Joseph Rummel
Encyclopedia
Joseph Francis Rummel was bishop
of the Diocese of Omaha, Nebraska
(Mar. 30, 1928 - Mar. 9, 1935) and Archbishop
of the Archdiocese of New Orleans
(Mar. 9, 1935 - Nov. 8, 1964).
in the Grand Duchy of Baden
, German Empire
, on October 14, 1876. His family immigrated
to the United States
when he was six years old. Like many recent German immigrants
, the Rummels settled in the Yorkville District
of Manhattan
in New York City
.
Joseph Rummel attended St. Boniface Parochial School, which was later demolished and is now the location of the United Nations Building
. He graduated in one of the first graduating classes at the newly established Saint Anselm College
in 1902.
studies in Rome
, he was ordained
to the priesthood at the Basilica of St. John Lateran
on May 24, 1902.
Fr. Rummel returned to the Archdiocese of New York
and served as a parish priest in several parishes around the city for the next 25 years.
on Mar. 30, 1928, where he served for seven years.
on March 9, 1935. He succeeded the recently deceased Archbishop John Shaw
.
Rummel transferred to New Orleans
during the Great Depression
. At the time, cities in the United States, including New Orleans, were rapidly urbanizing
, as farmers flocked to the city in search of factory jobs. Also, recent European immigrants, many of whom were Catholic, were also settling in the city. The population of the city rapidly expanded, as did the need for community services, especially schools. Over the next thirty years, the Catholic population in the Archdiocese would double to over 762,000, and the number of students in Catholic schools grew from fewer than 40,000 to over 85,000.
During Rummel's episcopacy, 45 new church parishes
were created throughout the Archdiocese, and increasing the number of parishes from 135 to 180. In 1945, he launched the Youth Progress Program, a major initiative to raise money for the expansion of the parochial school system
. This program resulted in the construction of 70 new Catholic schools, including several new high schools.
Saint Augustine High School
in Orleans Parish
was built in 1951. Archbishop Shaw
,
Archbishop Chapelle
, Archbishop Blenk
, and Archbishop Rummel
, all in Jefferson Parish
, were built in 1962.
In 1935, Rummel mandated the creation of CCD programs
in every parish. He streamlined the accounting procedures of the Archdiocese. And, he created new lay organizations
to support an expansion of the many charity programs
within the Archdiocese.
In October 1960, at the age of eighty-two, Rummel broke an arm and a leg in a fall, after which he nearly died from pneumonia
. Rummel recovered and continued to serve as archbishop for another four years, but his health was a recurring concern during the last few years of his life. He was given a coadjutor, John Cody, in 1961.
the Archdiocese, including the Catholic schools. All of the Southern States
, including Louisiana
and the city of New Orleans, had been racially segregated by law since the failure of Reconstruction in the 1870s. Like the rest of the city, church parishes and schools within the Archdiocese were also segregated. The community had accepted segregation as a normal part of life.
The city of New Orleans has always had a large population of black Catholics.
Previous archbishops, such as Archbishop Francis Janssens and Archbishop James Blenk
, established dedicated schools for black children in an attempt to improve the educational opportunities of its black parishioners. But the segregated parochial school system suffered from the same problems with underfunding and low standards as the segregated public school system. No archbishop attempted to desegregate the Archdiocese until the Civil Rights Movement
began after the end of the Second World War
.
Once the movement did begin, Rummel embraced the cause of racial equality. He admitted two black students to the Notre Dame Seminary
in 1948. He ordered the removal of "white" and "colored" signs from churches in 1951.
That year, he opened Saint Augustine High School
, the first high school dedicated to the higher education of young black men in the history of the Archdiocese.
And in 1953, he issued "Blessed Are the Peacemakers", the pastoral letter
that officially ordered the end to segregation in the entire Archdiocese:
The letter was read in every church in every parish of the Archdiocese. Some parishioners organized protests against the diocesan order. Rummel closed a church in 1955, when its members began protesting the assignment of a black priest to their parish.
