A process for preparing a porous support material for supporting catalytically active metals suitable for the hydrodesulfurization of residuum hydrocarbon fractions under hydrotreating conditions, which process comprises: a) preparing a co-precipitated titania alumina powder having less than 5 wt % titania, based on the total weight of the titania alumina powder, by co-precipitating aqueous alumina sulfate and titanyl sulfate; b) peptizing the titania alumina powder; c) extruding the titania alumina powder to form a titania alumina extrudate; and d) calcining the extrudate at a temperature from 500°C to 900°C for 1 hour to 3 hours to obtain a titania alumina support having less than 5 wt % titania, based on the total weight of the support, wherein the support has a total pore volume from 0.5 to 1.1 cubic centimeters per gram, at least 70% of the total pore volume in pores having a diameter of 70 Å to 130 Å, less than 5% of the total pore volume in pores having a diameter above 300 Å, and less than 2% of the total pore volume in pores having a diameter above 1000 Å, wherein the pore volume of pores having a diameter of 1000 Å or less is measured using nitrogen porosimetry using the nitrogen physisorption procedure described in D. H. Everett and F. S. Stone, Proceedings of the Tenth Symposium of the Colston Research Society, Bristol, England: Academic Press, March 1958, pp. 109-110, and the pore volume of pores having a diameter of greater than 1000 Å is measured using mercury penetration porosimetry using a mercury porosimeter at a pressure from atmospheric pressure to 4000 bar, with a contact angle, θ = 140° and a mercury surface tension of 0.49 N/m at 25°C, and wherein the surface area of the support determined by BET surface area analysis is from 180 m 2 /g to 300 m 2 /g. a) preparing a co-precipitated titania alumina powder having less than 5 wt % titania, based on the total weight of the titania alumina powder, by co-precipitating aqueous alumina sulfate and titanyl sulfate; b) peptizing the titania alumina powder; c) extruding the titania alumina powder to form a titania alumina extrudate; and d) calcining the extrudate at a temperature from 500°C to 900°C for 1 hour to 3 hours to obtain a titania alumina support having less than 5 wt % titania, based on the total weight of the support, wherein the support has a total pore volume from 0.5 to 1.1 cubic centimeters per gram, at least 70% of the total pore volume in pores having a diameter of 70 Å to 130 Å, less than 5% of the total pore volume in pores having a diameter above 300 Å, and less than 2% of the total pore volume in pores having a diameter above 1000 Å, wherein the pore volume of pores having a diameter of 1000 Å or less is measured using nitrogen porosimetry using the nitrogen physisorption procedure described in D. H. Everett and F. S. Stone, Proceedings of the Tenth Symposium of the Colston Research Society, Bristol, England: Academic Press, March 1958, pp. 109-110, and the pore volume of pores having a diameter of greater than 1000 Å is measured using mercury penetration porosimetry using a mercury porosimeter at a pressure from atmospheric pressure to 4000 bar, with a contact angle, θ = 140° and a mercury surface tension of 0.49 N/m at 25°C, and wherein the surface area of the support determined by BET surface area analysis is from 180 m 2 /g to 300 m 2 /g.