Vatican names new Louisville archbishop, who has history of fighting 'grave sin of racism'

The next leader of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville will be the Rev. Shelton Fabre, an advocate for voting rights and a leader in the church's effort to erase racism.

Fabre, the current bishop of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux in southeastern Louisiana, was announced as the new head of the Louisville archdiocese — Kentucky's largest Catholic community — on Tuesday by the Holy See Press Office in Rome.

Fabre, 58, is chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, which was formed in 2017. He became chairman the following year, and in that role called for systemic change after the 2020 killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville.

At a press conference Tuesday morning attended by outgoing Archbishop Joseph Kurtz and other bishops from the region, he said he will bring "a heart that is willing to listen" and a "message of joyful hope."

"I bring the teachings of the church, I bring our pastoral letter, I bring a desire to advance the kingdom of God and get all of us in our racial diversity to understand that we are stronger when we are together.

"And also, to recognize that at the very heart is a call to respect the human life and human dignity of each and every person."

More: Here are 5 things to know about the new leader of the Archdiocese of Louisville

The Louisiana native was ordained a deacon in 1988, a priest in 1989 and previously was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New Orleans by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006 before assuming his current role in 2013.

In Louisiana, Fabre led a diocese of nearly 40 churches and 12 Catholic schools and an area with an estimated 90,000 Catholics.

He teared up during Tuesday's press conference when talking about the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux.

"I have been incredibly happy and fulfilled as bishop of Houma-Thibodaux," he said. "I am grateful for the love, support and kindness you have shown to me during my episcopal ministry in south Louisiana."

In Louisville, he will lead a flock of 200,000 Catholics in an archdiocese that includes 110 parishes and covers 24 counties. His tasks will include helping to heal the city in the wake of Taylor's killing and the racial justice protests that followed.

"While I recognize that our community has faced what some may say is far too great an experience of injustice and disregard for human life and dignity, I come to you with a message of joyful hope," said Fabre, who will be the fifth archbishop and 10th bishop in Louisville history. "I have great faith and hope in the work already underway within our community regarding racial equality."

Fabre has previously said his episcopal motto is "Comfort my people."

Last March he spoke at an online leadership institute organized by the Archdiocese of Louisville where he decried the "grave sin of racism" and spoke of ways to combat it in the church and wider community.

Previously: Louisville Archbishop Joseph Kurtz submits his resignation to Pope Francis

"The work is hard and the work is slow, but the work must be done," he said.

On voting rights, he co-authored a letter to members of Congress last June that said: "Recognizing the importance of ensuring the integrity of elections processes, protecting voting rights is a moral imperative for the common good of a just society. The human right to vote flows from the inherent dignity of each citizen."

Besides being a voice against racism and for voting rights, Fabre has spoken out against same-sex marriage.

In January 2021, he co-authored a statement with other Catholic bishops expressing concerns with Biden's executive order to expand federal protections against sex discrimination to include sexual orientation and gender identity, which the letter called "misguided."

In 2015, he weighed in after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, saying the Catholic Church considers it "something that harms the common good."

When asked Tuesday if members of the LGBTQ community are welcome in the Catholic church, Fabre said yes.

“I stand ready, certainly, to meet and to listen," he said. "I hope they would find in me someone who is willing to listen to them, someone who is willing to journey with them, someone who is willing to invite them to come to know the Jesus Christ that we know.

For Black Catholics who have left the church or are considering doing so, he said, "I hope that they will see in me someone who looks like them. Someone who knows them and wishes to speak with them. Someone who was sent here to serve all members of the archdiocese."

Opinion: Does Archbishop Kurtz care about struggling Black Catholic parishes in Louisville?

He added, "I am a black bishop, so certainly Black Catholics will resonate with my heart. So I hope they would see this as an opportunity to say the church is vast and all are important and we have an archbishop that looks like us. Can we rejoice in that and thank God for that?"

Fabre succeeds Kurtz, who submitted his resignation upon his 75th birthday last August to Pope Francis.

"As I give thanks for the privilege to have served as Archbishop of Louisville, I know in my heart that Pope Francis has given a great gift to the wonderful Archdiocese and Province of Louisville by appointing a true servant of Jesus Christ," Kurtz wrote in a public statement posted following the announcement.

"Archbishop Fabre’s motto, “Comfort My People,” drawn from the Prophet Isaiah, speaks to his desire to be a faithful instrument of Jesus Christ," he continued. "I rejoice and welcome my friend, Archbishop Shelton, as he brings Louisiana Cajun flavor to our fine Commonwealth, and I pledge to support him fully in his 'new Kentucky home!'”

Cajun flavor, Fabre explained, is a certain joy for life, an importance for community, of family, of faith and "a resilience in regard to whatever life throws at us and knowing we are stronger together than when we are separate."

Kurtz, appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007, will retain the "archbishop" title when he leaves the archdiocese on March 30, which is when Fabre will be installed.

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Krista Johnson contributed to this report. Reporter Matthew Glowicki can be reached at mglowicki@courier-journal.com, 502-582-4000 or on Twitter @mattglo.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Archdiocese of Louisville: Rev. Shelton Fabre named new archbishop