He issued another pastoral letter the following year, reiterating the incompatibility of segregation with the doctrines of the Catholic Church.
But most parishioners reluctantly accepted the desegregation of church parishes. The situation was very different for school desegregation. The United States Supreme Court
issued its Brown v. Topeka Board of Education
decision on May 17, 1954, declaring segregated schools unconstitutional
and reversing all state laws which had established them.
The Louisiana State Legislature
promptly passed Act 555 and Act 556, protecting its segregated public school system from being dismantled by the Supreme Court. Both acts were rendered unconstitutional by Judge J. Skelly Wright
, a federal judge
from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
in New Orleans, in the case Earl Benjamin Bush v. Orleans Parish School Board on February 1956. Nevertheless, the Orleans Parish School Board
and neighboring parish school boards vowed to postpone desegregating their public schools indefinitely.
Archbishop Rummel praised Brown v. Board of Education, but he was reluctant to desegregate his own parochial school system
. He had announced his intention to desegregate the Catholic schools as early as 1956. However, most archdiocesan parish school boards had voted against desegregation. After Bush v. Parish School Board, some parents had transferred their students from public schools to parochial schools to avoid desegregation. A few local Catholics sent a petition to Pope Pius XII
, requesting a papal decree supporting segregation. The papacy responded by describing racism as a major evil.
There was also a very real threat that the Louisiana State Legislature would withhold funding from parochial schools if they desegregated. The State of Louisiana funded free textbooks, reduced lunches, and free buses for all students in the state, even students attending parochial schools. This was a legacy of Huey Long
's Share Our Wealth
program, and it still exists to this day.
But by 1962, Judge Wright had issued a barrage of court orders neutralizing the Orleans Parish School Board's attempts at evading the Supreme Court. A handful of black students were already being admitted into previously all white public schools. Archbishop Rummel formally announced the end of segregation in the New Orleans parochial school system on March 27, 1962. The 1962-1963 school year would be the first integrated school year in the history of the Archdiocese.
White segregationists were outraged. Politicians organized "citizen's councils
", held public protests, and initiated letter writing campaigns. Parents threatened to transfer their children to public schools or even boycott the entire school year. Rummel issued numerous letters to individual Catholics, pleading for their cooperation and explaining his decision. He even went so far as to threaten opponents of desegregation with excommunication, the most severe censure of the Church. The threats were enough to convince most segregationist Catholics into standing down. Nevertheless, some parishioners continued to organize protests.
On April 16, 1962, the Monday before Easter
, he excommunicated three local Catholics for defying the authority the Church and organizing protests against the Archdiocese.
The first of the three was Judge Leander Perez
, 70, a parish judge from St. Bernard Parish
, who called on Catholics to withhold donations to the Archdiocese and to boycott Sunday church collections. The second was Jackson G. Ricau, 44, political commentator, segregationist writer, and director of the "Citizens Council of South Louisiana". The third was Una Gaillot, 41, mother of two, housewife, and president of "Save Our Nation Inc.".
The excommunications made national headlines and had the tacit support of the papacy
.
A few months later, the 1963 school year began on September 1962. A handful of black students were admitted to previously all-white Catholic schools. Earlier threats of boycotts and mass student transfers to public schools never materialized. No violence took place between whites and the black students. Parents and students grudgingly surrendered to Rummel's decision, and racial segregation in the Archdiocese quietly faded from memory.
.
Nevertheless, he left New Orleans for Vatican City
to attend the first session of the Second Vatican Council
.
Archbishop Joseph Rummel died in New Orleans on November 9, 1964, at the age of eighty-eight. He was succeeded by John Cody
, the Coadjutor Archbishop (1961–1964). Archbishop Rummel is interred under the sanctuary at Saint Louis Cathedral
in the French Quarter
.
Archbishop Rummel High School
in Metairie
is named after him.
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of the Diocese of Omaha, Nebraska
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Omaha
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Omaha is a particular church of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in the midwestern region of the United States. Archbishop Elden Francis Curtiss...
