Bishop Mario Dorsonville pledges ‘my care, my devotion, my love’ to his new Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux

By RICHARD SZCZEPANOWSKI Catholic Standard

Just hours after it was announced Feb. 1 that Pope Francis had appointed Washington Auxiliary Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville as the Fifth Bishop of Houma-Thibodaux, LA, the bishop was introduced to his new diocese at a press conference where he said, “I am humbled and very happy and … I am here to serve you.”

“I am one with you. I am one for you,” Bishop Dorsonville said at a meeting with staff, members of the local press and others at the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux Pastoral Center. “I pledge my time, my care, my devotion and my love as a shepherd to be the instrument to bring Jesus Christ in your life.”

Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, made the announcement earlier in the morning that Bishop Dorsonville would succeed former HoumaThibodaux Bishop Shelton J. Fabre, who was installed last March as the Archbishop of Louisville, KY.

Bishop Dorsonville praised his predecessor as “a wonderful leader and shepherd.” Archbishop Fabre says in a statement that “with great joy, I thank God” for Bishop Dorsonville’s appointment.

The diocese is still recovering and rebuilding from Hurricane Ida, the deadly category 4 storm that slammed Louisiana in August 2021. It was one of the three strongest hurricanes on record to ever hit the state.

Very Rev. Jay L. Baker, chancellor of the diocese, told Bishop Dorsonville that due to the COVID-19 pandemic and continuing hurricane rebuilding efforts, he will find “a land flowing with challenges and possibilities.”

Bishop Dorsonville says he is focused on “so much suffering in today’s world” and told his new flock that “we need to, as our beloved Pope Francis has said, move from indifference to solidarity.”

“I come to continue the process of rebuilding, the process of being better and the process to be there as an instrument of Jesus Christ in the lives of those who are suffering,” he says. “We will walk together finding the voices of the Holy Spirit that will let us know what are the paths we will take.”

Pointing out that he comes from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, which has “so many accents, so many faces, but just one faith – we are one family,” Bishop Dorsonville says he was happy to learn his new diocese “has great people and a rich history.”

“I’m delighted to see how Houma-Thibodaux has the spectrum of so many cultures and many talents and gifts,” he said.

Speaking to his “dear brother priests” and the men and women religious who serve in the Diocese of HoumaThibodaux, Bishop Dorsonville said, “I will count on your wisdom and pastoral care to continue to build this church of Christ,” and urged them to reach out to youth and families.

Lonnie Thibodeaux, director of media and public relations for that diocese, told the local media that “today we celebrate the joy of the arrival of a new pastoral shepherd.”

In introducing Bishop Dorsonville to the Diocese of HoumaThibodaux, Father Patrick J. (P.J.) Madden, who has served as the interim diocesan administrator since last April, called the appointment “a proud moment for us this morning.” He noted that Bishop Dorsonville – who was born in Bogotá, Colombia, and comes from a Colombian and French heritage – has “a multi-cultural background that perfectly suits our multi-cultural diocese.”

The priest told Bishop Dorsonville that he would discover in the diocese “a faith-filled Cajun spirituality – you are going to love it.”

Noting that he was told that “three or four alligators” live near the Houma-Thibodaux Pastoral Center, the bishop jokingly noted, “We do not have that in Washington.”

“I am sure little by little you will help me understand the culture and animals that I will see,” he says. “Please pray for me and if anyone knows how to avoid alligators, please let me know.”

Bishop Dorsonville will be installed March 29 at the Cathedral of St. Francis de Sales in Houma, LA.

(Richard Szczepanowski is the managing editor for the Catholic Standard newspaper of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.) BC

Very Rev. Patrick J. (P.J.) Madden and the people of God of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux invite you to the Canonical Installation of

Most Reverend Mario Eduardo Dorsonville

As Fifth Bishop of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux

By the Most Reverend Gregory M. Aymond Archbishop of New Orleans

In the presence of the Most Reverend Christophe Pierre Apostolic Nuncio to the United States

Wednesday the Twenty-Ninth of March

Two Thousand and Twenty-Three at Two O’clock in the afternoon

Please be seated by 1:30 p.m.

Procession begins at 1:45 p.m.

500 Goode Street, Houma, Louisiana