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Roman Catholic Diocese of Houma–Thibodaux

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The Diocese of Houma–Thibodaux (Latin: Dioecesis Humensis–Thibodensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in southeastern Louisiana. It covers Terrebonne, Lafourche, and the eastern part of St. Mary parishes, Morgan City, and Grand Isle in Jefferson Parish.[1] Although a small diocese in terms of area (around 3,500 square miles), it has a large Catholic population, with approximately 126,000 Catholics out of a total population of 202,000.[2] The diocese includes part of Cajun Louisiana.

Diocese of Houma–Thibodaux

Dioecesis Humensis–Thibodensis
Cathedral of St. Francis de Sales
St. Joseph Co-Cathedral
Coat of arms
Location
CountryUnited States
TerritoryTerrebonne and Lafourche Parishes, the eastern part of St. Mary Parish including Morgan City, and Grand Isle in Jefferson Parish
Ecclesiastical provinceArchdiocese of New Orleans
DeaneriesUpper Lafource; South Lafourche; Terrebonne
Headquarters2779 Highway 311, Schriever LA, 70395
Statistics
Population
- Catholics
120,691 (58.9%)
Parishes39
Schools11
Information
DenominationCatholic Church
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
EstablishedJune 5, 1977
CathedralCathedral of St. Francis de Sales (Houma)
Co-cathedralSt. Joseph Co-Cathedral (Thibodaux)
Patron saintSt. Francis de Sales
Secular priests59
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopSede vacante; Vicar General Rev. Fr. Simon-Peter Engurait, V.G., was named diocesan administrator by the college of consultors
Metropolitan ArchbishopGregory Michael Aymond
Vicar GeneralSimon-Peter Engurait
Judicial VicarEric Leyble
Bishops emeritusSam Gallip Jacobs
Map
Website
htdiocese.org

History

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1793 to 1977

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Pope Pius VI in 1793 erected the Diocese of Louisiana and the Two Floridas, encompassing the Spanish colonies in Louisiana and Florida. With the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, Louisiana became part of the new United States and the diocese came under American jurisdiction. The first parish in Thibodaux, St. Joseph, was established in 1813, with the first church opened in 1819.[3]

Pope Leo XIII erected the Diocese of New Orleans in 1825.[4] The Houma and Thibodaux area would remain part of the Diocese of New Orleans, replace by the Archdiocese of New Orleans, for the next 152 years.

The first parish in Houma, St. Francis de Sales, was established in 1847 and the first church was completed in 1854.[5] The first Catholic school in Thibodaux was opened in 1855 by the Sisters of Mount Carmel.[6] In Houma, the Marianites of Holy Cross founded Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Academy in 1870. Sacred Heart Academy opened in Morgan City in 1893.[7] St. Joseph Hospital in Thibodaux started accepting patients in 1929.[8]

1977 to 2010

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Pope Paul VI erected the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux on June 5, 1977, taking its territory from the Archdiocese of New Orleans. The pope designated the Church of St. Francis de Sales in Houma as the cathedral and St. Joseph Church in Thibodaux as the co-cathedral.

Paul VI named Bishop Warren Boudreaux from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Beaumont in Texas as the first bishop of Houma-Thibodaux.[9] Boudreaux became known for placing a ban on church fairs in 1985, objecting to the consumption of alcohol and overall frivolity at such events.[10] He retired in 1992.

The second bishop of Houma-Thibodaux was Monsignor Charles Jarrell of Lafayette in Louisiana, appointed by Pope John Paul II in 1993. He became bishop of Lafayette in Louisiana in 2002.[11][12] John Paul II replaced Jarrell in Houma-Thibodaux with Bishop Sam Jacobs from the Diocese of Alexandria in Louisiana.[13]

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, the diocese provided numerous temporary shelters for storm victims and admitted to its schools hundreds of children whose schools had been flooded. The diocese provided similar assistance when Hurricane Rita hit the region in September 2005.[14]

2010 to present

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After Jacobs retired in 2013, Pope Francis named Auxiliary Bishop Shelton Fabre as the fourth bishop of Houma-Thibodaux.[15][16] He became archbishop of the Archdiocese of Louisville in 2022.

To replace Fabre, Francis in 2023 named Auxiliary Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville of the Archdiocese of Washington as the new bishop of Houma-Thibodaux.[17][18] He passed away from complications that arose from illness on January 19, 2024.

Sexual abuse

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Police arrested Reverend Robert Melancon from Sacred Heart Parish in Cut Off, Louisiana, on aggravated rape charges in June 1995. A 17 year old boy from Houma had accused Melancon of sexually abusing him when he was six or seven years old for several years.[19] The diocese reportedly paid the victim a $30,000 settlement in 1993. Melancon was convicted in June 1996 of aggravated rape and sentenced to life in prison in August 1996.[20][21]

Reverend Patrick Kujawa of Holy Cross Church in Morgan City was arrested in January 2000 on charges of processing 62 pornographic images of boys. A housekeeper in his residence had discovered them, along with many pornographic images of men. After learning about the images, the diocese had notified law enforcement and sent Kujawa to a hospital in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested.[22] He pleaded guilty in December 2000 to possessing child pornography and was sentenced to inpatient therapy and ten years on probation. Kujawa was convicted again on child pornography charges in 2004 and sent to prison.[23]