(Mar. 30, 1928 - Mar. 9, 1935) and Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
of the Archdiocese of New Orleans
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans, officially in Latin Archidioecesis Novae Aureliae, is an ecclesiastical division of the Roman Catholic Church administered from New Orleans, Louisiana...
(Mar. 9, 1935 - Nov. 8, 1964).
Early life
Joseph Francis Rummel was born in the village of SteinmauernRastatt (district)
Rastatt is a district in the west of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Karlsruhe, Calw, Freudenstadt and the Ortenaukreis. To the west it borders the French département Bas-Rhin...
in the Grand Duchy of Baden
Grand Duchy of Baden
The Grand Duchy of Baden was a historical state in the southwest of Germany, on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918.-History:...
, German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
, on October 14, 1876. His family immigrated
Immigration to the United States
Immigration to the United States has been a major source of population growth and cultural change throughout much of the history of the United States. The economic, social, and political aspects of immigration have caused controversy regarding ethnicity, economic benefits, jobs for non-immigrants,...
to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
when he was six years old. Like many recent German immigrants
German American
German Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry and comprise about 51 million people, or 17% of the U.S. population, the country's largest self-reported ancestral group...
, the Rummels settled in the Yorkville District
Yorkville, Manhattan
Yorkville is a neighborhood in the greater Upper East Side, in the Borough of Manhattan in New York City. Yorkville's boundaries include: the East River on the east, 96th Street on the north, Third Avenue on the west and 72nd Street to the south. However, its southern boundary is a subject of...
of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Joseph Rummel attended St. Boniface Parochial School, which was later demolished and is now the location of the United Nations Building
United Nations headquarters
The headquarters of the United Nations is a complex in New York City. The complex has served as the official headquarters of the United Nations since its completion in 1952. It is located in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan, on spacious grounds overlooking the East River...
. He graduated in one of the first graduating classes at the newly established Saint Anselm College
Saint Anselm College
Saint Anselm College is a nationally ranked, private, Benedictine, Catholic liberal arts college in Goffstown, New Hampshire. Founded in 1889 by Abbot Hilary Pfrängle, O.S.B. of Saint Mary's Abbey in Newark, New Jersey, at the request of Bishop Denis M. Bradley of Manchester, New Hampshire, the...
in 1902.
Priest of New York
After SeminarySeminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
studies in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, he was ordained
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
to the priesthood at the Basilica of St. John Lateran
Basilica of St. John Lateran
The Papal Archbasilica of St. John Lateran , commonly known as St. John Lateran's Archbasilica and St. John Lateran's Basilica, is the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome and the official ecclesiastical seat of the Bishop of Rome, who is the Pope...
on May 24, 1902.
Fr. Rummel returned to the Archdiocese of New York
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York covers New York, Bronx, and Richmond counties in New York City , as well as Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester counties in New York state. There are 480 parishes...
and served as a parish priest in several parishes around the city for the next 25 years.
Bishop of Omaha
He was named the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Omaha, NebraskaRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Omaha
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Omaha is a particular church of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in the midwestern region of the United States. Archbishop Elden Francis Curtiss...
on Mar. 30, 1928, where he served for seven years.
Archbishop of New Orleans
Rummel was named as the ninth archbishop of the Archdiocese of New OrleansRoman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans, officially in Latin Archidioecesis Novae Aureliae, is an ecclesiastical division of the Roman Catholic Church administered from New Orleans, Louisiana...
on March 9, 1935. He succeeded the recently deceased Archbishop John Shaw
John Shaw (archbishop)
John William Shaw was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of San Antonio and Archbishop of New Orleans .-Biography:...
.
Rummel transferred to New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. At the time, cities in the United States, including New Orleans, were rapidly urbanizing
Urbanization
Urbanization, urbanisation or urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008....
, as farmers flocked to the city in search of factory jobs. Also, recent European immigrants, many of whom were Catholic, were also settling in the city. The population of the city rapidly expanded, as did the need for community services, especially schools. Over the next thirty years, the Catholic population in the Archdiocese would double to over 762,000, and the number of students in Catholic schools grew from fewer than 40,000 to over 85,000.
