Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana

Diocese of Lafayette
Dioecesis Lafayettensis
Location
Country  United States
Territory The Civil Parishes of St. Landry, Evangeline, Lafayette, St. Martin, Iberia, St. Mary, Acadia and Vermilion
Ecclesiastical province Archdiocese of New Orleans
Statistics
Area 5,779 sq mi (14,970 km2)
Population
- Total
- Catholics		 (as of 2013)
629,000
330,000 (52.5%)
Parishes 121
Information
Denomination Roman Catholic
Rite Roman Rite
Established January 11, 1918
Cathedral Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist
Patron saint Immaculate Conception
Secular priests 190
Current leadership
Pope Francis
Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel
Metropolitan Archbishop Gregory Michael Aymond
Emeritus Bishops Charles Michael Jarrell
Map
Website
www.diolaf.org
Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist, Lafayette

The Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana is an ecclesiastical division of the Catholic Church in the United States. The oldest church in the diocese is the parish church of St. Martinville, dating back to 1765. The diocese was created on January 11, 1918 from the western part of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. The size of the diocese was nearly halved by the creation of the Diocese of Lake Charles on January 29, 1980.[1] The diocese includes the heart of Cajun Louisiana.

Geographic Summary

The diocese consists of four deaneries[2] containing eight civil parishes:

Bishops

The list of bishops of the diocese and their years of service:

Bishops of Lafayette in Louisiana

  1. Jules Jeanmard (1918-1956)
  2. Maurice Schexnayder (1956-1972)
  3. Gerard Louis Frey (1972-1989)
  4. Harry Joseph Flynn (1989-1994), appointed Coadjutor Archbishop and later Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
  5. Edward Joseph O'Donnell (1994-2002)
  6. Charles Michael Jarrell (2002-2016)
  7. J. Douglas Deshotel (2016-present)[3]

Bishops who once were priests of the diocese

The following served as priests in Lafayette before being appointed bishops elsewhere:

High schools

Ecclesiastical province of New Orleans

See: List of the Catholic bishops of the United States#Province of New Orleans

Gilbert Gauthe case

In 1974, Bishop Gerard Frey assigned Rev. Gilbert Gauthe as a Boy Scout chaplain despite the fact that Gauthe had previously come to Frey's attention for having molested altar boys.[4] Gauthe was stripped of his priestly duties after more allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced in 1983.[5] Bishop Frey was criticized for his handling of Gauthe's case, and in 1985 expressed his regret, saying, "I ask for the prayers and understanding of all our people and of all people of good will of every faith and belief. I deeply regret and am distressed by the suffering that has taken place because of the tragic events in the diocese over the past several years."[1][dead link]

In total, the diocese settled for more than $20 million in lawsuits involving Gauthe. Gauthe was later jailed for violating the Texas sex offender registration law and released in April 2010.[6]

Notes

  1. ↑ "Diocese of Lafayette". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  2. ↑ "Parishes". Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  3. ↑ bgunn@theadvocate.com, Billy Gunn. "Diocese of Lafayette announces new bishop: the Most Rev. J. Douglas Deshotel". The Advocate. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
  4. ↑ "Rev. Gilbert J. Gauthe-Assignment". www.bishopaccountability.org. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
  5. ↑ Radio, Minnesota Public. "It all began in Lafayette | Betrayed by Silence: Chapter One". Minnesota Public Radio News. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
  6. ↑ "Church abuse case haunts lawyer who defended priest". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2017-07-10.

Coordinates: 30°12′50″N 92°01′46″W / 30.21389°N 92.02944°W / 30.21389; -92.02944

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