Shelton Joseph Fabre is an American Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of Louisville since 2022. He previously served as Bishop of Houma-Thibodaux from 2013 to 2022 and as auxiliary bishop for the

Archdiocese of New Orleans The Archdiocese of New Orleans (; ; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical division of the Catholic Church spanning Jefferson (except Grand Isle), Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, St. Tammany, and Washingto ...

from 2007 to 2013.

Early life and education

Shelton Fabre was born in

New Roads, Louisiana New Roads (historically ) is a city in and the parish seat of Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, United States. The center of population of Louisiana was located in New Roads in 2000. The population was 4,831 at the 2010 census, down from 4,966 ...

, on October 25, 1963. He attended primary and secondary schools in New Roads, graduating in 1981 as valedictorian of Catholic High School of Pointe Coupée. He then entered

Saint Joseph Seminary College Saint Joseph Seminary College (also known as St. Ben or St. Ben's) is a Catholic seminary in Saint Benedict, Louisiana. Founded in 1891, it is operated by the Benedictine monks of Saint Joseph Abbey and the dioceses in the ecclesiastical pr ...

in St. Benedict, Louisiana, graduating with a bachelor's degree in history in 1985. Fabre then continued his formation at the American College of Louvain in Belgium, also studying at the

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven KU Leuven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Belgium. Founded in 1425, it is the oldest university in Belgium and the oldest university in the Low Countries. In addition to its main camp ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in religious studies in 1987 and a Master of Arts in religious studies degree in 1989. Fabre was ordained a

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 ...

on December 10, 1988, by Archbishop

Peter Gerety Peter Gerety is an American actor. He played officer, later detective, Stuart Gharty on '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' (1996–1999), and Judge Daniel Phelan in ''The Wire'' (2002–2008). Early years Gerety was born in Providence, Rhode I ...

at the Louvain university church.

Priesthood

Fabre 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 on August 5, 1989, by Bishop Stanley Ott for the

Diocese of Baton Rouge The Diocese of Baton Rouge (Latin ''Dioecesis Rubribaculensis''; French ''Diocèse de Bâton-Rouge''; Spanish: ''Diócesis de Baton Rouge''), is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese in the Florida Parishes region of the U.S. state of ...

at St. Joseph Cathedral in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. After his 1989 ordination, the diocese assigned Fabre as assistant pastor of the following

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

: * St. Alphonsus Liguori in Greenwell Springs (1989 to 1992) * St. George in

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

(1992 to 1994) * St. Isidore the Farmer in

Baker A baker is a tradesperson who baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient histo ...

(1994 to 1995) * St. Joseph Cathedral (1995 to 1996) Fabre was later named as pastor at both St. Joseph Parish in Grosse Tete, Louisiana, and Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in

Maringouin, Louisiana Maringouin is a town in Iberville Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,098 at the 2010 census, down from 1,262 at the 2000 census. At the 2020 population estimates program, its population was 966. It is part of the Baton Roug ...

. In 2004, Fabre became pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Baton Rouge. Fabre's diocesan positions during this period were as chaplain at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola in 1994, director of the Office of Black Catholics (1990–2005) and defender of the bond for the marriage tribunal (1994 to 2007). Fabre was elected to serve on the diocesan clergy personnel board and served as chair of the Pastoral Planning Committee of the diocese. At various times, he took on the roles of chaplain to St. Joseph's Academy and served as

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

of the Northwest Deanery. Fabre also served as a member of the

college of consultors A consultor is one who gives counsel, i.e., a counselor. In the Catholic Church, it is a specific title for various advisory positions: *in the Roman Curia, a consultor is a specially appointed expert who may be called upon for advice desired by ...

, the presbyteral council, and the diocesan school board.

Auxiliary Bishop of New Orleans

On December 13, 2006, Fabre was appointed

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 Pudentiana and auxiliary bishop of New Orleans 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 ...

. He was consecrated by Archbishop Alfred Hughes on February 28, 2007, 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 ...

at the Saint Louis, King of France, Cathedral Basilica. He was the youngest bishop in the U.S. at the time. As auxiliary bishop, Fabre served 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 also became pastor of Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in New Orleans. In October 2009, Fabre met with each of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the archdiocese that had been recently settled for $5 million. The plaintiffs had been beaten and abused in the 1950s and 1960s by nuns, priests and other staff members at Hope Haven and Madonna Manor, two Catholic homes for troubled youth in the archdiocese. Fabre held the meetings to apologize for their treatment.

Bishop of Houma-Thibodaux

On September 23, 2013,

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 as bishop of Houma-Thibodaux. He was installed at the Cathedral of St. Francis de Sales in Thibodaux, Louisiana, on October 30, 2013. On May 4, 2018, Fabre was elected chair of the Ad-Hoc Committee against Racism of the

United States 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 C ...

. On November 6, 2018, Fabre released "Open Wide our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love", a

pastoral letter A pastoral letter, often simply called a pastoral, is an open letter addressed by a bishop to the clergy or laity of a diocese or to both, containing general admonition, instruction or consolation, or directions for behaviour in particular circu ...

addressing

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

in the United States and the Catholic response to it. On January 11, 2019, Fabre released a list of 14 priests in the diocese with credible accusations of

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is re ...

against minors. The list went back to 1977, the founding of the diocese.

Archbishop of Louisville

On February 8, 2022, Pope Francis named Fabre as archbishop of Louisville. He was installed on March 30, 2022.

Personal life

Fabre is a cousin of his fellow African-American Catholic prelate, Bishop

John Ricard John Huston Ricard, S.S.J. (born February 29, 1940) is an American Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee from 1997 to 2011 and as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore from 1984 to 1997. Ricard was elect ...

, superior general of the Josephites. Both are from

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fabre, Shelton Joseph Living people 1963 births KU Leuven alumni People from New Roads, Louisiana People from Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana Catholics from Louisiana 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States African-American Roman Catholic bishops 21st-century American Roman Catholic bishops 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people Bishops appointed by Pope Francis African-American Roman Catholic archbishops American Roman Catholic archbishops Bishops appointed by Pope Benedict XVI