An Historic Moment in Time - The New Orleans Province of the ...

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10 CE L E B R AT I N G T H E ET E R N A L LI F E Eugene T. Bannin, S.J. Father Eugene T. Bannin, 89, died peacefully in New Orleans at Ignatius Residence. A native of Brooklyn, New York, and a 1934 graduate of Brooklyn Prep, Gene entered the Society at Grand Coteau in 1937, after two years of college at St. Peter’s, New Jersey, and one year at Spring Hill College in Mobile. In 1970, Gene would earn his M.A. in education at Fairfield University. During his years of regency, Gene taught at Jesuit High School, New Orleans. On June 14, 1950, Fr. Bannin received holy orders at St. Mary’s, Kansas, having completed his philosophy studies at Spring Hill and theology at St. Mary’s. In 1951 he went to Our Lady of the Martyrs Shrine in Auriesville, New York, for tertianship. His years of priestly ministry began in 1952 at St. Joseph Church in Macon, Georgia, which the famous Br. Cornelius Otten, S.J. had built. Four years later he was in high school ministry as a student counselor, first in Tampa (1956-66), then in Shreveport (1966-75). After three years of pastoral ministry at St. Ignatius Church in Mobile (1975-78), Gene began a 16-year stretch as a hospital chaplain in Lafayette, Louisiana, where he developed a friendship with Fr. Ignatius Fabacher, a fellow Jesuit who was diocesan director of hospital ministries. For four of those years Gene found the time to help with the prison ministry. From 1994-96 Gene was resident chaplain at the Marianites of Holy Cross convent in Algiers, not far from Ignatius Residence, but when the sisters moved to their original foundation in New Orleans, Gene went to West Palm Beach and worked for three more years at St. Ann’s and at the Noreen McKeon nursing home. In 1999, Father Bannin, now 84, was back in Algiers at Ignatius Residence. Gene Bannin was the kindest and gentlest of Jesuits in New Orleans. The white hair of his senior years only enhanced his distinguished appearance. His death on May 30, 2004, was as peaceful and holy as his life had been. Every day at Ignatius Residence, at the intercessory prayers during Mass, Gene prayed for Father Fabacher, his old friend. Friends reunited again in the embrace of the Triune God. The SouthernJesuit By Louis A. Poché, S.J. Joseph E. Browning, S.J. Fr. Joseph E. Browning died of heart failure at Our Lady of Wisdom Health Care Center, New Orleans, following a ten year slow descent into a disoriented mental state. Joe Browning was by nature a conservative in every way. He never gave offense and was always the gentleman. As a scholastic Joe was the one most likely to be nominated for the “Mr. Nice Guy Award.” Later, as a pastor who was famous for arriving late for every appointment or meeting, he was lovingly referred to as “the late Fr. Browning.” But his simple kindness and sincerity more than made up for any of his flaws. A native of Little Rock and an alumnus of the city’s only Catholic high school, Joe was the second of five sons born to Dr. and Mrs. Harry Wynn Browning. In 1937 he enrolled at Spring Hill College but transferred to Loyola University in New Orleans the following year. On August 4, 1941, in the summer of his graduation from Loyola, his brothers drove him from Little Rock to the Jesuit novitiate in Grand Coteau. Joe traveled with his classmates throughout his years of formation, doing his philosophy studies at Spring Hill, theology at St. Mary’s, and tertianship in Cleveland. He was ordained at Spring Hill in 1954. But his three years of regency at Jesuit High School in Dallas defined his future in pastoral ministry. Joe was much liked in Dallas, but maintaining order and discipline in the classroom was definitely his challenge. Headaches were common to Joe at the end of a school day and he often had to take to his bed. Fr. Browning’s 35 exemplary years in pastoral ministry can be described as a tour of almost every English-speaking parish in the province. While he served mostly as an The Ignatius Residence is looking for a few good men and women… The senior Jesuit retirement community is looking for people to volunteer their time with the residents by • Taking a resident for a cup of coffee and a chat • Playing cards or a board game • Helping them write letters to loved ones • Reading a book to a resident • Having a meal with them • Or simply being present visiting for an hour If you are interested in bringing a ray of joy to an elder Jesuit brother or priest, please contact Fr. George Wiltz, S.J., Ignatius Residence Superior, at 504.394.2411, ext. 101.
