Pope Accepts Resignation Of Bishop Jacobs Of Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana, Names Auxiliary Bishop Fabre Of New Orleans To Succeed Him

WASHINGTON—Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Sam Jacobs, 75, from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana, and named Auxiliary Bishop Shelton Fabre of New Orleans, 49, to succeed him.

The resignation and appointment were publicized in Washington, September 23, by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Shelton Fabre was born October 25, 1963, in New Roads, Louisiana. He earned a bachelor of arts degree from St. Joseph Seminary College, St. Benedict, Louisiana, and a master of arts degree from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1989, and auxiliary bishop of New Orleans, 2006.

Bishop Jacobs has served as bishop of Houma-Thibodaux since 2003. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Lafayette, Louisiana, in 1964, and appointed bishop of Alexandria, Louisiana, in 1989.

The Houma-Thibodaux Diocese covers 3,440 square miles in the state of Louisiana and has a total population of 202,000 people, with 96,719, or 48 percent of them, Catholic.