During Rummel's episcopacy, 45 new church parishes
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
were created throughout the Archdiocese, and increasing the number of parishes from 135 to 180. In 1945, he launched the Youth Progress Program, a major initiative to raise money for the expansion of the parochial school system
Catholic school
Catholic schools are maintained parochial schools or education ministries of the Catholic Church. the Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system...
. This program resulted in the construction of 70 new Catholic schools, including several new high schools.
Saint Augustine High School
St. Augustine High School (New Orleans)
St. Augustine High School or "St. Aug" is an all-boys parochial high school in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It was founded in 1951 and covers grades 6 through 12 .-History:...
in Orleans Parish
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
was built in 1951. Archbishop Shaw
Archbishop Shaw High School
Archbishop Shaw High School is an Archdiocesan school administered under the Salesians of St. John Bosco. It is approved by the Louisiana State Department of Education and the Southern Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges. Founded in 1962, it is located in Marrero, Louisiana...
,
Archbishop Chapelle
Archbishop Chapelle High School
Archbishop Chapelle High School is a Catholic secondary school for young women. It is located in Metairie, a community in unincorporated Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States.-History:...
, Archbishop Blenk
Archbishop Blenk High School
Archbishop Blenk High School was an all girl Catholic high school in Gretna, Louisiana. The school was located on the West Bank of Jefferson Parish. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans, the school was founded in 1962 and staffed by the Marianites of Holy Cross...
, and Archbishop Rummel
Archbishop Rummel High School
Archbishop Rummel High School is a Catholic secondary school located in Metairie, a community in unincorporated Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. The school is named after Archbishop Joseph Rummel, a former Archbishop in the Archdiocese of New Orleans....
, all in Jefferson Parish
Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
Jefferson Parish is a parish in Louisiana, United States that includes most of the suburbs of New Orleans. The seat of parish government is Gretna....
, were built in 1962.
In 1935, Rummel mandated the creation of CCD programs
Confraternity of Christian Doctrine
The Confraternity of Christian Doctrine was an association established at Rome in 1562 for the purpose of giving religious education. Its modern usage, often abbreviated CCD or C.C.D., is a religious education program of the Catholic Church, normally designed for children.-History:Until the...
in every parish. He streamlined the accounting procedures of the Archdiocese. And, he created new lay organizations
Laity
In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...
to support an expansion of the many charity programs
Catholic Charities
Catholic Charities is a network of charities whose aim is "to provide service to people in need, to advocate for justice in social structures, and to call the entire church and other people of good will to do the same." It is one of the largest charities in the United States...
within the Archdiocese.
In October 1960, at the age of eighty-two, Rummel broke an arm and a leg in a fall, after which he nearly died from pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
. Rummel recovered and continued to serve as archbishop for another four years, but his health was a recurring concern during the last few years of his life. He was given a coadjutor, John Cody, in 1961.
The Desegregation of the Archdiocese
Rummel spent most of his tenure in New Orleans expanding the parochial school system. However, Rummel is perhaps best remembered for his controversial decision to desegregateDesegregation
Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups usually referring to races. This is most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the American Civil Rights Movement, both before and after the United States Supreme Court's decision in...
the Archdiocese, including the Catholic schools. All of the Southern States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
, including Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
and the city of New Orleans, had been racially segregated by law since the failure of Reconstruction in the 1870s. Like the rest of the city, church parishes and schools within the Archdiocese were also segregated. The community had accepted segregation as a normal part of life.
The city of New Orleans has always had a large population of black Catholics.
Previous archbishops, such as Archbishop Francis Janssens and Archbishop James Blenk
James Blenk
James Hubert Herbert Blenk, S.M. was a German American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Puerto Rico and Archbishop of New Orleans .-Biography:...
