Curtis John Guillory, S.V.D. (born September 1, 1943) is an American prelate of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and member of the

Society of the Divine Word The Society of the Divine Word (), abbreviated SVD and popularly called the Verbites or the Divine Word Missionaries, and sometimes the Steyler Missionaries, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men. As of 2020, i ...

. Guillory served as Bishop of Beaumont from 2000 to 2020. He was the first non-

canonist Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

to hold this position. Guillory previously served as an auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of Galveston–Houston from 1988 to 2000, the first (and, as of 2022, the only) Black Catholic bishop in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

history.

Biography

Early years

Curtis Guillory was born on September 1, 1943, to Wilfred and Theresa Guillory (née Jardoin) on September 1, 1943, in Bayou Mallet, Louisiana. He is the oldest of 17 children (six sons, and eleven daughters). Guillory is a descendant of Louisiana

free people of color In the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, free people of color (; ) were primarily people of mixed African, European, and Native American descent who were not enslaved. However, the term also applied to people born free who we ...

. His father owned a small farm and worked on another one. Curtis and his siblings helped pick cotton, shuck corn, and feed the animals. During the school year, he would get up early to work on the farm, attend school and return home to work until dark. Guillory entered the Society of Divine Word's St. Augustine Seminary in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, where he played on the seminary baseball team. In a 2020 interview with the ''

Beaumont Enterprise ''The Beaumont Enterprise'' is a newspaper of Hearst Communications, headquartered in Beaumont, Texas. It has been in operation since 1880. History John W. Leonard founded the initial ''Enterprise'' as a weekly newspaper in 1880. It became a dai ...

'', Guillory recalled that both his parents were hospitalized at one point. He told his mother that he was going to leave the seminary to come home and help the family. She told him to do his part by staying at the seminary and praying for them. In 1968, Guillory earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the

Divine Word College Divine Word College is a private undergraduate Roman Catholic seminary in Epworth, Iowa. Founded in 1964, It educates students for missionary service in the Catholic Church as priests, brothers, sisters, and laypersons. It is owned and operate ...

at Epworth, Iowa, in 1968. He later earned a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

degree at

Catholic Theological Union Catholic Theological Union (CTU) is a Catholic graduate school of theology in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It was formed in Hyde Park as a union of schools from three Catholic religious institutes and has since been sponsored by 23 institu ...

in Chicago, Illinois.

Priesthood

On December 16, 1972, Guillory was ordained to the priesthood for the Society of Divine Word at his home parish of St. Ann in Mallet Bayou by Auxiliary Bishop Carlos Ambrosio Lewis Tullock from the Archdiocese of Panamá. The Society first sent Guillory to St. Augustine Parish in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. He served three years there as an associate pastor and six years as pastor. Guillory was the founding director of the Tolton House of Studies in New Orleans, the seminary residence for Divine Word students. Guillory also served as a member of the executive committee of the National Association of Black Catholic Administrators, the Louisiana One Church/One Family adoption program, national chaplain to the

Knights of Peter Claver The Knights of Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary is an international Catholic fraternal service order. Founded in 1909 by the Josephites and parishioners from Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Mobile, Alabama, it is the largest and o ...

, a member of the archdiocesan presbyteral council, and a board member of the Spirituality Center. In 1986, Guillory earned a Master of Christian Spirituality degree from

Creighton University Creighton University () is a private research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate ...

in Omaha, Nebraska. He completed a summer workshop in

Jungian psychology Analytical psychology (, sometimes translated as analytic psychology; also Jungian analysis) is a term referring to the psychological practices of Carl Jung. It was designed to distinguish it from Freud's psychoanalytic theories as their s ...

in Switzerland. In September 1987, Guillory coordinated the visit of

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

to New Orleans.

Auxiliary Bishop of Galveston–Houston

On December 29, 1987, John Paul II appointed Guillory as

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

for the Diocese of Galveston–Houston. He was consecrated on February 19, 1988. For his episcopal motto, Guillory chose Romans 8:28: "For those who love God, all things work together for good." In the

US Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 2001 after the merger of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Co ...

(USCCB), Guillory was selected chair of the Committee of African American Catholics. Guillory also served on the national committee on Hispanic Affairs and Priestly Life and Ministry, and the boards of Sacred Heart Seminary and

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier had an enrollment of approximately 5,600 undergraduate an ...

in New Orleans. He was a board member of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

, the Mental Health Association, and the

Harris County Hospital District The Harris Health System, previously the Harris County Hospital District (HCHD), is a governmental entity with taxing authority that owns and operates three hospitals and numerous clinics throughout Harris County, Texas, United States, includ ...

in Harris County, Texas. For the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, Guillory briefly carried the

Olympic torch The Olympic flame is a Olympic symbols, symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. The Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece, several months before the Olympic Games. This ceremony s ...

in Texas during its tour around the United States, the only Catholic bishop to receive the honor. On February 4, 2019, Guillory issued a letter of apology in response to a remark by a parish priest that minimalized the criminality of

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in Human sexual activity, sexual activit ...

; "Any act of sexual abuse of a minor is a heinous crime and it is a sin...It’s a grave sin."

Bishop of Beaumont

On June 2, 2000, John Paul II appointed Guillory

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the Diocese of Beaumont. He was installed on July 28, 2000. Guillory was the first

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

bishop to lead a Texas diocese and the first Beaumont bishop to belong to a

religious congregation A religious congregation is a type of Religious institute (Catholic), religious institute in the Catholic Church. They are legally distinguished from Religious order (Catholic), religious orders – the other major type of religious institute – i ...

. He remained a member of the Society of the Divine Word, but an active bishop was not under its jurisdiction. While in Beaumont, Guillory established the St. Anthony Cathedral as a basilica, built a Catholic chapel at

Lamar University Lamar University (Lamar or LU) is a public university in Beaumont, Texas, United States. Lamar has been a member of the Texas State University System since 1995. It was the flagship institution of the former Lamar University System. As of the ...

in Beaumont and established a new Catholic Pastoral Center. He also created the Catholic Foundation of the Diocese of Beaumont and started a

capital campaign Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

for it. In 2016, Guillory received the Rabbi Samuel Rosinger Humanitarian Award, presented by Temple Emanuel in

Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, located in Southeast Texas on the Neches River about east of Houston (city ...

Retirement and legacy

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

accepted Guillory's resignation on June 9, 2020. and named Reverend David Toups as his successor.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Beaumont Official Site

National Black Catholic Congress
bio of Curtis Guillory
National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus
bio of Curtis Guillory {{DEFAULTSORT:Guillory, Curtis Living people 1943 births Creighton University alumni African-American Roman Catholic bishops 21st-century American Roman Catholic bishops Divine Word Missionaries Order American people of Haitian descent Louisiana Creole people 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Knights of Peter Claver & Ladies Auxiliary 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people St. Augustine Seminary (Bay St. Louis) African-American members of Catholic religious communities Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre