NEW ORLEANS - He was born, died and served the church and schools in Philadelphia, but Archbishop Francis Bible Schulte's spiritual home for 13 years was New Orleans and on Thursday, he will become the 13th bishop buried beneath the floor of the city's St. Louis Cathedral.
Schulte, who retired as archbishop in 2001, died Jan. 17 at age 89. He had been in hospice care in Pennsylvania. Funeral services will begin on Wednesday afternoon, when his body is received at Notre Dame Seminary. A wake will be held there until 8 p.m. and will continue Thursday morning at St. Louis Cathedral.
Schulte will be buried in a crypt beneath the floor of the Cathedral following a funeral Mass Thursday at 2 p.m., according to Sarah Comiskey McDonald, spokesperson for the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Crews will open the floor of the Cathedral late Wednesday night in preparation for the burial on Thursday.
Since 1850, there have been 14 archbishops of New Orleans. Ten archbishops and three bishops are buried in St. Louis Cathedral, the most recent being the legendary Archbishop Philip Hannan, who died in 2011.
Bishop Leo de Neckere was the first bishop buried in the Cathedral in 1833. Prior to Archbishop Hannan, Archbishop Francis Joseph Rummel was the last archbishop interred there.
All of the bishops and archbishops who are interred there are buried in crypts in the Cathedral sanctuary, rather than side chapels. Tombstones in the form of commemorative plaques of the archbishops and bishops buried in the Cathedral are on the walls of the sanctuary/cathedral. The plaques give biographical information for each.
In addition to church leaders, many early residents of the city are buried in the Cathedral, as far back as 1793. In some cases, however, the exact burial spots inside the Cathedral are not known.
Schulte served as Archbishop of New Orleans from 1989 until 2002. Current Archbishop Gregory Aymond will celebrate the funeral Mass for Schulte. He will be assisted by retired Archbishop Alfred Hughes, who replaced Schulte as archbishop. The bishops of Lafayette, Biloxi, Mobile, Baton Rouge, Shreveport and Houma-Thibodaux will also take part. New Orleans retired Auxuilary Bishop Dominic Carmon and current Auxiliary Bishop Fernand Cheri will also be concelebrants, along with church officials from Schulte's native Philadelphia.
Readers and gift bearers for the Mass are some well-known names, including Gayle Benson, Sr. M. Greta Jupiter, S.S.F., A.J. Capritto, Phyllis Taylor, Joseph Canizaro, Andre Villere, Jr. and Sr. Janet Franklin, C.S.J., Jane Nalty and Sr. Sylvia Thibodeaux, S.S.F.
