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2009 O'Neil D'Amour Award
Most Reverend Gregory M. Aymond
Bishop of the Diocese of Austin
The award was presented April 15, 2009, by Dr. Regina Haney,
executive director of the NCEA Department of Boards and Councils
Gregory M. Aymond, an authentic southern gentleman, was born on November 12, 1949, in New Orleans, Louisiana.
He graduated from Notre Dame Seminary, New Orleans, in 1975 with a Master’s of Divinity degree. After graduating from the seminary he engaged in further studies at Loyola University’s Institute for Ministry.
Gregory Aymond was ordained to the priesthood on May 10, 1975. He first served as a parish priest and high school teacher. These early experiences developed in the young Father Aymond the pastoral mentality and manner that have been the hallmark of his entire ministry and that have made him deeply beloved by so many. In 1981 he was appointed to the faculty of Notre Dame Seminary as director of pastoral counseling and homiletics. He served in that capacity until 1986 when he was appointed president/rector of Notre Dame Seminary, which he held for 14 years.
During his ministry in New Orleans he served as director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith as well as a member of its national board from 1977 to 2000. He also was the founder and director of the Christ the Healer Medical Mission Program of the Archdiocese of New Orleans in Granada, Nicaragua.
Father Aymond was ordained auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New Orleans on January 10, 1997, and the titular bishop of the Diocese of Acolla, Italy. He was appointed coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Austin on June 2, 2000, and became the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Austin on January 2, 2001.
Since his arrival in Austin, the diocese has seen unprecedented growth including the development of an Institute for Spiritual Direction, the opening of the San Juan Diego Catholic High School which specifically targets financially disadvantaged students, a program with St. Mary’s University in San Antonio that allows lay people in the Diocese of Austin to obtain a master’s degree in theology using distance learning technology, and a three-fold increase in the number of seminarians.
Bishop Aymond has also served the Catholic Church on the national and international level. He has served as chair of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People and a member of bishops’ committees regarding campus ministry, education, laity, and world missions.
From 2002-2006, Bishop Aymond served as chair of the National Catholic Educational Association’s Board of Directors. During this time, he was instrumental in establishing the NCEA Department of Boards and Councils. Moving from a commission or service agency of NCEA sent the message that boards play a significant and collaborative role in the educational ministry of the church.
As the chair of NCEA's Board of Directors he understood and supported the strategic role of shared governance in the survival and success of our Catholic schools, and so he supported the establishment of the NCEA Department of Boards and Councils, which was formerly a commission called the National Association of Boards of Catholic Education.
For his advocacy and respect for the role of boards in the governance of our schools, the 2009 O’Neil D’Amour Award is awarded to Bishop Gregory Aymond.
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National Catholic Educational Association
