Funeral Mass scheduled for former West Virginia bishop
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – A funeral Mass for retired Archbishop Francis B. Schulte, who led the Archdiocese of New Orleans from 1989 to 2001, will take place on Jan. 28 at St. Louis Cathedral.
Schulte died Sunday at age 89 after several weeks of hospice care at a church-run retirement facility in his native Philadelphia. In a statement Tuesday, the archdiocese said Schulte was diagnosed with prostate cancer several years after his retirement.
The statement included a tribute from current Archbishop Gregory Aymond, who said Schulte “brought a real fidelity to church teaching” and helped stabilize the archdiocese’s finances.
A wake for Schulte will be held at Notre Dame Seminary on Jan. 27.
Schulte served as a bishop in Philadelphia and in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston before he became the 12th archbishop in New Orleans.