NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – A noon Mass at St. Louis Cathedral in the French Quarter drew local Catholics and tourists on Wednesday (Sept. 24), many of whom had the announcement of a new archbishop on their minds.
The Vatican revealed earlier that Pope Leo has chosen a successor for Archbishop Gregory Aymond, a decision closely watched by the faithful.
“We hate to see Archbishop Aymond go, you know, what I’m saying, but if his time is up, he’s gotta go,” says Harry Johnson Jr.
David Reichard says he hopes the incoming archbishop will serve the church well.
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“I hope that he’s a good shepherd for New Orleans Catholics, you know, that we have somebody to look to that leads us to a holier and better life,” says Reichard.
Aymond officially introduced his successor, 59-year-old Bishop James Checchio of the Diocese of Metuchen, New Jersey, during a press conference on Wednesday morning.
“We decided to ask Pope Leo to appoint a coadjutor for the Archdiocese of New Orleans, in order to prepare for a smooth transition once the bankruptcy proceedings are completed,” Aymond says.
In that role, Checchio will assist Aymond and eventually succeed him as archbishop of New Orleans upon Aymond’s retirement.
Checchio, a native of Camden, New Jersey, was ordained a priest in 1992. He studied at the North American College in Rome and holds degrees in sacred theology, business administration and canon law.
From 2006 to 2016, he served as rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome. In March 2016, Pope Francis named him bishop of Metuchen.
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Father John Cunningham, a Jesuit priest and vice president for mission and identity at Loyola University New Orleans, says Checchio brings an impressive background.
“He’s had so many activities and involvement, particularly with the U.S. Council, the Conference of Bishops, and particularly with seminary training. He also was involved with a racism committee, and I think his young spirit and his experience on top of that will come here and help us. We’re still healing over some of the things that happened in the archdiocese,” Cunningham says.
He first heard of Checchio’s appointment early Wednesday morning.
“So like everybody else, I was getting text messages this morning at about 7:30,” says Cunningham. “One of the most exciting things we’re happy about here is he is a graduate of the University of Scranton, which is one of our sister Jesuit universities, so he’s a Jesuit alum, so we’re excited about that.”
Checchio also served as a chaplain for the Philadelphia Eagles.
“But we feel very sure that he can change his allegiance to the Saints because we know that Saints are more like God than eagles,” Aymond says, as the audience laughed.
Checchio later held up a football he says was given to him by a friend.
“You know how God sometimes gives us signs that we have to pay attention to or we miss them. And one that I received last year was this, a Saints ball signed by all the players on the team,” he says.
Cunningham also noted Checchio’s background in professional sports.
“And one of the things we found interesting too is that he was once chaplain to the Philadelphia Eagles,” he says.
Some local Catholics hope the new archbishop will reenergize lapsed members of the church.
“The new pope has energized everyone, and he’s the one of course that made this appointment,” says Reichard.
Johnson adds, “I hope he does a good job and I hope he be welcomed aboard.”
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