Archbishop Aymond shares touching intimate story of Archbishop Hannan's last days

Archbishop Philip Hannan whispers, 'Sounds good to me,' upon receiving deathbed blessing

Published: Thursday, September 29, 2011, 8:45 PM

By Bruce Nolan, The Times-Picayune The Times-Picayune

It was Saturday afternoon, about 4 p.m., and as Archbishop Philip Hannan lay near death on the third floor of Chateau de Notre Dame, his younger brother, Jerry, a nephew, Tom, and a few of his oldest New Orleans friends gathered somberly around Hannan’s hospital bed in the institution where he had lived since June.

Enlarge Times-Picayune Staff TED JACKSON / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE Philip Hannan retired archbishop of New Orleans, center with former President George H.W. Bush and Saints Garrett Hartley before the start of the NFC Championship between the New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans Sunday, January 24, 2010.

 

 

For weeks Hannan, 98, had been slowly failing; now his decline had steepened sharply. He was dying.

On Saturday, the doctors had said it did not appear he would survive the night, Archbishop Gregory Aymond recalled.

So Aymond and a few friends assembled to celebrate what the Catholic church calls the Mass for Viaticum — the Latin term for “food for the journey” — essentially, a dying person’s last opportunity to receive the Eucharist, the central spiritual experience of Catholic life.

Aymond would shortly issue a public statement asking for prayers for Hannan. That would be the first public notification that the former archbishop, who died four and a half days later, was near death after a long and graceful decline.
But for several days before that, Aymond said, those closest to Hannan had known of his recent frailty and had formed “a constant stream” of well-wishers.
On Saturday, with the end apparently near, the few people around the archbishop's bed included his brother, Jerry Hannan, 89, who had flown in from Bethesda, Md.; the archbishop’s nephew, Tom; his oldest and closest New Orleans friend, Alden “Doc” Laborde, the oil-field entrepreneur; Saints owner Tom Benson and his wife, Gayle; restaurateur Klara Cvitanovich, who for years sent Hannan a daily take-out lunch from Drago’s; and a few others.
“It was an emotional time for all of us there,” Aymond said Thursday. “It was clear he knew some of what was going on.
“I gave no homily,” Aymond said. “I simply pointed at him and said he IS the living homily.
“He taught us in many ways how to live, but I think he taught us how to grow old gracefully.
“For a man who was independent, he became totally dependent on others, and never, ever complained about it.”
Aymond said Hannan had already been anointed several times with the Sacrament of the Sick. This final Mass, the last of uncounted thousands in Hannan’s life, would be his last reception of the Eucharist.
In the early part of the ritual, Aymond and the others jointly confessed their sins in prayer, and as part of the rite, Aymond said he granted Hannan absolution from his sins in the name of Jesus.
Though weak and perhaps not entirely alert, Aymond said Hannan whispered a response.
They are what so far are his last recorded words:
He said: “Sounds good to me.”
“He was reassured, and knew God was forgiving him,” Aymond said.
Hannan survived the night, in and out of consciousness, and into much of the following week.
Aymond said he visited Hannan again on Wednesday, when he was weaker yet.
They have known each other for all of Aymond’s adult life.
Hannan ordained the young Aymond a priest in 1975, shepherded his career as a seminary rector, and assisted in Aymond’s ordination as a bishop in St. Louis Cathedral in 1997.
“He was truly a mentor and a father figure,” Aymond said.
On Wednesday, Aymond found Hannan was largely unaware, profoundly weak.
At the end of that visit, Aymond said he gave Hannan a farewell blessing, and on impulse Aymond asked for a blessing in return.
Aymond said Hannan understood the request.
“He tried to raise his hand, but he had trouble,” Aymond said. “He tried, in his way, to make the sign of the cross. And I will always consider that an important farewell we were able to exchange.”
Before dawn on Thursday, Aymond said Hannan lay alone in his room, his visitors having left, and his sitter having stepped out. It was shortly after 3 a.m.
Aymond said the sitter reported hearing a slight noise. She entered to check, and found Hannan gone.