Bishop Dorsonville named to head Houma-Thibodaux Diocese

By Peter Finney Jr.
Clarion Herald

Pope Francis today appointed Washington (D.C.) Auxiliary Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville, a native of Colombia, as the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux.

The appointment comes nearly a year after Bishop Shelton J. Fabre was named archbishop of Louisville on Feb. 8, 2022. The Houma-Thibodaux Diocese had been overseen since April 1, 2022, by Father Patrick "P.J." Madden, who had served as diocesan administrator.

Bishop Dorsonville will be installed on March 29 at the Cathedral of St. Francis de Sales in Houma.

“I have three words that I have prepared very carefully today,” said Bishop Dorsonville, who speaks several languages. “Good morning, bonjour and buenos dias. I have to tell you I am super excited. I am humbled and very happy and disposed to say to his holiness (Pope Francis), ‘I'm here, as you wish, to serve you and to serve our Lord in your will.”

Bishop Dorsonville said he received a cell phone call from Father Madden shortly after he was informed of the appointment by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the U.S.

“One of the most inspiring things that I have heard from Father P.J. was when he told me, ‘Mario, listen to the voice of the Spirit, of the Holy Spirit,’” Bishop Dorsonville said at his introductory press conference at diocesan headquarters in Schreiver. “Really, I think since I was a kid, I tried to be very open to that move, and that is why we never are wrong in life.”

Bishop Dorsonville said he left Colombia to begin his degree studies at The Catholic University of America, “where I began to see much mercy and love from the Almighty.”

“It was a process where I recognized that my Colombian and French background was a bridge for a multicultural spectrum,” he added. “In Washington, D.C., there are so many accents, so many faces, but just one faith. We are one family. And, that’s the motivation I come here today, because I am delighted to see how Houma-Thibodaux is the spectrum of so many cultures and talents and gifts.”
 

Calling to mind the damage that still exists from Hurricane Ida in 2021, Bishop Dorsonville said his new flock's experience of suffering “reminds us of Jesus’ face.”

“I want to continue the process of rebuilding, the process of being better and the process to be there as instruments of Jesus Christ in the lives of those who are suffering,” he said. “There is a call for walking together. I am one with you. I am one for you. I pledge my time, my care, my devotion and my love as a shepherd to be the instrument of Jesus Christ in your lives.”

Bishop Dorsonville said he plans to visit the diocese during the next several weeks leading up to his installation to learn more about the people.

“I will try to find ways to create a schedule to see the poor, the wealthy, the middle class – everyone is so important for the church,” he said. “There is no distinction – youth, children, old, families, everyone.

Bishop Dorsonville's background
Bishop Dorsonville, 62, is a native of Bogotá, Colombia. He received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the major seminary of the Archdiocese of Bogotá in 1981 and a bachelor’s degree in sacred theology in 1985.

He was ordained to the priesthood on Nov. 23, 1985, in Bogotá. Following ordination, he served as a parochial vicar and pastor and then as chaplain and professor of business ethics at the National University of Colombia.

He received a licentiate in sacred theology from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana de Bogotá in 1991 and a doctorate in ministry from The Catholic University of America in 1996. 

He served within the Archdiocese of Washington as parochial vicar of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Bethesda, Maryland, and St. Mark the Evangelist Parish in Hyattsville, Maryland.

He served as vice president of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington and director of the Spanish Catholic Center from 2005-15. He also was an adjunct spiritual director of St. John Paul II Seminary in Washington, D.C., as well as a mentor for newly ordained priests (2011-15).

He was named an auxiliary bishop of Washington on March 20, 2015, and was ordained to the episcopate on April 20, 2015. He has served as vicar general for the Archdiocese of Washington since then.

Bishop Dorsonville was the chairman of the Migration and Refugee services committee for the USCCB (2019-22) and serves as a member of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, Committee on Migration and Refugees, Committee on Religious Liberty and the Ad hoc Committee Against Racism. Archbishop Fabre is the chair of the racism committee.

Houma-Thibodaux diocesan facts and figures
The Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux was established in 1977 and comprises the civil parishes of Terrebonne and Lafourche, as well as parts of St. Mary and Jefferson. It has a Catholic population of 90,000 among a total population of 237,171 

The four previous bishops were Bishop Warren Boudreaux (1977-92); Bishop Michael Jarrell (1993-2002); Bishop Sam Jacobs (2003-13); and Bishop Shelton Fabre (2013-22).

The diocese has 39 parishes, three mission, 10 Catholic schools. There are 53 active priests, 14 retired priests and five priests who are either active outside the diocese or completing studies outside the diocese.

There are 17 active permanent deacons, 15 retired deacons, nine seminarians and 17 religious sisters.

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