In January 2019, the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux released the names of 14 clergy who were accused of committing acts of sex abuse.[24] Kujawa, Melendez and Melancon were convicted of sexual abuse crimes committed within the diocese while Guidry was convicted of crimes committed in Texas.[25]

  • Etienne LeBlanc
  • Dale Guidry
  • Bernard Schmaltz
  • Claude Boudreaux
  • Gerard Kinane
  • Alexander Francisco
  • Lawrence Cavell
  • Patrick Kujawa
  • Robert Melancon
  • Carlos Melendez
  • Gerald Prinz
  • Ramon Luce
  • Dac Nguyen
  • Daniel Poche

Bishops

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Bishops of Houma-Thibodaux

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  1. Warren Louis Boudreaux (1977–1992)
  2. Charles Michael Jarrell (1992–2002), appointed Bishop of Lafayette in Louisiana
  3. Sam Jacobs (2003–2013)
  4. Shelton Fabre (2013–2022)
  5. Mario E. Dorsonville (2023–2024)

Other diocesan priests who became bishops

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Education

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High schools/middle schools

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Elementary schools

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  • Central Catholic Elementary School – Morgan City (formerly Holy Cross Elementary School) [26][27]
  • Holy Rosary Catholic School – Larose
  • Holy Savior Catholic School – Lockport
  • Saint Bernadette Catholic Elementary School – Houma
  • Saint Francis de Sales Cathedral School – Houma
  • Saint Genevieve Catholic Elementary School – Thibodaux
  • Saint Gregory Barbarigo Catholic School – Houma
  • Saint Joseph Catholic Elementary School – Thibodaux
  • Saint Mary's Nativity School – Raceland

Former schools

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Maria Immacolata Catholic School – Houma (closed in 2020)[28]

See also

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Coat of arms of Roman Catholic Diocese of Houma–Thibodaux
 
Notes
Arms was designed and adopted when the diocese was erected
Adopted
1977
Escutcheon
The arms of the diocese contain two sections. The upper section is a red field with a silver cross, a gold enflamed heart and a blue field with three gold fleur-de-lis. The lower section is a blue field with a silver carpenter's square and three silver lilies.
Symbolism
The upper section of the arms represent Houma. It contains the arms of St. Francis de Sales, patron saint of the diocesan cathedral. The lower section of the arms represent Thibodaux. It shows the symbols of St. Joseph, patron saint of the diocesan co-cathedral. The three lilies also represent the French heritage of south-western Louisiana.

References

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  1. ^ "Home". Our Lady of the Isle. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
  2. ^ "About Us". Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
  3. ^ "Saint Joseph Co-Cathedral, Thibodaux, LA". neworleanschurches.com. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  4. ^ "New Orleans (Archdiocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  5. ^ "History of the Cathedral". St. Francis de Sales Cathedral. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  6. ^ "About Us – E.D. White Catholic High School". Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  7. ^ "History". eaglesccs.org. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  8. ^ "Our Background". Thibodaux Regional Health System. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  9. ^ "Bishop Warren Louis Boudreaux". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
  10. ^ "Retired Bishop Warren Boudreaux dies". The Advocate. 1997-10-07.
  11. ^ "Bishop Michael Jarrell". Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
  12. ^ "Bishop Charles Michael Jarrell". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  13. ^ "Bishop Emeritus Sam G. Jacobs". Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  14. ^ "History of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux". Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  15. ^ "Special Report". National Black Catholic Congress. Archived from the original on 2007-02-06. Retrieved 2007-04-19.
  16. ^ Fabre, Shelton. "Pope names new bishop for Houma-Thibodaux". The Houma Courier. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  17. ^ "Bishop Mario Eduardo Dorsonville-Rodríguez". Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved 2015-05-11.
  18. ^ "Bishop Mario Eduardo Dorsonville-Rodríguez [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  19. ^ "Sex Charges Split Parish Priests Life Shakes Faith, by Bruce Nolan, Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA), July 24, 1995". www.bishop-accountability.org. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  20. ^ "Priest Gets Life for Raping Altar Boy, Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA), August 13, 1996". www.bishop-accountability.org. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  21. ^ "Robert Melancon". KATC News. 2019-01-14. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  22. ^ "Priest Faces Pornography Counts, The Advocate (Baton Rouge, Louisiana), January 14, 2000". www.bishop-accountability.org. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  23. ^ "Priest Held in Child Porn Case, by Richard Burgess, Daily Advertiser (Lafayette, LA), February 19, 2004". www.bishop-accountability.org. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  24. ^ Vargas, Ramon Antonio (2019-01-11). "Houma-Thibodaux names 14 priests accused of sexual misconduct involving children". The Advocate. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  25. ^ "Disclosure of Names". Roman Catholic Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux.
  26. ^ "About Central Catholic Elementary School". Central Catholic Elementary School. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  27. ^ "Schools". Roman Catholic Diocese of Houma–Thibodaux. 2001-07-11. Archived from the original on 2001-07-11. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  28. ^ "Maria Immacolota Elementary in Houma to Close". Houma Today.
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29°35′15″N 90°42′58″W / 29.58750°N 90.71611°W / 29.58750; -90.71611

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