Archbishop Fabre Farewell
LAWRENCE CHATAGNIER/BAYOU CATHOLIC
Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre displays the mandate appointing him Archbishop of Louisville during the Mass of Installation at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville, KY.
Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre welcomed as the new leader of the Archdiocese of Louisville By MARNIE McALLISTER The Record Nearly 3,000 people of the Archdiocese of Louisville, including hundreds of clergy and religious, welcomed their new shepherd, Archbishop Shelton Joseph Fabre, as he became the 10th bishop and fifth archbishop to lead the historic region of central Kentucky. He succeeds Archbishop Emeritus Joseph E. Kurtz, who has served as Archbishop of Louisville since 2007. The Mass of Installation, celebrated
at the Kentucky International Convention Center in downtown Louisville, began with a reading of the apostolic mandate by the papal nuncio, Archbishop Christophe Pierre. The nuncio, akin to an ambassador, brought laughter to the ceremony by noting the difficulty of pronouncing Louisville correctly, along with other areas where Archbishop Fabre has served — New Orleans, Baton Rouge and the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. More seriously, he told the congregation and those watching the
64 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • April 2022
live stream, “A new era begins.” He offered gratitude for the service of Archbishop Kurtz, for his time as Bishop of Knoxville, his service in the Archdiocese of Louisville and as a national leader in the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. “Thank you for decades of dedicated service,” Archbishop Pierre told him. To Archbishop Fabre, he said, “You have big shoes to fill.” He encouraged the new archbishop to be close to the people of God and went on to quote part of Pope
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