Houma-Thibodaux Bishop Dorsonville's Funeral Mass Feb. 1

By Peter Finney Jr.
Clarion Herald

Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville, a native of Bogota, Colombia, who was installed less than a year ago as bishop of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, died Jan. 19, at Ochsner Medical Center in Kenner after complications from a liver illness. He was 63.

Father Simon Peter Engurait, vicar general of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, announced the bishop’s death Jan. 19.

“It is with great sadness and deep shock that I announce to you that our beloved shepherd, Bishop Mario Dorsonville, passed away at 6:50 p.m. (Friday) evening after he gave in to complications arising from recent health problems,” Father Engurait wrote. “I ask that you be patient with us as we begin to navigate through these uncertain moments. … I ask that you keep him in your prayers.”

Bishop Dorsonville was installed as the fifth bishop of Houma-Thibodaux on March 29, 2023, by New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond at the Cathedral of St. Francis de Sales in Houma. Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the U.S., and Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory were present for the installation.

Archbishop Aymond and the other bishops of Louisiana knew that Bishop Dorsonville was having problems with his liver, but his death came as a shock.

“Around Thanksgiving time, he was in the hospital in New Orleans,” Archbishop Aymond said. “We knew that there were some problems with his liver.”

He had a medical procedure recently, and doctors were preparing to transfer him to the main OchsnerMedical Center in Jefferson.

Bishop Dorsonville felt well enough to attend a retreat of the state’s bishops in early January.

“He just said that he was tired,” Archbishop Aymond said. “When you have a liver infection, that’s to be expected. But he was in good spirits. He attended everything, and there was good fraternity.

“I enjoyed his company. I got to know him pretty well, especially during his time of illness because I was able to visit him in the hospital. I appreciated his commitment to the church, and he spoke very highly of the people of Houma-Thibodaux.”

On Jan. 22, the College of Consultors for the Houma-Thibodaux Diocese elected Father Simon Peter Engurait as diocesan administrator. He will serve as diocesan leader until a new bishop is appointed by the pope. Upon his election, Father Engurait made a profession of faith in the presence of the College of Consultors and notified Archb ishop Cristophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, of his election.

Father Engurait is a native of Ngora, Uganda. He earned a Master of Divinity degree in 2013 from Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans. He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Sam Jacobs at St. Francis de Sales Cathedral on May 26, 2013.

Bishop Dorsonville’s appointment came 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 served as diocesan administrator.

Bishop Dorsonville, who spoke several languages, made a great impression on the people of the Houma-Thibodaux Diocese.

At a press conference following his appointment in February 2023, he said: “I have three words that I have prepared very carefully today. 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 was a priest in Colombia when he left his native country to begin his degree studies at The Catholic University of America in Washington, “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.”

Bishop Dorsonville viewed as his main responsibility continuing the rebuilding process of the diocese from Hurricane Ida in 2021. He said his new flock's experience of suffering was a reminder “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 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 served as vicar general for the Archdiocese of Washington from 2015-23.

Bishop Dorsonville was the chairman of the Migration and Refugee services committee for the USCCB (2019-22) and served 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 former chair of the racism committee.

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 missions, 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.

Public visitation for Bishop Dorsonville will be held Jan. 31 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at St. Francis de Sales Cathedral, 500 Goode St., Houma, with evening prayer at 5:30 p.m. and a Memorial Mass for the Dead at 7 p.m.

Visitation will continue Feb. 1 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at St. Joseph Co-Cathedral, 721 Canal Blvd., Thibodaux, followed by Bishop Dorsonville's Funeral Mass at 2 p.m. Bishop Dorsonville will be buried on the grounds of St. Joseph Co-Cathedral.

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