Jacques Eric Fabre-Jeune, C.S., known before May 2022 as Jacques Fabre, (born November 13, 1955) is a Haitian-born 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 ...

who has served as bishop of the Diocese of Charleston in South Carolina since 2022. Fabre-Jeune is the first Haitian-American to head a diocese. Since becoming a priest with the

Scalabrinians The Congregation of the Missionaries of Saint Charles Borromeo (), commonly called the Scalabrinian Missionaries, is a Catholic religious institute of brothers and priests founded by Giovanni Battista Scalabrini, Bishop of Piacenza in Italy, ...

in 1986, Fabre-Jeune has worked in Florida, Georgia, the Dominican Republic, and briefly at a refugee camp at Guantanamo Bay.

Biography

Early life

Jacques Fabre-Jeune was born in

Port-au-Prince, Haiti Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is defined by the IHSI ...

, on November 13, 1955. He was one of six children in his family. As a teenager, he emigrated to the United States, settling in New York City where he completed his high school education. He then attended St. John's University before transferring to University of St. Michael's College in Toronto to begin seminary studies. During his novitiate with the Scalabrinians, Fabre-Jeune served in a mission in Mexico, gaining early exposure to cross-cultural ministry. Fabre-Jeune continued his theological education at the

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 and the Scalabrini House of Theology. He later earned a Master of Divinity and a Licentiate in Migration Studies from the Urbaniana University in Rome.

Priesthood

Fabre-Jeune was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn on October 10, 1986, by Auxiliary Bishop Wilton D. Gregory at St. Theresa of Avila Church in Brooklyn. His first pastoral assignment was at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Immokalee, Florida. In 1990, during the Haitian refugee crisis, he was assigned as a chaplain to Haitian detainees at Guantanamo Bay. He ministered to spiritual and humanitarian needs and was involved in a reported altercation with U.S. military police during efforts to protect a detainee. In 1991, Fabre-Jeune was sent to the Dominican Republic where he pastored a parish in San Pedro de Macorís for over a decade. There, he worked with Haitian immigrants and developed community services in an environment marked by ethnic and racial tension. Upon returning to the United States, he was assigned as a parochial vicar at St. Joseph’s Parish in Athens (2006–2008), and Holy Trinity in Peachtree City (2008–2010). In 2009, he became administrator of San Felipe de Jesús Mission in Forest Park, Georgia, where he led a predominantly Hispanic congregation and successfully spearheaded the construction of a new self-funded church, dedicated in 2011. From 2010 to 2022, Fabre-Jeune held multiple administrative roles in the Archdiocese of Atlanta, including: * Member of the finance council * Member of the budget and operations committee * Member of the projects review committee * Director of the Hispanic Charismatic Renewal He also served as the superior of the Scalabrinian religious community in Atlanta.

Bishop of Charleston

On February 22, 2022,

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 ...

appointed Fabre-Jeune as the 14th bishop of the Diocese of Charleston. He is the first Haitian-American to lead the diocese, as well as the first member of a religious order to do so. He was consecrated bishop on May 13, 2022, at the Charleston Gaillard Center. The principal consecrator was Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory, with co-consecrators Archbishop Gregory John Hartmayer and Bishop Luis R. Zarama. Since his installation, Fabre-Jeune has emphasized inclusion, youth engagement, and immigration reform. He has visited nearly all parishes in the diocese and launched listening sessions with clergy and laity to assess pastoral needs and administrative transparency. Fabre-Jeune is fluent in five languages: English, Spanish, Italian, French, and Haitian Creole. He uses this multilingual capacity to communicate with diverse communities throughout the diocese.

References

External links