assistant, Joe was the pastor of St. John’s parish, Shreveport, for 12 years (1968-80), and of St. Ann’s, West Palm Beach, for three (1980-83). In 1992 he went from the parish in Grand Coteau to become the resident chaplain at Village du Lac, a facility for senior residents in Lafayette, but increasing signs of dementia in 1994 necessitated his prompt retirement to Ignatius Residence. In 2000, he had to be moved to the more protective environment of Our Lady of Wisdom. Joe was 84 years old when he died on May 3, 2004. Yet there was something entirely characteristic about the timing. Friends who truly knew Joe’s habits could only have smiled to note that it had taken him so long to depart. J. Fillmore Elliot, S.J. Br. Fillmore Elliot, 73, a native of New Orleans and an alumnus of Jesuit High School, died of an apparent heart attack on June 26, 2004. Since October 2003, Our Lady of Wisdom was his last place of residence. Fillmore was the next to youngest member of a large and well-known Catholic family in New Orleans. Two of his brothers, Clyde and Larion, became Jesuit priests, and two sisters, Oenone and Dehra, joined the Sisters of St. Joseph of Medaille. In 1954 their mother, Enola Hannemann Elliot, was honored by the Archdiocese of New Orleans with the Regina Matrum award. Enola Elliot is one of two women whose portraits hang in the Hall of Honors at Jesuit High School for her work in founding the Blue Jay Parents Club. Fillmore entered the Society at Grand Coteau in 1948. On Christmas Day two years later he knelt before his newly ordained brother, Larion, and pronounced his first Jesuit vows. Cheerful, extroverted, and helpful by nature, Br. Elliot served as community infirmarian for more than 20 years in Grand Coteau and Spring Hill. He knew how to bring comfort to all, and the only problems he created were usually the result of his running in many directions trying to do everything for others. As a friend put it, “Fillmore could often be frustrating, but one could never dislike him. He would do anything for you.” Fillmore also served as community minister at the Jesuit schools in El Paso and Houston, and for 3 years (1974-77) he labored in Campinas, Brazil, as a sacristan and nurse. After Campinas, for 6 years (1978-84) he undertook a similar ministry at the Jesuit parish in Albuquerque where he visited the hospitals regularly. It was during his years there that he suffered a heart attack that nearly claimed his life. Limitations brought on by diabetes and serious cardiovascular problems did little to hinder his 7 years of ministry in the infirmary at Ignatius Residence. He drove senior Jesuits to their medical appointments and collected their medicines, and he frequently crossed the fence to help the neighboring pastor with Communion and other services. THE THE JESUITS JESUITS OF THE NEW NEW ORLEANS ORLEANS PROVINCE PROVINCE He was a well-known and popular presence in Algiers. In 1993, after one year of training in Baton Rouge, Fillmore received certification in hospital pastoral ministry and took his skills to Tampa, Florida where he ministered for ten years at Tampa General Hospital. He continued there even after his condition required his use of a motorized wheel chair. But in 2003 he had to move to Our Lady of Wisdom Health Care Center in New Orleans. On February 24, 2004, four months before he died, Fillmore was crowned King of the Mardi Gras at Our Lady of Wisdom. No other resident that day could have matched his reign over the chaos and mirth. Richard G. Hartnett, SJ Late in the evening of August 4, 2004, Fr. Richard G. “Dick” Hartnett, 92, settled his 6’3” frame in a New Orleans hospital chair and closed his eyes. Friends smiled to think that Dick may have finally found his way back to Jesuit High School in Tampa where he had lived and taught for most of the 20th century. A native of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Dick Hartnett did his high school studies in Tampa, and entered the Society at Grand Coteau upon his graduation in 1930. Seven years later, after his philosophy studies in St. Louis, Dick made his first trip back to Tampa for regency, then traveled with his classmates for theology studies at St. Mary’s where he was ordained in 1943. Tertianship followed in Auriesville, New York. Dick’s first priestly assignment to Tampa in 1945 was as community minister, but one year later he was in the classroom teaching. His Tampa high school ministry would go on for an additional 55 years, though his record string of years in Tampa was broken in 1967 when he was asked to teach in Dallas for one year. He was a true Jesuit. In his religious community as well as in the school he was an energetic and much appreciated presence. Always ready to do what was asked of him, Dick taught mostly Latin and English subjects to the younger students. He would claim later that no student left his English courses without the ability to write a “decent” paragraph. In 1981 he was named Alumni Chaplain. The school’s annual Richard G. Hartnett Annual Golf Classic is testimony to the esteem in which Dick was held throughout the wider community. But perhaps his more endearing claim to the affection of students and faculty in Tampa was Dick’s contribution to the school’s annual Mission Drive. He conducted a special collection of pennies only, and the students who brought pennies received New Orleans Mardi Gras beads from Dick’s store. Fr. Hartnett’s move to Ignatius Residence in 2000 was made with characteristic grace and Jesuit readiness. He was a model member and gift to his fellow retirees. On August 3, Eternal rest grant The SouthernJesuit 11
Page 1 and 2: The S O U T H E R N An Historic Mom
Page 3 and 4: FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR As the
Page 5 and 6: At the end of his acceptance speech
Page 7 and 8: BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF VERY REV. PETER-
Page 9: 2004 Vow Class (from left to right:
Page 13 and 14: Please keep the message of these me
Page 15 and 16: uniquely his own to this experience
Page 17 and 18: or rebuilding the crumbling Parish
Page 19 and 20: Miami’s Oldest Parish Still Gets
Page 21 and 22: Help Us Meet Fr. General’s Challe
Page 23 and 24: diverse impact of Catholics on sout
Page 25 and 26: Fr. Louis Lambert, S.J. returns to
Page 27 and 28: Ms. Mary Ann Griffin died in early

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