Deacon Vincent spent his life advocating for the poor, justice

Deacon Daniel “Dan” P. Vincent, who served for 13 years as head of the archdiocesan Office of Black Catholic Ministries, died July 10 in McKinney, Texas, where he and his wife had moved after Hurricane Katrina. 

A Memorial Mass for Deacon Vincent was celebrated Aug. 7 at  St. Michael the Archangel Church in McKinney.

Deacon Vincent, 84, was ordained to the permanent diaconate by Archbishop Francis B. Schulte on Dec. 2, 1989, and served at St. Paul the Apostle Parish in New Orleans. Deacon Vincent was a member of St. Paul the Apostle since 1949. 

For many years, beginning in 1970, Deacon Vincent was executive director of Total Community Action (TCA), Inc., which provided a range of services to the poor. He also was an insurance broker and taught economics at Xavier University of New Orleans.

During his time as TCA’s second executive director, Deacon Vincent pushed through a modification in the agency’s bylaws that assigned 12 spots on its board to neighborhood representatives, ensuring more input from low-income families. He also reversed a serious TCA budget deficit in his first year.

Prior to his diaconate ordination, Deacon Vincent called out the harmful effects of religious and ethnic bigotry. He pushed Black radio stations in New Orleans to curtail music that constantly glorified drugs, prostitution and violence.

“This type of trash has got to have an effect on people,” he told the Clarion Herald in 1977, when he served as TCA director. “Black people grow up having to fight so many myths about themselves, they finally begin wondering whether or not some of these things are really true.

“Black people have been told that up until 150 years ago, they didn’t even exist. They have this image of themselves reinforced in the public media, and you wonder why we have racial problems?

“And, the really horrible part about it is that this stuff really doesn’t affect just Blacks or just Catholics or Jews or the people at whom the particular jokes are aimed. It affects everybody in the community.” 

In 2001, Deacon Vincent led the Black Catholic Ministries office in joining with the Gert Town/Carrollton Historical Society in honoring Dr. C.C. Haydel Jr. and Duncan Waters for their contributions to business, education and civil rights in the community. Waters taught in the Orleans Parish school system for many years, and Haydel served the community for many years as a pediatrician. 

Deacon Vincent was known for his humble, amiable personality, his sense of humor and his diligence in advancing social justice through various community programs.

Deacon Vincent is survived by his wife of 64 years, Leatha (Lea); four children, Danette, Robin, Daryl and Arnell; seven grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.