, established dedicated schools for black children in an attempt to improve the educational opportunities of its black parishioners. But the segregated parochial school system suffered from the same problems with underfunding and low standards as the segregated public school system. No archbishop attempted to desegregate the Archdiocese until the Civil Rights Movement
African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)
The African-American Civil Rights Movement refers to the movements in the United States aimed at outlawing racial discrimination against African Americans and restoring voting rights to them. This article covers the phase of the movement between 1955 and 1968, particularly in the South...
began after the end of the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Once the movement did begin, Rummel embraced the cause of racial equality. He admitted two black students to the Notre Dame Seminary
Notre Dame Seminary
Notre Dame Seminary is a resident, accredited graduate theological school in New Orleans, Louisiana, founded in 1923 for the education of men to be priests of the Roman Catholic Church. The building, located at 2901 South Carrollton Avenue, was constructed between 1922-1923, and was designed by...
in 1948. He ordered the removal of "white" and "colored" signs from churches in 1951.
That year, he opened Saint Augustine High School
St. Augustine High School (New Orleans)
St. Augustine High School or "St. Aug" is an all-boys parochial high school in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It was founded in 1951 and covers grades 6 through 12 .-History:...
, the first high school dedicated to the higher education of young black men in the history of the Archdiocese.
And in 1953, he issued "Blessed Are the Peacemakers", the pastoral letter
Pastoral letter
A Pastoral letter, often called simply a pastoral, is an open letter addressed by a bishop to the clergy or laity of his diocese, or to both, containing either general admonition, instruction or consolation, or directions for behaviour in particular circumstances...
that officially ordered the end to segregation in the entire Archdiocese:
- "Ever mindful, therefore, of the basic truth that our Colored Catholic brethren share with us the same spiritual life and destiny, the same membership in the Mystical Body of Christ, the same dependence upon the Word of God, the participation in the Sacraments, especially the Most Holy Eucharist, the same need of moral and social encouragement,
- let there be no further discrimination or segregation in the pews, at the Communion rail, at the confessional and in parish meetings, just as there will be no segregation in the kingdom of heaven."
-
-
-
-
-
- Rummel, Most Reverend Joseph Francis.
- "Blessed Are the Peacemakers." Pastoral letter 15. 1953.
-
-
-
-
-
The letter was read in every church in every parish of the Archdiocese. Some parishioners organized protests against the diocesan order. Rummel closed a church in 1955, when its members began protesting the assignment of a black priest to their parish.
He issued another pastoral letter the following year, reiterating the incompatibility of segregation with the doctrines of the Catholic Church.
- "Racial segregation as such is morally wrong and sinful because it is a denial of the unity and solidarity of the human race as conceived by God in the creation of Adam and Eve."
-
-
-
-
-
- Rummel, Most Reverend Joseph Francis.
- "The Morality of Racial Segregation." Pastoral letter. Feb. 1956.
-
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-
-
But most parishioners reluctantly accepted the desegregation of church parishes. The situation was very different for school desegregation. The United States Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
issued its Brown v. Topeka Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...
decision on May 17, 1954, declaring segregated schools unconstitutional
Constitutionality
Constitutionality is the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution. Acts that are not in accordance with the rules laid down in the constitution are deemed to be ultra vires.-See also:*ultra vires*Company law*Constitutional law...
and reversing all state laws which had established them.
- We conclude that, in the field of public education, the doctrine of "separate but equal" has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.
-
-
-
-
-
- Warren, EarlEarl WarrenEarl Warren was the 14th Chief Justice of the United States.He is known for the sweeping decisions of the Warren Court, which ended school segregation and transformed many areas of American law, especially regarding the rights of the accused, ending public-school-sponsored prayer, and requiring...
. Chief Justice of the United States Supreme CourtSupreme Court of the United StatesThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
. - Brown v. Topeka Board of Education. May 17, 1954.
- Warren, Earl
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-
-
-
-
The Louisiana State Legislature
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
promptly passed Act 555 and Act 556, protecting its segregated public school system from being dismantled by the Supreme Court. Both acts were rendered unconstitutional by Judge J. Skelly Wright
J. Skelly Wright
James Skelly Wright was a judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and anti-segregationist. The J...
