Jacques Eric Fabre-Jeune, C.S., known before May 2022 as Jacques Fabre, (born November 13, 1955) is a Haitian-born American prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as bishop of the Diocese of Charleston in South Carolina since 2022.
Jacques Eric Fabre-Jeune | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Charleston | |
| See | Diocese of Charleston |
| Appointed | February 22, 2022 |
| Installed | May 13, 2022 |
| Predecessor | Robert E. Guglielmone |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | October 10, 1986 by Wilton Daniel Gregory |
| Consecration | May 13, 2022 by Wilton Daniel Gregory, Gregory John Hartmayer, and Luis R. Zarama |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 13, 1955 |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | St. John's University University of St. Michael's College Catholic Theological Union Pontifical Urban University |
| Motto | Whatever you do to the least of my children, you do to me |
| Styles of Jacques Eric Fabre-Jeune | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reference style | |
| Spoken style | Your Excellency |
| Religious style | Bishop |
Fabre-Jeune is the first African American to become bishop of Charleston and the first Haitian-American to head a diocese. Since becoming a priest with the Scalabrinians in 1986, Fabre-Jeune has worked in Florida and Georgia, the Dominican Republic, and briefly at a refugee camp at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba.
Biography
editEarly life
editJacques Fabre-Jeune was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on November 13, 1955; he had five siblings.[1] He emigrated to the United States as a teenager and completed high school in New York City. He attended St. John's University in New York, then went to Saint Michael's College in Toronto, Ontario.[2]As a Scalabrini novice, Fabre-Jeune worked at one of their missions in Mexico.[3][4]
Fabre-Jeune also studied at the Catholic Theological Union in Hyde Park, Illinois, and at the Scalabrini House of Theology in Chicago. The Scalabrini Order then sent him to study in Rome, where he received a Master of Divinity degree and a Licentiate in Migration Studies from the Pontifical Urbaniana University.[5]
Priesthood
editOn October 10, 1986, Fabre-Jeune was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn by Auxiliary Bishop Wilton D. Gregory at St. Theresa of Avila Church in Brooklyn.[1]
After his ordination, the Scalabrini Order sent Fabre-Jean to serve at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Immokalee, Florida. In 1990, he was assigned as a chaplain to Haitian refugees being held at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. During an incident at the base, ten military police officers said that Fabre-Jean attempted to stop them from removing a Haitian man from a cell, resulting in a scuffle. [2][6]
In 1991, the Scalabrini Order selected Fabre-Jean to serve as pastor of a parish in San Pedro de Macorís in the Dominican Republic. He remained there until 2004.[2] In 2006, he was sent to Georgia to serve as parochial vicar in two parishes:
- St. Joseph's Parish in Athens from 2006 to 2008
- Holy Trinity Parish in Peachtree City from 2008 to 2010
Also in 2009, Fabre-Jean was named administrator at San Felipe de Jesús Mission in Forest Park.[2] He led the congregation in self-financing the construction of a new church, dedicated in April 2011.[7]
From 2010 to 2022, Fabre-Jeune served the archdiocese as a member of its finance council, budget and operations committee, projects review committee, and as director of the Hispanic Charismatic Renewal.[5] The Scalabrini Order named him the head of their community in Atlanta.[2]
Bishop of Charleston
editPope Francis appointed Fabre-Jeune as bishop of Charleston on February 22, 2022.[2][1] He is the first African-American man to be named to the position and the first member of a religious order.[8] He is the second Haitian-American bishop and the first to head a diocese.[3] [9] Fabre-Jeune was consecrated a bishop by Cardinal Wilton Gregory and installed in Charleston on May 13, 2022.[10]
Fabre-Jeune is fluent in English, Spanish, Italian, French, and Creole.[2] He has called English his "third language".[3]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c Golden, Nichole (February 22, 2022). "Pope Francis appoints Atlanta priest as Bishop of Charleston". Georgia Bulletin. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Pope Francis Accepts Resignation of Bishop Robert Guglielmone of Diocese of Charleston; Appoints Rev. Jacques Fabre-Jeune, C.S. as Successor" (Press release). United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
- ^ a b c Tinner-Williams, Nate (February 22, 2022). "Fr Jacques Fabre-Jeune, CS named Bishop of Charleston—a Haitian first for the United States". Black Catholic Messenger. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
- ^ Opitz, Götz-Dietrich (2004). Haitian Refugees Forced to Return: Transnationalism and State Politics, 1991-1994. LIT Verlag Münster. p. 150. ISBN 9783825845445. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
- ^ a b "Rinunce e nomine, 22.02.2022" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 22 February 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
- ^ Duke, Lynne (September 19, 1992). "U.S. CAMP FOR HAITIANS DESCRIBED AS PRISON-LIKE". Washington Post. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
- ^ Dávila, Ruth E. (April 14, 2011). "Hispanic Mission Builds Self-Financed Church". Georgia Bulletin. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
- ^ Phillips, Patrick; Zuhowski, Emilie (February 22, 2022). "First Black man named to serve as 14th Bishop of Charleston". WCSC. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
- ^ Lavenburg, John (February 23, 2022). "Charleston gets Haitian-American bishop". Crux. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
- ^ Dennis Jr., Rickey Ciapha (May 13, 2022). "Thousands applaud installation of Charleston Diocese's first Black bishop". The Post and Courier. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
