Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Norman C. Francis, who served as president of Xavier University of Louisiana for 47 years, is seen in this 2014 file photo. The city of New Orleans is renaming a street in his honor Jan. 1, 2021. The Jefferson Davis Parkway will be called the Norman C. Francis Parkway. (CNS photo/Irving Johnson III, University of Louisiana)

NEW ORLEANS (CNS) -- The New Orleans City Council voted unanimously Aug. 20 to rename Jefferson Davis Parkway, which since 1911 had paid homage to the slaveholding president of the Confederacy during the Civil War, in honor of Norman C. Francis, who served for nearly a half-century as president of Xavier University of Louisiana.

The change to Norman C. Francis Parkway, which borders the campus of Xavier University of Louisiana, will take place Jan. 1.

The university was founded by St. Katharine Drexel, the Philadelphia heiress who established the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in 1891 to educate and minister to African Americans and Native Americans throughout the U.S. Xavier is the only historically Black Catholic university in the Western Hemisphere.

Francis, 89, served from 1968 to 2015 as the first lay president of Xavier -- he was appointed on the same day that Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis -- and he was universally acknowledged as the driving force behind an institution that outpaces all others in the number of African American students annually accepted into medical schools across the United States.

Francis often remarked that Xavier was blessed not only by St. Katharine's early presence and fortune in establishing the university in 1925, but also by the saint's longevity. She died in 1955 at age 96, and one of the stipulations of her inheritance was that it would be dispersed after her death to specific causes established by her parents in their will.

Because she lived such a long life, her ongoing funding supported Xavier through its initial lean years and was a true "miracle," Francis often remarked.

"I am most grateful that the city of New Orleans has named a street in my honor, particularly one that borders Xavier University, an institution that I have called home for more than a half century (as a student, administrator and president)," Francis said in a statement. "And I am extremely appreciative of everyone who supported this effort, most importantly, Mayor LaToya Cantrell, the City Council and those who wrote letters, editorials and signed petitions in support.

"St. Katharine Drexel and the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament trusted me to serve Xavier and make it an integral part of this community. I share this acknowledgment with them and my Xavier colleagues. I am truly honored and humbled by this recognition," Francis said.

The renaming of Jefferson Davis Parkway is the first of what is anticipated to be several name changes to New Orleans streets that currently honor those who served in the Confederacy during the Civil War or who owned slaves or supported white supremacy.

The New Orleans City Council has appointed a commission that will make recommendations on renaming other streets, parks and other public sites.

We don’t have comments turned on everywhere anymore. We have recently relaunched the commenting experience at America and are aiming for a more focused commenting experience with better moderation by opening comments on a select number of articles each day.

But we still want your feedback. You can join the conversation about this article with us in social media on Twitter or Facebook, or in one of our Facebook discussion groups for various topics.

Or send us feedback on this article with one of the options below:

We welcome and read all letters to the editor but, due to the volume received, cannot guarantee a response.

In order to be considered for publication, letters should be brief (around 200 words or less) and include the author’s name and geographic location. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

We open comments only on select articles so that we can provide a focused and well-moderated discussion on interesting topics. If you think this article provides the opportunity for such a discussion, please let us know what you'd like to talk about, or what interesting question you think readers might want to respond to.

If we decide to open comments on this article, we will email you to let you know.

If you have a message for the author, we will do our best to pass it along. Note that if the article is from a wire service such as Catholic News Service, Religion News Service, or the Associated Press, we will not have direct contact information for the author. We cannot guarantee a response from any author.

We welcome any information that will help us improve the factual accuracy of this piece. Thank you.

Please consult our Contact Us page for other options to reach us.

City and state/province, or if outside Canada or the U.S., city and country. 
When you click submit, this article page will reload. You should see a message at the top of the reloaded page confirming that your feedback has been received.

The latest from america

The 12 women whose feet were washed by Pope Francis included women from Italy, Bulgaria, Nigeria, Ukraine, Russia, Peru, Venezuela and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
"We, the members of the Society of Jesus, continue to be lifted up in prayer, in lament, in protest at the death and destruction that continue to reign in Gaza and other territories in Israel/Palestine, spilling over into the surrounding countries of the Middle East."
The Society of JesusMarch 28, 2024
A child wounded in an I.D.F. bombardment is brought to Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, on March 25. (AP Photo/Ismael abu dayyah)
While some children have been evacuated from conflict, more than 1.1 million children in Gaza and 3.7 million in Haiti have been left behind to face the rampaging adult world around them.
Kevin ClarkeMarch 28, 2024
Easter will not be postponed this year. It will not wait until the war is over. It is precisely now, in our darkest hour, that resurrection finds us.
Stephanie SaldañaMarch 28, 2024