, a federal judge
United States federal judge
In the United States, the title of federal judge usually means a judge appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate in accordance with Article II of the United States Constitution....
from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana is a federal trial court based in New Orleans. Like all U.S...
in New Orleans, in the case Earl Benjamin Bush v. Orleans Parish School Board on February 1956. Nevertheless, the Orleans Parish School Board
New Orleans Public Schools
New Orleans Public Schools is a public school system that serves all of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Schools within the system are governed by a multitude of entities, including the Orleans Parish School Board , which directly administers 4 schools and has granted charters to another 12,...
and neighboring parish school boards vowed to postpone desegregating their public schools indefinitely.
Archbishop Rummel praised Brown v. Board of Education, but he was reluctant to desegregate his own parochial school system
Catholic school
Catholic schools are maintained parochial schools or education ministries of the Catholic Church. the Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system...
. He had announced his intention to desegregate the Catholic schools as early as 1956. However, most archdiocesan parish school boards had voted against desegregation. After Bush v. Parish School Board, some parents had transferred their students from public schools to parochial schools to avoid desegregation. A few local Catholics sent a petition to Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
, requesting a papal decree supporting segregation. The papacy responded by describing racism as a major evil.
There was also a very real threat that the Louisiana State Legislature would withhold funding from parochial schools if they desegregated. The State of Louisiana funded free textbooks, reduced lunches, and free buses for all students in the state, even students attending parochial schools. This was a legacy of Huey Long
Huey Long
Huey Pierce Long, Jr. , nicknamed The Kingfish, served as the 40th Governor of Louisiana from 1928–1932 and as a U.S. Senator from 1932 to 1935. A Democrat, he was noted for his radical populist policies. Though a backer of Franklin D...
's Share Our Wealth
Share Our Wealth
Share Our Wealth was a movement begun during the Great Depression by Huey Long, a governor and later United States Senator from Louisiana.-Major provisions of "Share Our Wealth":The key planks of the Share Our Wealth platform included:...
program, and it still exists to this day.
But by 1962, Judge Wright had issued a barrage of court orders neutralizing the Orleans Parish School Board's attempts at evading the Supreme Court. A handful of black students were already being admitted into previously all white public schools. Archbishop Rummel formally announced the end of segregation in the New Orleans parochial school system on March 27, 1962. The 1962-1963 school year would be the first integrated school year in the history of the Archdiocese.
White segregationists were outraged. Politicians organized "citizen's councils
White Citizens' Council
The White Citizens' Council was an American white supremacist organization formed on July 11, 1954. After 1956, it was known as the Citizens' Councils of America...
", held public protests, and initiated letter writing campaigns. Parents threatened to transfer their children to public schools or even boycott the entire school year. Rummel issued numerous letters to individual Catholics, pleading for their cooperation and explaining his decision. He even went so far as to threaten opponents of desegregation with excommunication, the most severe censure of the Church. The threats were enough to convince most segregationist Catholics into standing down. Nevertheless, some parishioners continued to organize protests.
On April 16, 1962, the Monday before Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
, he excommunicated three local Catholics for defying the authority the Church and organizing protests against the Archdiocese.
The first of the three was Judge Leander Perez
Leander Perez
Leander Henry Perez, Sr. , was the Democratic political boss of Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes in southeastern Louisiana during the middle third of the 20th century. Officially, he served as a district judge, later as district attorney, and as president of the Plaquemines Parish Commission...
, 70, a parish judge from St. Bernard Parish
St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana
St. Bernard Parish is a parish located southeast of New Orleans in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Chalmette, the largest city in the parish. As of 2000, its population was 67,229. It has been ranked the fastest-growing county in the United States from 2007 to 2008 by the U.S....
