NEW ORLEANS — Norman C. Francis, a civil rights leader who served as president of Xavier University for nearly five decades, has died. He was 94.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom winner died Wednesday at Ochsner Hospital, his family said.

Francis was the first Black person to serve as president of the country's only Catholic historically Black college or university.

According to WWL-TV in New Orleans, Francis integrated Loyola University's College of Law and later advised eight U.S. presidents. Francis also helped form Liberty Bank, one of the largest African-American-owned banks in the country.

He guided Xavier after Hurricane Katrina, and also chaired the Louisiana Recovery Authority set up following the storm.

"While many knew him as the former president of Xavier University, as a civil rights leader, and as a respected voice for justice and equality on both the local and national stage, we knew him simply as Daddy — a man whose greatest joy came from family gatherings, quiet moments of prayer, and encouraging those around him to live with purpose and kindness," his family said.