John Douglas Deshotel (born January 6, 1952) is an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

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 ...

who has been serving as

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 Lafayette in Louisiana since 2016. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Dallas in Texas from 2010 to 2016.

Biography

Early life

John Deshotel was born on January 6, 1952, in

Basile, Louisiana Basile is a town in Acadia and Evangeline parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 1,214 in 2020. The Acadia Parish portion of Basile is part of the Crowley Micropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Most of the city limits ...

, one of eight children of Welfoot Paul Deshotel and Luna Marie Manual. Deciding as a teenager to become a priest, John Deshotel entered Immaculata Minor Seminary High School in

Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette ( , ) is the most populous city in and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, Lafayette Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located along the Vermilion River (Louisiana), Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's List of municipaliti ...

. After graduating from high school, Deshotel went to

Holy Trinity Seminary Holy Trinity Seminary is a Roman Catholic seminary residence in Irving, Texas, United States, in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas, Diocese of Dallas, Texas that is located within the University of Dallas campus, founded in 1964. It is headed ...

Irving, Texas Irving is a city in Dallas County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and is an Inner suburb, inner city suburb of Dallas. Irving is noted for its #Demographics, racial and ethnic diver ...

. He received a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Holy Trinity. He continued his formation as a priest at the University of Dallas, where he received 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.

Priesthood

Deshotel was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

a priest at Saint Augustine Church in Basile by Bishop

Maurice Schexnayder Maurice Schexnayder (August 13, 1895 – January 23, 1981) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana from 1956 to 1972. Biography Early life Maurice Schexnayder was ...

on May 13, 1978, for the Diocese of Dallas. After his 1978 ordination, the diocese assigned Deshotel as parochial vicar at the following Texas parishes: * St. Patrick in Dallas (1978 to 1980) * St. Anthony Parish in Longview (1980 to 1982) * St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Dallas (1982 to 1983 * St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Longview (1983 to 1988) Deshotel was named pastor in 1988 of St. William Parish in

Greenville, Texas Greenville ( ) is the county seat of and the most populous city in Hunt County, Texas, United States, located in Northeast Texas approximately northeast of Dallas, Texas, Dallas and northwest of Canton, Texas, Canton. As of the 2020 United Stat ...

, a position he held for the next four years. The diocese transferred him in 1992 to St. John Nepomucene Parish in

Ennis, Texas Ennis () is a city in eastern Ellis County, Texas, United States. The population is 20,159 according to the 2020 census, with an estimated population of 23,686 in 2023. Ennis is home to the annual National Polka Festival. It is part of the Dall ...

, to serve as pastor there. He moved in 1995 to St. Luke Parish in

. In 2001, Bishop Charles Grahmann named Deshotel as vice rector of Holy Trinity Seminary. After four years at the seminary, Deshotel became pastor of St. Monica and St. Juan Diego Parish in Dallas. In 2008, Bishop

Kevin Farrell Kevin Joseph Farrell (born 2 September 1947) is an Irish-born American Catholic prelate who has served as the prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life since 2016, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church since 2019, and presiden ...

named Deshotel as

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

and

moderator of the curia Moderator of the curia is a top administrative position held by a Catholic priest in a diocese under the supervision of the bishop. The moderator coordinates the exercise of the administrative duties and oversees the office holders, or curia, in ...

. He was also transferred from St. Monica and St. Juan Diego Parish to St. Joseph Parish in

Richardson, Texas Richardson is a city in Dallas and Collin counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 119,469. Richardson is an inner suburb of the city of Dallas. It is home to the Universit ...

Auxiliary Bishop of Dallas

Deshotel was appointed 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. ...

of Dallas as well as

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Cova on March 11, 2010, by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

. Deshotel was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

by Bishop

at the National Shrine Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Dallas on April 27, 2010. Bishops Charles Grahmann and Michael Duca served as co-consecrators.

Bishop of Lafayette in Louisiana

On February 17, 2016,

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 ...

named Deshotel as bishop of Lafayette in Louisiana, succeeding Bishop Charles Jarrell. He was installed on April 15, 2016, in the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist at Lafayette, Louisiana, by Archbishop

Gregory Aymond Gregory Michael Aymond (born November 12, 1949) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans, Archbishop of New Orleans since 2009. Aymond was previously the Roman Catholic Dioce ...

. In July 2022, Deshotel released a list of 41 diocesan clergy with credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors and adults. In 2024, Deshotel

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...

a former

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

for joining Trinity

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Church in Lafayette. His son had been molested by a parish priest and subsequently had resigned as deacon in December 2023. The priest was convicted of the sexual assault and the family settled a lawsuit against the Diocese of Lafayette in 2021.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana Official Site
1952 births Living people People from Basile, Louisiana 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Catholics from Louisiana {{US-RC-bishop-stub