, who called on Catholics to withhold donations to the Archdiocese and to boycott Sunday church collections. The second was Jackson G. Ricau, 44, political commentator, segregationist writer, and director of the "Citizens Council of South Louisiana". The third was Una Gaillot, 41, mother of two, housewife, and president of "Save Our Nation Inc.".
The excommunications made national headlines and had the tacit support of the papacy
Pope John XXIII
-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...
.
A few months later, the 1963 school year began on September 1962. A handful of black students were admitted to previously all-white Catholic schools. Earlier threats of boycotts and mass student transfers to public schools never materialized. No violence took place between whites and the black students. Parents and students grudgingly surrendered to Rummel's decision, and racial segregation in the Archdiocese quietly faded from memory.
Second Vatican Council
By October 1962, Rummel was eighty-six years old, in declining health, and almost completely blind from glaucomaGlaucoma
Glaucoma is an eye disorder in which the optic nerve suffers damage, permanently damaging vision in the affected eye and progressing to complete blindness if untreated. It is often, but not always, associated with increased pressure of the fluid in the eye...
.
Nevertheless, he left New Orleans for Vatican City
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
to attend the first session of the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
.
Archbishop Joseph Rummel died in New Orleans on November 9, 1964, at the age of eighty-eight. He was succeeded by John Cody
John Cardinal Cody
John Patrick Cardinal Cody was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. A native of St. Louis, he served as Bishop of Kansas City-Saint Joseph , Archbishop of New Orleans , and Archbishop of Chicago . He was created a cardinal in 1967.-Early life and education:John Cody was born in St...
, the Coadjutor Archbishop (1961–1964). Archbishop Rummel is interred under the sanctuary at Saint Louis Cathedral
St. Louis Cathedral, New Orleans
Saint Louis Cathedral , also known as the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans; it has the distinction of being the oldest continuously operating cathedral in the United States...
in the French Quarter
French Quarter
The French Quarter, also known as Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. When New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city was originally centered on the French Quarter, or the Vieux Carré as it was known then...
.
"Animam pro ovibus ponere" -- to give one's life for the sheep.
Archbishop Rummel was the Archbishop of New Orleans for twenty-nine years, through two World Wars, and the beginning of the Civil Rights era. His Youth Progress Program had a profound impact on education in the city of New Orleans. and his leadership ended racial segregation in the churches and the schools of the Archdiocese.Archbishop Rummel High School
Archbishop Rummel High School
Archbishop Rummel High School is a Catholic secondary school located in Metairie, a community in unincorporated Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. The school is named after Archbishop Joseph Rummel, a former Archbishop in the Archdiocese of New Orleans....
in Metairie
Metairie, Louisiana
Metairie is a census-designated place in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States and is a major part of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area. Metairie is the largest community in Jefferson Parish. It is an unincorporated area that would be larger than most of the state's cities if it were...
is named after him.
General References.
- Nolan, Charles E. A History of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. "World War II and the Post-War Years 1941-1965". May 2001.
- Smestad, John Jr. Loyola University, New OrleansLoyola University New OrleansLoyola University New Orleans is a private, co-educational and Jesuit university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Originally established as Loyola College in 1904, the institution was chartered as a university in 1912. It bears the name of the Jesuit patron, Saint Ignatius of Loyola...
. The Role of Archbishop Joseph F. Rummel in the Desegregation of Catholic Schools in New Orleans. 1994.
Further Reading.
- Time MagazineTime (magazine)Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
. "The Archbishop Stands Firm." Friday, Apr. 27, 1962. Pages 45–46.
- Finney, Peter. Clarion Herald. "Lay persons launched 1961 desegregation drive". Jan. 18, 2001.
- Rummel, Most Reverend Joseph Francis. "Blessed Are the Peacemakers." Pastoral letter 15. 1953.
- Rummel, Most Reverend Joseph Francis. "The Morality of Racial Segregation." Pastoral letter. Feb. 1956.
- Anderson, R. Bentley. Black, White, And Catholic: New Orleans Interracialism, 1947-1956. Oct. 30, 2005. ISBN 0-8265-1483-9. Book review from the American National Catholic Weekly.