Hannan Traces Sad Steps To Lead Arlington Service
05-24-1994 Times Picayune

*************************************************
Copyright. All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://www.usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm
************************************************  


Retired New Orleans Archbishop Philip M. Hannan traced a sad
and familiar path Monday as he led the Kennedy family and the
nation in mourning at the burial of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
- just as he did when he eulogized her husband, President John
F. Kennedy, 30 years ago.

"It brought back very strong memories," Hannan said afterward.
"Although the president's funeral was in November, it was very
bright that day and not too cold - just a bit of a chill. Today
was warm, but it was just as bright, and that added to a sense
of nostalgia."

Hannan was auxiliary bishop of Washington, D.C., during the
late 1950s and early 1960s, when he befriended and occasionally
advised Kennedy as he rose from Congress to the presidency. He
was made archbishop of New Orleans in 1965.

The connection has brought him to the Kennedy gravesite in
Arlington National Cemetery four times - for the burials of
John and brother Robert F. Kennedy, for the reinterment of John
and Jacqueline's two small children, one stillborn and one who
died shortly after birth. And now for Onassis' burial.

Hannan said Sen. Edward Kennedy's wife, Victoria, who is from
Louisiana, called him Saturday to ask him to officiate at the
burial. In several subsequent calls, Hannan mapped out the
service with Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, Onassis' daughter.

Certain requirements had to be met. President Clinton asked to
speak. There was no space for a canopy to protect people from
rain or sun. A funeral Mass in New York would precede the
burial.

"Caroline did not want a long ceremony at the grave," Hannan
said. "There were many reasons for that. Everything that was to
be said was said in New York, and they certainly had enough
people speaking there. It would be brief, to the point, but not
so brief it would seem to be irreverent. We agreed it would not
be over 15 minutes."

Hannan flew up Sunday, stayed at his brother Tom's house in
Washington, and led the service Monday afternoon with the
strong sun brightening his white and red vestments. The event
began ahead of schedule and went smoothly but for a brief pause
Hannan took to let the sound of a jet pass overhead.

The experience was especially sad for the 81-year-old
archbishop because Onassis, who died of non-Hodgkins lymphoma,
a form of cancer, was just 64 years old.

"I never expected that I'd be at the funeral of Jackie," he
said. "She always seemed to be in good health and strong. From
that viewpoint, it was very emotional for me. But the family
has seen a lot of sorrow, and they bear it well."

After the service, family members went to Ethel Kennedy's home
in McLean, Va., for a few hours before going their separate
ways.

"It was a very nice kind of gathering - friendly, relaxed,"
Hannan said. "When anybody dies from cancer - and everybody
knows how painful it is - once it's over, there's always some
relief."