MOST REV. SHELTON J. FABRE
Statement on his appointment as the fourth Bishop of Houma-Thibodaux
To be installed as Bishop of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux October 30, 2013
September 23, 2013
Good morning, and may God’s peace be with you!
Please allow me to begin by expressing my gratitude and personal support to our Holy Father, Pope Francis, who has today named me the Fourth Bishop of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. I am humbled and excited by this appointment by the Holy Father, and I pledge to serve the needs of the Church here in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux to the very best of my ability. In all that we do, it is the Lord Jesus Christ whom we praise and serve, and I am confident that together we will grow in faith.
I want to thank Bishop Sam Jacobs, who has served the needs of this diocese so very well in past years. Thank you, Bishop Jacobs, for the many ways that you have been chief shepherd for this local church. I have greatly appreciated our fraternal camaraderie as brother bishops in the Province of New Orleans, and I look forward to our continued interactions, support and prayer for one another. I pray God’s blessings upon you, Bishop Jacobs, as you move into retirement.
I give warm greetings to all the faithful of this diocese! I look forward to getting to know in a more direct way the people of this diocese as we together strive to serve the Lord Jesus Christ in so many ways here in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. Your faith and the presence of the Church in this area are rooted in a rich history, which bring forward into the present though your faith and service all the mercies and graces of God that sustain us today, and allow us to face a future filled with hope in God’s providential love and promises. My brothers and sisters, I look forward to serving you and growing in faith with you. Thank you for your faith and dedication!
I want in a very special way to greet our priests, permanent deacons, religious sisters, religious brothers, and the seminarians in this diocese. Together in a special way we make known to all the Good News of Jesus Christ as we continue the New Evangelization and seek to serve the Lord in a special way. I look forward to the ministry that will be ours together to coordinate and undertake as we seek to serve the needs of all the faithful here in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. Please know that I am deeply grateful to each and every one of you for all that you do, and I look forward to our ministering together for the Lord.
Please allow me to take this opportunity to also thank the people of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. To Archbishop Aymond and Archbishop Hughes, with whom I was blessed to serve as Auxiliary Bishop in New Orleans, as well as to all the priests, permanent deacons, men and women religious, seminarians and all the people of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, I express my thanks for our life together in the archdiocese. I am grateful for the love, support and kindness that you have shown to me during my service in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. I pray that our providential God will continue to bless the Church in New Orleans, which has been my home for the past six and one half years.
Now, I look forward to making the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux my new home, and I rejoice in the opportunity to become a part of this local Church and this unique area of our State of Louisiana. The varied natural beauty that abounds in this diocese is reflective of the beauty of the rich cultural diversity of our Church, and of the glory of the Lord God who created all. At this point in the history of this wonderful diocese, let us renew our trust in the Lord and again pledge to serve him by serving one another. In God we place our hope and our trust, and we can be confident that God will never leave us to endure anything alone. I look forward to this faith journey with all of you. As I pledge my prayers for all in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, I ask your prayers for me as well.
Peace be with you all, and thank you!
