the Holy Childhood Association.
As a member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Archbishop-designate Aymond chaired the Committee for the Protection of Children and Young
People, and served on the Committees on Catholic Education; Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations; Laity, Marriage Family Life and Youth; the Administrative Committee and the Task Force on the Life and Dignity of the Human Person.
Archbishop-designate Aymond was named Auxiliary Bishop of New Orleans in 1996, and Co-adjutor Bishop of Austin in June 1, 2000. He became Bishop of Austin January 2, 2001.
Archbishop Hughes was named Archbishop of New Orleans in 2002, after serving as Co-Adjutor Archbishop there since 2001. A Boston native, Archbishop Hughes studied at St. John's Seminary in Brighton, Massachusetts, and the Gregorian University in Rome. He was rector at St. John's when he was name an auxiliary bishop of Boston in 1981. In 1993, he was appointed bishop of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
At the USCCB, Archbishop Hughes has served on the Committee for Evangelization and Catechesis and chairman of the Subcommittee on the Catechism.
The Archdiocese of New Orleans has a population of 1,075, 283 people, with 387,101, or 36 per cent, of them Catholic.
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